Palm Sunday is the last day of the period of Lent and the first day of Holy Week
Invitation
May I ask for your attention for
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation is to share the joy
of the gospel with you. Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their heart
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day
Opening words
We are about to begin a special week in which we will, day after day,
experience Jesus’ last days of his life up close.
On Palm Sunday, in accordance with ancient tradition, we will bless palm branches,
which we will place by the crucifix at home.
These green twigs refer to the ‘Hosanna!
and the joy of the people of old.
They recognised Jesus as the Messiah
who would give their lives meaning and a future This Sunday is also called “Passion of the Lord”.
In the Passion we hear the words ’Crucify him!
and we consider the suffering Jesus endured
as a passage to the resurrection.
Let us enter this Holy Week
in deep communion with Christ, the suffering Servant.
He is our hope for the resurrection.
From the prophet Isaiah
The Lord God has given me the gift of the word:
I understand it to give courage to the discouraged.
Every morning he speaks his word,
every morning he addresses the word to me
and I listen with complete devotion.
The Lord God has spoken to me
and I have not resisted,
I have not shied away.
I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard,
and I did not turn away my face
from those who reviled and spat upon me.
But the Lord God will help me:
Therefore I shall not be disgraced
nor shall I be put to shame.
Yes, I know that I shall not be disgraced.
Responsorial Ps. 22(21), 8-9, 17-18a, 19-20, 23-24
Refrain My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
All who see me mock me;
they make faces and shake their heads at me.
‘He relies on the Lord, doesn’t he? Let him save him
and free him, if he loves him’.
A pack of dogs is chasing me,
a gang of villains has me surrounded.
They have pierced my hands and feet,
I can count my bones.
Now they share my clothes among themselves
and gamble for my garments.
O Lord, do not be far from me,
my help, hasten to help me.
I will praise your name among my brothers;
I will sing in the presence of all the people.
You who fear the Lord, praise him;
all you descendants of Jacob, honour him.
SECOND READING Phil. 2:6-11
Christ humbled himself, therefore God exalted him.
From the letter of the holy apostle Paul to the Christians of
Philippi
Brothers and sisters,
He who existed in divine majesty
did not want to cling
to equality with God.
He emptied himself
and took on the nature of a slave.
He was like a human being.
And when he became human,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Therefore God exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above all other names.
So that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend
in heaven, on earth and under the earth;
and every tongue should confess,
to the glory of God the Father:
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Gospel verse Phil. 2:8-9
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus.
Christ became obedient for us even unto death,
to death on a cross.
Therefore God exalted him
and gave him the name that is above all other names.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus
GOSPEL Luke 22:14-23:56
The suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Luke
When the hour had come,
Jesus sat down with the apostles at the table.
He said to them,
‘I have eagerly desired
to eat this Passover with you
before I suffer.
’For I tell you,
I will not eat it again
until it finds fulfilment in the kingdom of God.”
Then he took a cup,
gave thanks and said,
‘Take this cup and share it among yourselves.
‘For I tell you,
from this time on
I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’
Then he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
“This is my body given for you.
‘Do this in memory of me.‘
In the same way, after the meal he handed them the cup, saying:
’This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
which is poured out for you.
‘But look, the one at the hand of whom I am being betrayed
is with me at the table.
’For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined;
but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed.‘ Now they began to ask each other
which of them it was that would do this thing.
There was also a division among them
because of who would be regarded as the greatest.
Jesus said to them,
’The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them
and those in authority over them are called benefactors.
‘It should not be like that among you.
The one among you who is the most important must behave as if he or she were the least important.
The one who gives orders must behave as if he or she were the one being served.
‘Who is the greatest: the one who is at the head, or the one who serves?
’Is it not the one who is at the head?
“But I have made you what you are: the one who serves.
‘It is you who have remained faithful in my trials.
“And as my Father has granted me kingship,
so I grant you a place in my Kingdom;
you shall eat and drink at my table
and you shall be seated on thrones
to rule over the twelve tribes of Israel.
‘Simon, Simon,
know that Satan has demanded to sift you all like wheat.
‘But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.
’Once you have turned back,
strengthen your brothers.‘
But he answered,
’Lord,
I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!’
Then Jesus said:
‘I tell you, Peter:
the rooster will not crow today
before you have denied knowing Me three times.’ He said to them:
‘When I sent you away without purse, bag or shoes,
did you lack anything?’
