[00:00] Mother, brothers, sisters in Christ, today we begin with joy. We see Jesus entering Jerusalem, welcomed as King. Just as foretold by the prophet Zechariah, the people are full of hope, waving palms and crying out, "Hosanna, the Son of David." It is beautiful, it is wonderful, it is powerful, but it does not last, because in just a few

[00:36] days those same voices will cry out, "Crucify Him." And this is where the message becomes painful and real, because this is not only their story 2,000 years ago, it is also our story. How often do we welcome Jesus when everything is going well, but slowly turn away when the

[01:09] cross appears? How often do we love Jesus when it is easy, but become distant when it is difficult? My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus did not change, His love did not change, it is the human heart that changes, it is our heart that changes. Today as we listen to the Passion, we encounter the suffering servant spoken of by Isaiah, silent,

[01:40] faithful and obedient, even in suffering. And we heard from Paul, the apostle, that Christ humbled Himself, emptied Himself and became obedient, even to death on the cross. And why? Because He loves you, He loves me, He loves us, not in a general way, but personally.

[02:10] And yet we struggle to remain, we begin "Hosanna," but when sacrifice comes, when forgiveness is difficult, when obedience becomes heavy, we step back. That is why today is not just a celebration, it is a question, will you stay with Him? Will you stay when others walk away? Will you stay when faith becomes a sacrifice? Will you stay at the foot of the cross?

[02:42] Because it is there, at the cross that love is proven. The gospel we have heard today brings us back, brings us to the very heart of Christ's mission. It is not simply a story, it is the fulfillment of why He was sent by the Father into the world in His great paschal mystery. We see the meaning of His life, to love, to suffer, and to save.

[03:13] And within this paschal narrative, we can see three painful realities, betrayal, abandonment, and death. First betrayal, Judas betrayed Jesus, Peter denies Him, one sells Him, another abandons him in fear, even those who were closest to Him failed Him. Second, abandonment, many who followed Him left Him, He stood alone, and from the cross

[03:48] He cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Revealing the depth of His suffering, entering even into the silence that we sometimes feel in our own lives. The third, death, Jesus is condemned, crucified, and dies, but His death is not defeat, it is fulfillment, it is the highest expression of God's love, it is the moment when salvation

[04:19] is accomplished. By resisting Christ, the stories of betrayal, abandonment, and death are also our own stories. On the one hand, we have experienced this in our relationship with others, often we are victims of betrayal, abandonment, and death, but on some occasions, we were also the victimizers to others. We can hear stories of wives betrayed by husbands, and husbands betrayed by their wives, infidelities

[04:57] seem to be rampant these days. It is unfortunate that immigration has contributed to this occurrence. We can also hear the story of people betrayed and abandoned by their siblings. We can also hear the story of friends being betrayed and killed by their friends. Just as stories of betrayal, abandonment, and death are real stories, these are stories

[05:30] that some people would either love or hate to talk about. These are stories which are in need of a process of forgiveness, the kind of forgiveness that Jesus gave to His tormentors. On the other hand, these stories are also true in our relationship with God. Modernism, secularism, consumerism, atheism, all these contribute to the betrayal, abandonment,

[06:07] and death of God in our midst. How have we betrayed Him? Believing in Him and yet doing non-Christian practices is a betrayal. Professing the faith but not living it is our betrayal. The absence of the sense of sin is a betrayal to God who always asks us to repent and undergo conversion.

[06:39] Have we abandoned God? Yes, we have abandoned Him. Secularism is an obvious form of abandonment of God. If we no longer see the meaning of the importance of Sunday worship, it is an index of abandonment of God. We have also killed God. People who experience a certain power brought about by their own resources would say that

[07:14] they no longer need God in their lives. They say that they can live all by themselves. Thus God is killed by them and it is shouted. Holy Week is not merely a break from work or school. We are reminded not to treat it as an opportunity for leisurely vacations. Too often there is a tendency to think Holy Week is a long weekend, especially for us

[07:48] in the Philippines and other Christian countries. They consider it a long weekend and they follow their model celebrities, not Jesus Christ, made for family outings, beach trips, shopping, and dining. In this way, it is increasingly treated as a secular vacation rather than a sacred time for reflection.

[08:18] We should avoid reducing Holy Week to just another holiday. Many people fill this day with trouble, worldly distractions, or leisure activities, forgetting their deeper meaning. Instead, Holy Week is a spiritual journey that we are called to walk, as sacred times marked by reverence, reflection, and our desire to return to God, especially the sacrament

[08:52] of reconciliation, adoration. It is a holy season set apart by the Church for prayer, adoration, praying rosary, chaplet of precious blood, chaplet of divine mercy, and other devotions, and remembrance of the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. From Palm Sunday today to Easter Sunday, the Church invites us into a deeper encounter with God, one that calls for silence, repentance, and gratitude for the ultimate sacrifice made

[09:33] for our salvation. These are not ordinary days. These are holy days meant to draw us closer to the Lord. But this is in Christ, the Holy Week, is a moment of grace for us. It is a moment of reflection upon the great love of God for us through His suffering and death on the cross.

[10:05] Love is a two-way relationship. God expects us to respond to this love. But if our response is one of betrayal, abandonment, and killing God, then we ask for His forgiveness and mercy. And we are not alone in this journey. We have before us the example of the Blessed Mother, Mother of Sorrows, who does not appear in the crowd shouting, who does not seek attention, but who remains faithful, follows her Son

[10:43] all the way to Calvary. She stands at the foot of the cross. She does not run away. She does not turn back. She remains, and perhaps that is the grace we should ask for today. Not great words, not great emotion, but the grace to remain, the grace to be faithful, the grace to walk with Christ through this Holy Week, not as spectators, but as disciples.

[11:21] So we hold our palms today. Let them not be just a sign of the past event, but a sign of the present decision, a decision to welcome Christ not only in our celebration, but in our lives, a decision to follow Him not only when it is easy, but also when it is difficult, a decision to love Him not only with our own words, but with our whole being, because the One who entered Jerusalem today

[11:57] is not only the King of the city, He is the King of our hearts, and He comes not to take something from us, but to give everything for us. May we have the courage to receive Him, the humility to follow Him, and the fidelity to remain with Him all the way to the cross and beyond to the joy of the resurrection. First with Jesus and Mary, now and forever.