Palm Sunday

 Holy Week, the most solemn and intense period of worship in the Christian faith, begins with Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion (the full name), the Sunday before Easter. In spite of the spiritual gravity of Holy Week, it begins with joy.  The Church celebrates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the Church begins her commemorative pilgrimage with her Lord on His way to Calvary.

"(Jesus) comes to all cultures and to all parts of the world, everywhere, to the miserable huts and poor peoples, as well as to the splendor of cathedrals.  Everywhere, He is the same, the Only One, and in this way, all those gathered in prayer, in communion with Him, are also united among themselves in one body....

The people cried out before Jesus, in whom they saw He who comes in the name of the Lord.  In fact, the expression: 'He who comes in the name of the Lord,' had become the way to designate the Messiah.  In Jesus they recognize Him who truly  comes in the name of the Lord and brings God's presence among them.  This cry of hope of Israel, this acclamation to Jesus during His entry into Jerusalem, has with reason become in the Church the acclamation of Him, in the Eucharist, who always comes among us in the name of the Lord, uniting the ends of the earth in the peace of God. ...Christ reigns by becoming our bread and giving Himself to us.  This is the way in which He builds His kingdom."

Pope Benedict XVI, Palm Sunday Mass

2006 homily, 21st World Youth Day