For an understatement of the year, this Palm Sunday is one for the record books!

While our readings may be familiar, there is nothing familiar about empty churches, an abundance of left over palms, too much fear, anxiety and uncertainty or the self-distancing that is becoming all too commonplace in our modern world.

And yet there are constants—signs of God in both word and deed—in our midst. In fact, we hear one of those familiar signs in the words from our first Gospel today— “The Master has need of them,” when some of the apostles are instructed what to say to those who might deny a need of Christ when they went into the city to collect items for His Passover meal. And today, among all of the uncertainties we hear the Master speak to us that He has need of us…to do something, to finish the job that He began at the first Holy Week and which culminated on Easter Sunday: to grant His peace and love to all.

What are these constants of faith? Well, a constant of faith is that God does not change. He was, He is, and He shall ever be—God, the Creator of the universe and all that is in it; He is the Creator and Redeemer and Sustainer of all things—you, me, and everything in between.

In the midst of uncertainty, Christ is the assurance of salvation and everlasting joy. In the midst of fear due to unemployment, God will provide calm through His grace and His Church, the Mystical Body of Christ—His children, as we see in each newscast acts of heroism as people help one another exemplified surely by the nurses, doctors and EMTS providing medical care in the midst of their own fears; when there is isolation, neighbors and strangers come to help, even at a distance, to bring companionship and support. Christ is in us by faith!

These “constants” are a reminder to us to “keep the faith”—our faith—and to “trust in God.”
Holy Week and Easter have not been cancelled, it will be different this year but Easter is still with us and it is ours. We have choices to make. Just as the first Holy Week was meant to bring Hope to the world, so too it is again this year. Rather than just focusing on what the apostles did or failed to do or why Peter wept while Judas took his life, or even when abandoned on the Cross Jesus chose to pray faithfully to God—we too are called not only to have Hope but to make a choice and bring that hope to others—our families, our neighbors and even strangers on the street (at a safe distance, of course, and we do that in the choices we make today. Will I keep my faith? Will I trust in God? Will I “Be Not Afraid?” The answers to those questions are found in both our knowledge of what God actually asks of us in the Bible and how we bring those “asks” to prayer, especially in this “downtime.”

And while faith is difficult, the rewards of faith give us peace in the midst of uncertainty and
assurance that God is with us always. Will I be “Christ” to another? Go on-line to see how we can all do this.

A blessed, faith-filled Holy Week to us all!