They answered:
‘Nothing’
He continued:
‘But now he that hath a purse, the same must take
and likewise a scrip:
and he that hath no sword must sell his cloak,
and buy one.
‘I say unto you, that this scripture must be fulfilled in me,
And he was reckoned among the transgressors:
’For the things concerning me have an end.”
And they said,
‘See Lord, here are two swords.‘
He replied:
’It is enough.‘ He now went outside
and went to the Mount of Olives as was his custom.
The disciples also went with him.
When he arrived there, he spoke to them:
’Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”
He moved away from them
and continued on for about a stone’s throw;
there He threw Himself on His knees and prayed:
‘Father, if You are willing, let this cup pass from me.
’Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours, be done.”
Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him to strengthen Him.
Filled with the fear of death, He prayed with even more urgency.
His sweat became great drops of blood
that fell to the ground.
Then He rose from prayer
and went to the disciples,
but He found them sleeping from grief.
He said to them,
‘How can you sleep?
’Get up
and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”
He had not yet spoken
Or a crowd came, preceded by Judas,
one of the twelve.
He went up to Jesus to kiss him.
But Jesus said to him:
‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’
When those around him
saw what was about to happen,
they asked:
‘Lord, shall we strike him with the sword?‘
And one of them struck the high priest’s servant
and cut off his right ear.
But Jesus intervened and said,
’Let it be.”
And He touched the ear and healed him.
Now Jesus spoke to the chief priests,
to the temple guards and to the elders
who had come to Him:
‘You have been sent like thieves
with swords and clubs.
’I was with you in the temple every day
and you did not touch Me.
‘But this is your hour
and the power of darkness is yours.’ Then they seized Him and led Him away
and brought Him into the high priest’s house,
while Peter followed at a distance.
They made a fire in the courtyard and sat down together.
Peter sat among them.
When a servant girl
saw him sitting there in the light of the fire
and looking intently at him,
she said,
‘This man was with him.’
But he denied it, saying,
“Woman, I do not know him.’
A little later someone else saw him and said:
‘You are also one of them.’
But Peter replied:
‘Man, that is not true.’
After about an hour had passed
another man stated with certainty:
‘Truly, that man also belonged to Him:
For he too is a Galilean.’
Peter replied:
“Man, I do not know what you mean.’
He had not yet spoken when immediately a rooster crowed.
Then the Lord turned and looked at Peter;
it occurred to Peter how the Lord had said to him:
‘Before a rooster crows today
you will deny Me three times.’
And he went outside and began to weep bitterly. The men who were guarding Jesus
mocked and beat him.
They threw a cloth over his head and asked him:
‘Now be a prophet.
’Who is it that has hit you?”
They added many other insults to him. When the day had come,
the council of elders of the people met,
high priests and scribes,
and they brought Him before their court.
They said,
‘If You are the Christ, tell us.’
But He said to them,
‘If I tell you,
you will not believe;
and if I ask you,
you will not answer.
’But from now on the Son of Man will
will sit at the right hand of the power of God.‘
Then they all said,
’Are you the Son of God?
He answered,
‘You have said it. I am.’
They said,
‘What further need have we for testimony?
We have heard it from his own mouth.’ Then the whole assembly rose up
And they brought Him before Pilate.
There they began to accuse Him, saying,
‘We have established
that this man incites our people to rebellion,
that he keeps them
from paying taxes to the emperor
and that he pretends to be the Messiah, the King.’
Pilate asked Him,
“Are You the King of the Jews?’
He replied,
‘So you say.’
Pilate then addressed the chief priests and the crowd:
‘I find no basis for a charge against this man.’
But they remained adamant and shouted,
“He is inciting the whole nation of Jews
by preaching throughout Galilee
and all the way down here.’
he is stirring up trouble among the people.’ When Pilate heard this, he asked
if the man was a Galilean.
As soon as he learned
that Jesus was indeed from Herod’s territory,
he sent Him to Herod,
who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
Herod was overjoyed to see Jesus.
The stories about Jesus
had made him long for Jesus for a long time
and he hoped to see Him perform a miracle or other.
He asked Him all kinds of questions,
but Jesus did not answer at all.
The chief priests and scribes stood by and made accusations against Him.
Together with his soldiers, Herod mocked and ridiculed Him.
