PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD'S PASSION: Theme: THE KING WHO ANNOUNCED HIS VICTORY EVEN BEFORE THE BATTLE

READINGS AT MASS  

At the beginning of the Procession:

Mk. 11:1-10

At Mass:

Isaiah 50:4-7

Psalm 22

Phil. 2:6-11

Mk. 14:1-15:47

Dear friends in Christ, N'wokafu YESU KRISTO...

Today is Passion Sunday, also referred to as 'Palm Sunday'. Today, we celebrate the triumphant entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into the Holy City of Jerusalem. All the four Gospels narrate the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. This shows how important the event was for the early Christians. The whole event is full of symbols with deep spiritual meaning to the Jews. 

Symbolism is very important in the faith life of a Christian and the symbolism of this Palm Sunday, and the Holy Week must not be ignored by any true Catholic. The depth and richness of our faith come from these symbols. We have to pay attention to them and try to understand the part they play in our spiritual lives.

In the narrative, we heard that Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem riding on the back of a donkey. In the ancient world and also in the Greco-Roman culture, the king goes to a battle riding a powerful and a high spirited horse. But when he goes to the battle and is victorious, he returns to the city riding on a donkey. This gesture serves as a message to the subjects that their king was victorious and has won victory and peace for his subjects. Thus, Jesus entering the city riding on a donkey was His way of announcing His peaceful victory even before the battle began. 

Beloved, Jesus Christ is the King who announces His victory even before the battle. His manner of entrance and the reception accorded Him signify the victory He brings. His presence alone means victory, salvation and eternal life. No matter how hard or dark the battle might seem, to Him, it is not a competition; it is a done deal. So let us also with our palm branches celebrate His victory even in the face of our personal and individual challenges and battles. 

PRAYER

O God, in the Person of  Jesus Christ triumphantly and victoriously entered Jerusalem, heralding a week of pain and sorrow. We humbly ask You to be with us now as we follow the way of the Cross. In these events of defeat and victory, You have sealed the closeness of death and resurrection, humiliation and exaltation. We thank You for these palm branches that promise to become for us symbols of victory and majesty. Amen. 

May God bless you.

- Fr. Kenneth Debre

Sunday, March 28, 2021.

Holy Rosary Parish, Hohoe.

FIRTH SUNDAY OF LENT: Theme: A TIME TO FALL TO THE GROUND

READINGS AT MASS

Jer. 31:31-34

Psalm 51

Heb 5:7-9

John 12:20-33

Dear friends in Christ, N'wokafu YESU KRISTO...

In today's First Reading, God assures the people of a New Covenant that will replace the old one. A covenant of love and a personal relationship with God. It will also mark the end (death) of the stringent old covenant. Every new beginning requires some form of dying. Death and degeneration is very important for the beginning of greatness. 

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about the long awaited Hour of His Glorification using a simple but profound fact of nature. The seed must fall into the ground and die in the order to grow and bear many fruits. For Jesus, the Hour of His Glorification, like a grain of wheat falling to the ground, will come from His passion and death. His death will mark the end and the destruction of all that is old and unproductive and give way to the new and fruitful in His victorious resurrection. Glory and salvation will come from the annihilation of His body. 

Beloved in Christ, true glory comes from falling unto the ground and dying. This is the beginning of all that is good and fruitful. When we spend our lives for others and sacrifice our existence for a cause that is good, we eventually preserve them (our lives). Even the so-called secular world remembers nothing of the millions of people who passed this way but contribute nothing to the well-being of society. 

Lent is a time to fall unto the ground and die to sin and self in order to rise to a new and a productive beginning to the glory of God. This is the beginning of salvation. It is a time to start anew. Like a grain of wheat, we must learn to fall unto the ground in selfless service to others and die to an old and unproductive way of life; a sinful life. It is only then do we rise to a new, better and a fruitful life in Christ Jesus. 

PRAYER

By your grace, I beseech you, Lord, may I walk eagerly in that same charity with which, out of love for the world, your Son handed Himself over to death on the Cross. Amen.

May God bless you.

-Rev. Fr. Kenneth Debre

Sunday, March 21, 2021.

Holy Rosary Parish, Hohoe

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT: Theme: A TIME TO MISS HOME

READINGS AT MASS

2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23

Psalm 137

Eph. 2:4-10

John 3:14-21

Dear friends in Christ, N'wokafu YESU KRISTO...

