The ordinary shuffle of people at mass has a sound. And on Palm Sunday, this sound is different—more footsteps, more excited. It marks the start of Holy Week, and so for many at Billings Central a time of renewal and strengthening of faith.
Many aspects of the Palm Sunday Mass remain similar to regular Sunday Mass, as senior Baxter Jensen describes, “The mass wasn’t much different from your typical mass, it was just a little longer with extensive readings focusing on Jesus on Palm Sunday and had some fun interactive traditions that included the whole church.”
These readings focus on reflections towards how your interactions with Jesus should be approached with humility. Senior Sage Sebastian’s favorite part of the Mass was “the reading of the gospel because we read the whole story and you get to hear when the crowd say that they want Barabbas over Jesus.” For her, the gospel helped her in “knowing that I sin just as much as anybody else and knowing that I would have been one of the people who would have said that I want Barabbas instead of Jesus.”
Palms and holy water at the baptismal fountain at St. Pius X Parish. (Bellamy Harada)
However, this isn’t just a time to feel down, but rather celebrate the gifts of God’s mercy in the fact that He redeems sinners through His actions in Holy Week. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, and as such for Jensen “the day prepares me for the resurrection as it shows the change from joy to sadness later in the week, but even after this rollercoaster of emotions we still see Jesus triumph in the very end, defeating Satan and bringing everlasting life with Him to us.”
Palm Sunday is a day of celebration and victory; Jensen said that for him, “Palm Sunday is a bright day looking at the victory Jesus brought into Jerusalem, and how he showed how He was the King and the Son of God, all while showing His humility. It means a lot to me as a Catholic because Palm Sunday brings rejoice with my family and friends at mass.”
Sebastian agrees, noting “that even though Jesus knows that he was going to die, he still went through with the whole thing and came to Palm Sunday, even though he knew that the people who were laying down palms for him and welcoming him nicely into the city would kill him a week later.”
From palm leaf crosses to changes in readings, there are notable changes in a Palm Sunday Mass from a typical service. But its greatest change is a focus upon the sacrifice of the week to come. Palm Sunday ultimately serves as a preparation for Holy Week, and its Mass services allow Central students to reflect upon exactly what they’re preparing for.
