On Sunday, April first, Mgr. Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over the blessing of the palms and Mass with the reading of the Passion at the Holy Sepulcher. In spite of the early hour, 7:00 am, the church was full.
It should be mentioned that this year all Christian denominations celebrate Easter on the same date. The status quo is even more useful in this case, regulating schedules and crowd movements.
The Latin Catholic ceremony began in front of the aedicule. Mgr. Sabbah blessed the palms that he then handed to each of the some 150 priests, seminarians and Franciscans present, as well as to the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher. Because it was necessary to make way for the Greek Orthodox this year, not everyone was able to receive their palms from his hands, but the entire assembly was able to make the three circuits of the Holy Tomb in procession.
During the procession, in which song and silence alternated, each person waved his palm, making a rustling sound that was heard even as the hymns of the other denominations rose up to the Lord.
The ceremony continued at the altar dedicated to the apparition of the Risen Christ to Mary Magdalene, where Mass is celebrated on every Sunday of Lent. The Palm Sunday liturgy offers Christian a reading of the Gospel of the Passion. This year, then, the Franciscans sang the Gospel of Saint Luke.
The ceremony lasted almost three hours. For the faithful, that meant three hours of standing on their feet. But the joy on their faces at the conclusion of the Mass bore witness to the intensity of their experience.
Some people were disoriented by the sound of the hymns of other denominations or by sensing the comings and goings of pilgrims inside the basilica. Others, however, experienced this as an extra grace, the grace that comes with common, truly universal prayer.
In the afternoon, the assembly joined thousands of other Christians to relive Jesus’ messianic entry into Jerusalem in the procession from Bethpage to Saint Anne’s Basilica.
With all the Christians of the world, the Church of Jerusalem has entered Holy Week.
MAB