Today's Responsorial Psalm is a tearful melancholic song probably sung by a group of devout Jews during the Babylonian captivity. Serving as a link between the First Reading and the Gospel, it brings out clearly the message for this Fourth Sunday of Lent. As a tearful and emotional song, it portrays the character of a sinful Christian who desires to go back home to God; who desires to restore his long lost innocence.

The Jews sat by the rivers of Babylon, the land of their captors and wept. They cried when they remembered Zion. The memory of Zion, the place where they enjoyed true freedom in the presence of God was a beautiful thing to them and the fact that they have destroyed that beautiful gift through their own sinful actions caused them great pain. As long as the beautiful memories remained, they were never to feel comfortable in the strange land of sin. They did not enjoy themselves let alone entertain their captors with the beautiful melodies of their 'divine homeland.' They simply could not forget Jerusalem. 

Beloved in Christ, as sinners, we must learn to remember home fondly from the depth of our sins. The most important thing is not how deep we fall into sin but how profound the nostalgia and the desire to go back home to the presence of God is. Every now and then, we find ourselves in the strange and foreign land of sin. That is only our human nature but we must never forget who we are and where we are coming from. We cannot settle down and feel comfortable in our state of sin. Babylon, a sinful land of captivity, is not a place to stay forever.

A good Christian is the one who does not allow the fresh and beautiful waters of a foreign country to refresh him. Rather, he fill his eyes with tears. We must miss home: the state of holiness. 

The Season of Lent gives us the opportunity to also sit by the rivers of our "Babylons" (our sinful states) and recall with tearful nostalgia the holiness, beauty and solemnity that we used to have and could have had in the presence of God had our sins not sent us so far into foreign lands. This Deep feeling of nostalgia is a good thing for our faith. It is a feeling that will not permit us to feel comfortable in a foreign land until we repent and return (to God). 

The land of sin, like the land of Babylon, has so many things  to offer but these cannot satisfy a Christian's heart so long as he keeps the beautiful memories of his solemn Homeland. May we never forget our 'Jerusalem'. May our desire to return to the presence of God be ever stronger during this season of grace.

PRAYER

Lord, you have given us this season of grace and reconciliation. Pondering upon the beauty of life in your presence, may I hasten to return home to you. Amen.

May God bless you.

-Rev. Fr. Kenneth Debre

Sunday, March 14, 2021.

Holy Rosary Parish, Hohoe.

LENT: A TIME TO MAKE A WHIP

READINGS AT MASS

Exodus 20:1-17

Psalm 19

1 Cor. 1:22-25

John 2:13-25

Theme: LENT: A TIME TO MAKE A WHIP

Dear friends in Christ, N'wokafu YESU KRISTO...

On this Third Sunday of Lent, we read the text about the cleansing of the Temple as presented by John the the Evangelist. Unlike the other evangelists, John placed this episode at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. For Matthew, Mark and Luke, this was the last straw that broke the Camel's back but for John it was a necessary first step to pave the way.

Looking at the text carefully, there appeared to be a state of affairs that 'prevented' Jesus from entering the Temple; the activities of the traders. These deprived the Temple of its holy and serene atmosphere. This unacceptable condition in which the Temple environment was found was repulsive to Jesus Christ and He immediately set out to do something about it. Quite surprisingly, He took a rather violent and dramatic approach; the whip. He made a whip out of cords and drove the traders out with their merchandise. Thus, restoring the temple environment to its original purity.

Beloved, Lent is an opportune time to clean and restore our lives to their original purity. From the action of Jesus Christ in today's Gospel, we realize that the fight against sin and sinful conditions is sometimes not a smooth and a comfortable one. This is a hard truth we must come to accept during this season. The process of restoration sometimes demands a radical approach. Sin and sinful conditions are not always something you just reject with word of mouth. Sometimes it is a dangerously comfortable state of life that needs to be whipped out with cords.

We are sometimes guilty of being too gentle with our sinful states of life. We try to gently sweet-talk them out of our lives. Unfortunately, the noisy, corrupt and chaotic state of these situations, like that of the Temple environment in today's Gospel, continue to render our gentle approach ineffective. For an effective restorative season, a whip must be made against some conditions and lifestyles.

Like Jesus, we also have to make the effort to clean the Temple environment of our souls for Jesus Christ to have access and feel comfortable within our hearts. We must identify and clean the conditions that are unpleasant and repulsive to our walk with Jesus and the grace of God within us.

PRAYER

Father, you have taught us to overcome our sins with prayer, fasting and charity. Grant me the grace to fight the deep rooted sins in me with these pillars. Amen.

May God bless you.

- Rev. Fr. Kenneth Debre

Sunday, March 7, 2021.

Holy Rosary Parish, Hohoe