April 5

Having worked in Catholic parishes all but three years of my professional career, I have to let you in on a secret—it astonishes every parish staff I’ve been on that it doesn’t matter what you give out, parishioners will flock to the Church.

Your honor, may I present Exhibit A? At most Catholic parishes, the attendance on Ash Wednesday for exceeds the attendance on most Holy Days of Obligation. Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation, but you do get ashes smeared across your forehead!

I fully understand there are several wonderful reasons for the Ash Wednesday influx. It is a great way to deeply participate in Lent. It is an opportunity to show the world you are Catholic. Humans have always gravitated toward traditions and ceremony. The list goes on. It is a great thing to attend Ash Wednesday Mass and I would never discourage it, but attendance at Holy Days should be just as high or greater!

Exhibit B would be Palm Sunday. You get palms! People love getting palms! Actually, some of you focus more on your palm origami than participating in the actual Mass you are attending and that isn’t a good thing. Simple bread and unremarkable wine is turning into the Body and Blood of your savior—and you are missing it because you enjoy arts and crafts a bit too much. I’m not saying you shouldn’t make a cross out of your palm if you’d like, but it can probably wait until after the source and summit of our faith has concluded.

This Palm Sunday, whether or not we have figured out a way to get palms to you, we should all remember what the people in today’s First Reading did shortly after using those palms to show Jesus honor. I’ll help. It wasn’t long before they called for him to be crucified.

We certainly don’t want to be like those people.

We don’t want to be people who come to Mass and praise Him, only to crucify Him with our words of gossip, dirty jokes, judgement, or cursing over the next six days. And we don’t want to glorify Him with our actions for an hour on Sunday, only to betray Him with our actions the rest of the week.

The next time we hold a palm, let it be a reminder of who God is calling us to be.

Questions? Comments? Email David at dlins@oloj.org.