He dressed Him in a beautiful robe
and sent him back to Pilate.
On the same day Herod and Pilate became friends;
before this they had been enemies.
Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the officers and the people
and said to them,
“You brought this man to me
as one who incites the people to rebellion.
now I have heard him in your presence.
But I have not found this man guilty of
any of your charges against him.
‘Nor did Herod
for he sent him back to us.
’He is not
guilty of anything
that deserves death.
“Therefore I shall have him flogged
and then release him.’
They all began to shout at once:
‘Away with him! Let us free Barabbas!’
This Barabbas had been thrown into prison
for rioting in the city and for murder.
Pilate addressed them again
because he wanted to set Jesus free.
But they cried out:
“Crucify him, crucify him!’
For the third time Pilate asked them:
‘What evil has this man done?
’I have found nothing in him
that would justify the death penalty.
‘Therefore, I will have him punished
and then set him free.’
Shouting loudly
they continued to demand his crucifixion
and their shouting was decisive.
Pilate decided that what they demanded should be done:
He released the man they demanded,
although he had been imprisoned for rebellion and murder,
but he handed Jesus over to them. As they were carrying him away,
they arrested a man named Simon,
a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country;
and they laid the cross on him
to carry it behind Jesus.
A large crowd of people followed him,
including many women
who beat their breasts and mourned.
Jesus turned to them and said,
“Daughters of Jerusalem,
do not weep for me,
but weep for yourselves and for your children.
‘Know that a time will come when people will say:
Blessed are the barren,
whose womb has not borne
and whose breasts have not fed a child.
‘Then it will be said to the mountains: Fall on us,
and to the hills: Cover us.
’For if they do so with the green wood,
what will be done with the dry wood?”
Two others were led away, two criminals,
to be put to death with him.
When they came to the place called Skull,
they crucified him there,
and the criminals as well,
one on the right and the other on the left.
And Jesus said,
‘Father, forgive them
for they know not what they do.‘
They divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots.
The people stood by and watched
but the government officials sneered at him and said,
’He saved others;
let him save himself
if he is the Messiah of God,
the Chosen One!’
The soldiers brought Him sour wine,
and they too added mockingly to Him:
‘If You are the King of the Jews,
save Yourself.’
Above Him was engraved
in Greek, Roman and Hebrew letters:
‘This is the King of the Jews.’
One of the criminals who were hanged there also scorned Him:
‘Are you not the Messiah?
‘Then save yourself and us.’
But the other rebuked him and said:
‘Do you not even fear God
since you are subject to the same condemnation?
’And indeed, we are suffering justly
for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds;
but this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said,
‘Jesus,
remember me
when you come into your kingdom.‘
And Jesus said to him,
’Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.’
It was now about the sixth hour,
and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,
for the sun’s light failed.
The curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Then Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’
When he had said this, he breathed his last.
When the centurion saw what had happened,
he gave praise to God and said,
“This man was innocent beyond doubt.’
All the people who had gathered for this spectacle
returned when they saw what had happened,
and they beat their breasts.
All His acquaintances stood at a distance watching;
including the women who had followed Him from Galilee.
Now there was a certain Joseph,
a member of the High Council,
a benevolent and just man,
who had therefore not agreed
with the plans and actions of the Council.
He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea
and lived in expectation of the Kingdom of God.
This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
After he had taken it down from the cross,
he wrapped it in a shroud.
Then he laid Him in a tomb
which had been hewn out of the rock
and in which no one had ever been laid.
It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
The women who had come with Him from Galilee followed,
and they looked into the tomb
and saw how His body was laid.
Returning, they prepared sweet-smelling spices and ointment
but on the Sabbath they observed the prescribed rest. ____________________________________________________________________________________
Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCIS
On fraternity and social friendship
247. The Shoah must not be forgotten. It is the ‘symbol of
the depths to which human corruption can fall when, nourished
by false ideologies, the fundamental dignity of each person
deserves absolute respect, whatever the person’s nationality
or religion may be.” Recalling this, I can
only repeat this prayer: ’Remember us in your mercy.
Grant us the grace to be ashamed of what we as people have
been able to do, to be ashamed of this immense idolatry, of the
contempt and destruction of our flesh, which you moulded from clay,
which you breathed life into with your breath of life. Never again, Lord, never again!’.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this edition is taken from The New Bible Translation,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Fratelli tutti Official English translation
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