On Palm Sunday, the faithful can meditate upon Psalm 118. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, became the stone rejected by the builders. The stone which was rejected became the Cornerstone of salvation, which opened to us the gate of righteousness. As the pilgrims who sang at the threshold of the Temple, we stand before Our God, remembering Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Gaza, which are the holy places where Our God walked as flesh. Our Lord and Savior entered Jerusalem in humility, hailed with palm branches, but soon was cast aside. He was betrayed, abandoned, and crucified as a criminal. What the world discarded, God the Father raised in glory. Death was turned into life by His Holy Resurrection. Remember, Our God, the Christians of the Holy Land — in ecumenical union — who walk on these sacred streets amid division, occupation, and sorrow. When they are overlooked and dismissed, reveal to them Your love. “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” May Our Lord grant us a joy that does not deny suffering, but refuses to lose hope in the face of despair. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ’s empty tomb, is a reminder that Death does not have the last word. May Your Church proclaim on Holy Easter from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth that Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is risen from the dead!

Psalm 118: 1-2; 19-29