SHENANDOAH - The triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem in the early first century was commemorated by Christians on Palm Sunday, which in some cases included the blessing and distribution of palm fronds and pussy willow branches.
Sunday was the beginning of Holy Week, which marks the events that Christians believe led to Jesus' betrayal by Judas, his death and burial on Good Friday and his resurrection from the grave on Easter Sunday.
Palm Sunday is known also as Passion Sunday or Flowery Sunday.
Traditionally, palm fronds are blessed and distributed in western Christian churches, such as Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal/Anglican, and others. In eastern Christian churches, such as Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic, pussy willow branches are blessed. Branches from olive and other trees are also used around the world.
At 11:30 a.m., the blessing of palm fronds was conducted prior to the Palm Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church, West Washington Street, Shenandoah. Monsignor Ronald C. Bocian, pastor of all Shenandoah and Lost Creek Roman Catholic churches, was the celebrant. Our Lady of Mount Carmel celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, though it is also part of the merger of the Roman Catholic parishes of Shenandoah and Lost Creek, which will be effective on July 28.
Bocian prayed over the palm fronds and then blessed them by sprinkling holy water using an aspergillum.
After reading a portion of the Gospel by St. Matthew, he gave a short homily.
"You don't know how full my heart was with joy when I walked into church this morning," Bocian said. "To see so many people in church so early saying their prayers. I know you came here to say some prayers before Mass and spend more with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, so thank you for that."
Bocian spoke of Jesus' paschal mystery of his passion and resurrection.
"We call today Palm Sunday. Its ancient name is Passion Sunday. We call this coming week "Holy Week.' It's ancient name is 'Week of the Passion,' " he said. "So, the emphasis ought to be on passion. When we think of passion, we think of pain and suffering and anguish. We think of what Jesus suffered with the nailing and scourging and the crowning. It becomes very somber, and it is very hard to really understand what the church teaches when we think of all that. We ought to feel a sense of joy. How can you think a sense of joy?"
Bocian said there is another way to look at the word passion.
"Did you ever hear someone say, 'She has a real passion for this?' Or you hear someone say that a couple has a passionate love in their marriage. The word passion has another meaning that comes from the Greek word 'eros,' which means love. So what is the mystery when talking about the passion, the love, that Jesus has as he goes through Holy Week, from the unjust trial to his death and burial? It is his unbelievable love for us in doing this. You think of it this way. As Jesus allowed himself to be nailed to that cross with arms outstretched, it's like he is saying 'Come to me, all of you. I want to take all your sins from you and offer them with myself to our heavenly Father.' "
Earlier in the morning, the blessing of pussy willow branches occurred following the Divine Liturgy for Flowery Sunday at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, Maizeville. The Rev. Roman Pitula, pastor of St. John and also St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church in Frackville, performed the blessing ceremony with the assistance of Deacon Paul Spotts.
Pitula celebrated the Divine Liturgy, which was preceded by the recitation of the Rosary in Ukrainian. During his homily, Pitula spoke about what when Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem.
"It is easy enough to guess why this Sunday is called 'Palm Sunday,' " Pitula said. "People went out to meet our Lord with palms in their hands. From ancient times, palms were considered a sign of victory. The liturgy even speaks of the palm of victory when it speaks of the saints. Accompanying our Lord in the procession to Jerusalem, the people shouted, '[Blessed is the king of Israel.' People thought Jesus would reign as his predecessor David did from Jerusalem. Jesus will reign from Jerusalem, but not in the way the crowds expected him to reign. Jesus would reign from the cross."
Pitula said palms have been blessed over the centuries for people to take them home as a blessed sacramental and place them behind a crucifix or a holy icon.
"A blessed palm behind a crucifix says that Jesus is victorious from the cross, or that he reigns from the cross," he said. "In Ukraine, there were no palms, so our ancestors substituted willows, just as they did in the United States, because they bloomed so early in the season. Actually, our name for Palm Sunday is Flowery Sunday. It is thought that the people in Jerusalem also spread flowers at Jesus' feet and also spread vestments in his path - the red carpet treatment we can say. Nothing is too good for the king."
A table full of pussy willow branches were on a table to the right side of the iconostasis, or icon wall in the church. The branches are traditionally collected by the parishioners from the local willow trees whose catkins are open.