Fast Before the Feast

As we begin this Holiest of Weeks with Palm Sunday, it seems as good a time as any to reflect on how we receive Jesus in these coming days. Today, we celebrate our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, as He is hailed by the people. They welcome Christ into their city with cries, waving palms before Him, and throwing their cloaks and blankets on the ground before His feet. In this, there is a recognition that a great prophet has come into their midst. Surely, they hope to see some signs and wonders. They long to see the miracles that this man from Nazareth will perform for their eyes, they seek surface level theatrics. How quickly their cries of ‘Hosannah! Hosannah to the son of David!’ will turn to cries for crucifixion and death. 

If we have the correct spiritual eyes, we should certainly see ourselves in the people of Jerusalem. We hail Jesus as King, for this is why [He] was born and for this [He] came into the world, to testify to the truth of who He is, and yet we continue to fall into vice and sin. In his meditation on the First Station of the Cross, St. Alphonsus Liguori owns this spiritual truth when he says, “My adorable Jesus, it was not Pilate; no, it was my sins that condemned You to die.” I think this is part of what Lent is meant to show and teach us. Now, this isn’t meant to make us all feel depressed, self-deprecating, or guilty. However, we shouldn’t discount the spiritual benefits of meditating on this truth. What this is meant to show us is how profoundly, how totally, and how self-sacrificing Jesus loves us. Christ knew what His earthly life was leading towards. He knew that His hour ended on Calvary. The amazing thing about this is that Jesus knows all of this and He doesn’t turn away. Fulton Sheen often said that Jesus ran to the Cross as one who was drunk with love, and that He would go to the Cross not as a martyr, but as a Victor. 

And so, how do we enter into this last week of Lent knowing that it is our sins that yell out for condemnation and crucifixion? The answer lies in imitating what Christ does; we must also run towards the Cross drunk with love. We must walk with Christ on the way of His Passion. Like St. John, we must find our place at the foot of the Cross with the Blessed Virgin. Let us make up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ by uniting our sufferings to His sufferings. Let us place our pains, hurts, and wounds on the altar of the Cross. Imagine the joy of Easter that awaits us if we fully enter into this holiest of weeks by walking, step by step, with Christ on His road to Calvary. Let us bury our doubts and sufferings with Him in the tomb. And let us be there with St. Mary Magdalene on Easter morning, who finds the empty tomb, and goes forth to share the Gospel with those around her! We must get through the fast to enjoy the Feast. There is no Resurrection without the Crucifixion; there is no joy of Easter Sunday without the sorrow of Good Friday.

~Grant O-Neil, Director of Lifelong Discipleship & Outreach