It will be Palm Sunday tomorrow.
Our Catholic tradition of bringing palms to church and waving them to re-enact the triumphant entry of Jesus to Jerusalem will be done again in our churches.
The priests will be vested in bright red. People will sing "Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna to the King of Israel." Palm Sunday will be a day of pomp, color and majesty!
The fresh palm leaves and branches can very well symbolize our great hopes and dreams. We all have a right to dream dreams and create visions. It is our capacity to dream and that gives us the spiritual energy to hope and to look forward. This capacity to hope gives us drive to carry on no matter what happens.
Soon enough, the palm leaves and branches of pomp and majesty will dry up, turn brittle, and change their color. From the fresh green color of hope, the palms turn to earth brown. How quickly do we see our hopes dry up! How quickly our hopes fall!
When we feel that our hopes have been shattered and our capacity to dream dreams devastated, then it is time to remember that God, not us, make our dreams come true!
Many of us have not yet even begun to take positive steps to realize our dreams and we already suffer from paralyzing hurts and brokenness. Sometimes, we can succumb to self-pity; at other times, it is the malice of those around us that stand along the way of our hopes.
Although we cannot reverse the turning of the palm branches from fresh green to dry brown, we must not forget that for those who TRUST in God, even the driest of palms can turn to fresh again! Everything is possible and nothing is impossible for those
who trust in God!
We must keep on hoping no matter how unfair life may seem to be. We must keep on hoping no matter how rotten we may feel ourselves to be.
God has not given up on us. We must, and should not give up on ourselves, no matter what the pain and the cost.
Next year, the dried and brittle brown palm braches will be burned and the ashes will be used to remind us of the Ash Wednesday message: "Repent and believe the Gospel."
Our dried and broken dreams can still be put to good use. When we lift up our unfulfilled hopes to God like smoke rising up to HIM, He will turn them to ashes, not to be useless, but to remind others to change heart. The leftover ashes will be mixed with the soil in the garden to fertilize our plants and nourish other lives.
Our hopes may be dead already. Even then, let us allow the fire of God's love to turn them to humbling ashes: to nourish; to give life, and to make others live a new and fresh lives.
Have a wonderful celebration of the great Palm Sunday to all of you!...
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