A Sprig of Palm

As part of the ambiance in our chapel during Lent, we've had a plain wooden cross on a pedestal covered with a sheer violet cloth flowing from the pedestal to the floor.  Today a sprig of palm below the cross, against the cloth, stands out as an arrow pointing to it, a vivid reminder that today's triumphal entry into Jerusalem included death on the cross. There's no escaping the pain that being a follower of Jesus entails, yet, this is our calling.  It means, as Jose Pagola reminds us, "committing ourselves to humanizing life and so contributing little by little to making a reality of his project of a world in which God and his justice reign.  This means that we, the followers of Jesus, are sent to bring truth where there is deceit and lies, justice where there is injustice and cruelty to the weakest, and bring back compassion where there is indifference and passivity at the sight of those who suffer. This entails building communities that unite on the basis of the project of Jesus while living his spirit and attitudes." (Pagola, Following in the Footsteps of Jesus, Year A)
As we wave our palms in procession and listen to the reading of the Passion, let us recommit ourselves to this project.
Bro. Rene