What is the Significance of Palm Sunday?

“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mark, 11:9)

Before it was known as Palm Sunday, these cries were heard among the crowds of people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. As Jesus traveled the 3km from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, He was recognized by many - perhaps they had been mountainside with him as he preached or partaken in the fish he multiplied before them. They could have heard about the miracles He performed and very likely would have known by this time that He raised Lazarus from the dead. His disciples may have also recognized the messianic moment of his arrival on a donkey, as it fulfilled the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9. They lined his path in droves, laying cloaks and palms on the ground before Him. They gave a royal welcome to their King: “Hosanna in the highest!” (Mark 11:10)

These words proclaimed by His disciples were not spontaneous crowd cheers. They were deeply ingrained in the tradition of the Jewish people, who had been reciting them as part of the Hallel (Hebrew for “Praise”) prayer during certain occasions or festivals - including, as many scholars believe, as a liturgy for entrance into the temple in Jerusalem. The Hallel directly quotes Psalm 113-118, and there we find it: “Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festival procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.” (Psalm 118:25-27)

The Hebrew for “Save us, we beseech you!” is 'Hoshi'ah Na’ - or ‘Hosanna’. The Jews were pleading with the Lord through the praying of this Psalm, but it took on a different tone on Palm Sunday. From the deep longing and need of an unseen Messiah to the excited certainty that He walked among them, “Hosanna!” became a cry of praise, of acknowledgment that Jesus was the one who would save them.

As Catholics, these same words are embedded in our celebration of the Eucharist each time we have Mass. During the Sanctus, we proclaim: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Just as that proclamation ushered Jesus into Jerusalem and toward His Passion, it ushers Him into the sacrifice of the Mass.

Just as Psalm 118 continues with “Bind the festival procession with branches,” the disciples who gathered when Jesus rode into Jerusalem laid branches on the road before him. This journey was set aside. It was claimed not as an ordinary journey but as a festival procession. He was their King, and all the previous Messianic prophecies gave them hope, if not certainty, that He was arriving to claim His throne.

But they did not yet have clarity that His throne was in heaven, not on earth.

And when they did, would that be enough?

Would they be able to endure the humility of the one to whom they called “Hosanna!” when He was falling for the third time under the burden of the cross?

Would they be ready to follow the new law Jesus established, to “…love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength…[and] love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31), after they had just witnessed their neighbors put Him to death?

Would we?

Or do we only shout “Hosanna” when the crowds are gathered, when we are holding our branches on Palm Sunday, or singing the Sanctus with the congregation? Do we allow it to leave our lips when we’re awed by a sunrise or recovering from an illness? Do we remember to speak it during darker days or when saying a final goodbye? Do we whisper it to a friend who is certain they’re alone in the world, or chant it to our children when they are celebrating or scared? Do we speak and think in a way that is even worthy of existing alongside that declaration, the “Hosanna!” heart song that is, without end, acclaimed?

On Palm Sunday, we read the Passion in its entirety and actively participate as members of the crowd. First, as those who made ready His way with palms, and eventually, as the ones calling for His crucifixion. While historically there was no total overlap between these two groups, we read the parts under the weight of knowing that we are both. We praise Him even as our sins nail Him to the cross. And it is from there, where the world sees Him as weak, that He saves.

“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Mark 11:9-10)