At the Procession Luke 19: 28-40
At the Mass Isaiah 50: 4-7
Psalm 22
Philippians 2: 6-11
Luke 22:14-23:56
(MPT, “The Wise Thief,” various composers)
The celebration of Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion is one with a heavy mood-swing. The Blessing of Palms and Procession/Solemn Entrance is festive, boisterous, genuinely popular in its waving of palm branches and its ‘hosannas!’ From the opening prayer onward, the liturgy is focused on the passion and death of Jesus. Even though we as a church acknowledge that the death of Jesus is a victory over sin and the power of death, there is a strong sense of loss. Part of this can be balanced if we will program carefully, because the Palm procession should not stand alone here—Jesus entered Jerusalem to go to His passion. Still, the chant and hymnody of the church is joyous: the processional antiphons like “Pueri Hebraeorum” (LBCR) and the hymns like “Gloria, laus et honor” (BFW) are solemnly joyful and should be sung in that manner.
The First and Second Readings and the Responsorial Psalm are the same in all three lectionary cycles. The First Reading, from the book of the prophet Isaiah, is the third of the ‘servant songs’ from the second part of the book. Just as the servant was patient in the midst of adversity in exile, so Jesus in His passion was obedient, despite rejection by His own people. His confidence finds its mirror in the words of the suffering servant. From earliest times, Christians found Jesus in these songs from Isaiah. The Responsorial Psalm is the ‘passion psalm,’ Psalm 22. The passion narratives we hear on this day are full of echoes from this psalm (“they mock at me;” “they have pierced my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones;” “they divide my garments among them; they cast lots for my vesture;”)—but Jesus’ quoting of this psalm while in His agony also pulls us to the end of the psalm, “You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, give glory to Him! Revere Him, all you descendants of Israel!” The Second Reading is from the Letter to the Philippians, and consists of the canticle sung at Evening Prayer every Saturday night. Paul presents the kenosis (i.e., the ‘emptying’) of the divine from Jesus, His taking of human form, His obedience to death, even on a cross; which then causes God to highly exalt Him, giving Him “the Name which is above every name.” The solemn conclusion of the hymn is the acknowledgement, “Jesus Christ is LORD!,” which proclaims Jesus’ identification with God the Father. The Passions read today are from the Synoptic Gospels, but that does not mean that they don’t have their own particular message to tell. Reading the Passion according to Luke, scripture scholar Reginald Fuller says “Luke…transposes the passion from the key of tragedy to the key of pathos. It is the story of a martyrdom, one who goes out in sympathy to others. In all of the Passion accounts, however, pay attention to the serenity of Jesus’ death in all of the accounts given by the evangelists. This is not just about “what happened,” but is intended (as Fuller says) “to interpret what happened as good news.”
In the Byzantine Churches, this hymn is sung today at Sunday Vespers:
Passing from the feast of palms and branches, O faithful,
To the venerable and saving solemnity of the sufferings of Christ,
Let us behold Him who voluntarily endures His Passion for us,
And in thanksgiving let us sing:
O Fountain of mercy and Harbor of salvation:
O Lord, glory to You! (ML2, “Motet for Passion Sunday,” F. Ferko)
Propers from the Roman Gradual
Hosanna to the Son of David, the King of Israel!
Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!
1. Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes (cf Mt 21:9)
The children of Jerusalem, carrying olive branches,
went out to welcome the Lord, shouting and saying:
Hosanna in the highest!
2. Pueri Hebraeorum, vestimenta (cf. Mt 21:9)
The children of Jerusalem, placing garments in the road,
shouted out, saying: Hosanna to the Son of David:
blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.
3. Hymn, Gloria Laus et Honor BFW, LBCR
4. Responsory at the entrance: Ingrediente
When the Lord entered the holy city,
the Hebrew children proclaimed the resurrection of life
*and, waving palm branches, they shouted:
Hosanna in the highest!
When the people heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
they went out to meet him.
*and, waving palm branches, they shouted:
Hosanna in the highest!
Offertory: Improperium (Ps. 69:21-22) ML2
My heart awaited reproach and misery;
and I hoped for one that would grieve together with me, but there was none;
I looked for one who would comfort me, and found no one.
For food, they gave me gall;
in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
Communion: Pater, si non potest (Mt 26:42) ML2
Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink it,
your will be done.
Propers from the Simple Gradual (all recorded on LBCR)
Procession: BFW 101 (Hosanna to the Son of David . . . ),
BFW 104 (The children of the Hebrews . . . ),
BFW 106 (The Hebrew people . . . ),
BFW 108 (Glory and honor and praise . . . ),
or BFW 109 (Hosanna in the highest . . . )
Response: BFW 93 (Lord, come to me defense)
or BFW 94 (They have oppressed me from my youth)
or tract BFW 96
Gospel acclamation antiphon: BFW 95
or BFW 456 — used as a gospel acclamation antiphon
Offertory: BFW 434 (The just shall praise your name . . . )
or BFW 351 (Let us make here three tabernacles . . . )
Commnion: BFW 99 (Father, if I must drink . . . )