Calendar Class of April 13, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

Happy Palm Sunday! Today we weren't able to attend any of the impressive processions (the one at St. Peter's is one of my favorite liturgies of the year), and so I attempted to "borrow" others' snapshots for the blog but changed my mind in the end. So I chose this one instead, captured on the way home from Mass as Cordelia finished up her mandatory Sunday gelato. She is posing beneath a massive cedar of Lebanon in the Villa Pamphili park, with a "Madre Lupa" drinking fountain in the foreground. We were originally planning on participating in the Maronite liturgy and procession, as this is one of the biggest feast days for children among the Maronites. The kids get new outfits and large candles decorated with flowers and are carried on their father's shoulders in the procession. The inspiration for this is Psalm 8:2, which states, "Out of the mouth of babes and infants you have established strength." The cedar is certainly a symbol of strength and endurance, as is the tough Cookie beneath it. So in the end we did get a Palm Sunday themed Carpe Diem Snapshot, unintentionally.

Liturgical: Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Other Titles: Palm Sunday; Hosanna Sunday; Fig Sunday; Flowery Festival

"So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it is written, "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on an ass's colt (Jn 12:13-15)!"

We commemorate Christ's entry into Jerusalem for the completion of the Paschal Mystery. In Liturgical Calendar preceding Vatican II, the Church celebrated Passion Sunday two Sundays before Easter, and then Palm Sunday was the beginning of Holy Week. The Church has combined the two to reinforce the solemnity of Holy Week.

The Palm Sunday procession is formed of Christians who, in the "fullness of faith," make their own the gesture of the Jews and endow it with its full significance. Following the Jews' example we proclaim Christ as a Victor... Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. But by our faith we know, as they did not, all that His triumph stands for. He is the Messiah, the Son of David and the Son of God. He is the sign of contradiction, acclaimed by some and reviled by others. Sent into this world to wrest us from sin and the power of Satan, He underwent His Passion, the punishment for our sins, but issues forth triumphant from the tomb, the victor over death, making our peace with God and taking us with Him into the kingdom of His Father in heaven."

Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon: The Forgiveness of Sinners

Fr. Plant's Homily Lesson: This Day You Will Be With Me In Paradise

Sanctoral: Pope Saint Martin I, +656

Kidnapped from the Lateran Palace by the imperial guards of Emperor Constans II, carried off to Constantinople, and ultimately banished to Cherson. He is considered a saint by both the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the last pope recognized as a martyr.

Human: Roman history today

• 238 AD – Roman co-emperor Gordian II, died defending Carthage from Capellianus’ legions. His father Gordian I, who ruled with him, committed suicide after his son’s death.

• 467 AD – Proccopius Anthemius was proclaimed Augustus near Rome. He reigned in the West Roman Empire until 472 AD.

Natural: In the previous liturgical calendar (1962) the Fifth Sunday of Lent was Passion Sunday, known as "Carling Sunday" after carling peas in some parts of England and Scotland. Peas porridge would also be an appropriate dish for today.

Italian: Fare la scarpetta (Using bread to soak up sauce)

Quote: “Joyful acclamations at Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, followed by his humiliation. Festive cries followed by brutal torture. This twofold mystery accompanies our entrance into Holy Week each year, as reflected in the two characteristic moments of today’s celebration: the initial procession with palm branches and the solemn reading of the Passion.” – Pope Francis (April 14, 2019)

5 Facts to know about Palm Sunday