Although the crowd’s shouts of exuberant praise of Jesus on Palm Sunday will devolve into shouts of “Crucify him!” by Good Friday, we join them in praising the Lord on this day. In fact, we take up the crowd’s chorus every time we go to Mass and sing, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosana in the highest.” In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees complain to Jesus, hoping he’ll restrain the crowd’s unseemly demonstration. But Jesus replies that if the crowd weren’t crying out, the stones would. Praise of the Lord is good, and not just for those who will never turn around and deny Jesus. The entire world, even now in its brokenness, was created to give glory to God, and our families are part of that.
- Reflection by Elizabeth Hansen in “Celebrating Sunday for Catholic Families 2024-25” published by Liturgy Training Publications.