Don Bosco Philippines South Province

Homily on Passion Sunday; 29 March 2026, SJBP Cotcot, Liloan

Almost forty days ago, we came together to have ashes blessed and marked on our foreheads in order to begin the season of Lent. Today we have come together to have palms leaves and branches blessed to mark the beginning of the Holy Week.

Every year we come to church on this special day called Palm Sunday. And we make sure that we come bringing palm branches to have them blessed. So, where are your palms? Could you let me see the palm leaves or branches you have brought today? Could you please lift them up higher? There you are.

Just keep holding your palm leaves or branches. Do you know why you have those palms in your hands? The palm leaf is a meaningful symbol, an external sign that you are accepting Christ and worshipping him as your Lord, your Savior and your God. It is therefore very important that once a year on this day we come to church holding palm branches in our hands. (You may now put your palm branches down.) Those who did not bring one should learn their lesson today.

At this point, however, I would like to let you know that there is something more important than simply holding and waving those palm branches in your hands. It is holding and carrying the cross of Jesus. It is enthroning Him in our hearts as our Lord, our God and our King.

To come to church and have these palms blessed only to be used as anting-anting against bad spirits is wrong. It is called superstition. These palms are not amulets to ward off bad spirits. These are not lucky charms to attract good fortune. These palms which we have blessed are signs of our firm faith in Jesus. They are symbols of our total and unwavering trust in him. Therefore, these palms we have blessed have no power unless we believe and proclaim that Jesus is our Lord. They cannot do anything good unless we make a good confession this week and receive him devoutly in Holy Communion.

And so, in our liturgy today, the blessing of the palms is important, but it is not the most important part of today’s Mass. What we highlight today as most important is the reading and proclamation of the Passion and Death of Christ, our Lord, as ultimate proof of his unending love.

Early this morning as I was preparing this homily I first read the entire passion narrative according to St Matthew slowly and reflectively for myself. And you know what, I suddenly found myself almost teary eyed. While reading the text, I was made to imagine how much Jesus actually suffered for our sake – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

I imagined the emotional suffering he had to endure: the betrayal by Judas Iscariot, the denial by Peter not once but three times, the abandonment by the rest of his disciples.

Then I also imagined his mental and psychological anguish: the sudden arrest by a large crowd of people with swords and clubs, the public trial before Pilate, the accusation by the religious authorities, the condemnation by the Jews who experienced his miraculous deeds, the shocking release of Barabbas, his being stripped naked on Mt Calvary, the mockery by the crowd, the sight of the two criminals crucified with him on his left and on his right, and the tears of his sorrowful mother beneath the cross.

Next I also imagined the terrible pains on his body: the sweat of blood while he prayed in Gethsemane, every scourging that inflicted wounds on his body, the piercing crown of thorns on his head, the pain on his shoulders under the weight of the cross, the bruises on his knees and elbows every time he fell on the ground unable to carry the cross, the nails on his hands and feet, his difficult breathing while agonizing on the cross, the scorching heat of the noonday sun, the eye bags for lack of sleep, the pangs of hunger and unquenchable thirst, and finally the sharp spear that pierced his most sacred heart.

And the worst of all these, I imagined his spiritual suffering: the thought and the feeling that even God the Father, whom he had served with all his heart, had abandoned him. “Eli, Eli lema sabachthani?” My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And yet, in spitte of all these unbearable suffering and excruciating pain, Jesus did not give up. He did not surrender. He suffered all these until his last breath and up to the last drop of his precious blood. Why? The only reason and the greatest reason is a four letter word – LOVE. He truly loves you. He truly loves us, even if we have done nothing worthwhile in this world but sin. He genuinely loves us, even if we have not really loved but have only hated and fought against each other. He loved us until the end, even if we have not worship the Father but only worshipped ourselves. He loves you and me infinitely and unconditionally and had sealed that love on the cross. Are we then to remain indifferent?

Just try to reflect on this saying in Spanish “Amor con amor se paga.” LOVE can only be repaid by LOVE.

Dearly beloved brothers and sisters, the Passion of the Lord has begun. As we enter “Jerusalem” waving our palm leaves and palm branches we are invited to enter more deeply into the heart of Jesus burning with a passionate love for us… This week, let us plunge ourselves not so much in white sand beaches and swimming pools but in the vast ocean of God’s love, mercy and compassion. GiGsss

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