CDM Penang Youth Animates the Passion of Our Lord

There was a hush followed by complete silence among the congregation when they heard the slash of a whip and a loud harsh shout from the entrance of the church.

May 02, 2014

By Dr. Ivan Filmer
There was a hush followed by complete silence among the congregation when they heard the slash of a whip and a loud harsh shout from the entrance of the church. They turned to see three youth enacting the journey of Jesus carrying the cross up to Calvary. Two of them were dressed as Roman soldiers snapping their whips which resounded loudly when they struck the ground. They shoved and shouted at the blood stained ‘Jesus’ carrying his cross. He hobbled along and fell as he made his way up to the altar. At the altar he was fastened to the cross and it was raised up for all to see. This was the scene enacted during the reading of the Passion of Our Lord on Palm Sunday at CDM.

The celebration for Palm Sunday began at the church basement with the blessing of palms followed by a procession around the church. This Sunday was particularly significant as it was the 30th Anniversary of the inauguration of the Cross given by Pope John Paul II to the world youth to bring the light of Christ to others. To celebrate this anniversary Fr. Martin Arlando invited all the youth present to come up to the altar.

In his homily, Fr. Martin Arlando remarked that Jesus must have been quite a cowboy. He must have had wonderful hands to be able to sit on a colt, sooth and guide it while all the people around him were shouting, “Hosanna!” and waving long branches of palms. Some were even throwing down their garments in his path. We all know that Jesus really has powerful hands as he used them to heal, comfort and perform miracles. Fr said that Jesus uses his hands not to oppress but opens them to allow us to choose. He did not regard his equality with God to exploit and control others but to reach out in love to save us. Through baptism we have been given the same privilege of the wonderful hands of Jesus. He related a story where a successful young person attended an interview for a high position but did not know what was the state of his mother’s hands. When he was sent back to wash his mother’s hands he came to realize the sacrifices his mother had undergone to put him to where he was. Similarly, we are reminded of the sacrifices of Jesus from the five wounds on his body. Fr Martin then invited the youth present to go home and wash their mothers’ hands and to examine the scars and condition of the hands that took pains to raise them. He asked them to appreciate the effort it took to raise them. Just like Jesus, he also asked the congregation to empty themselves to love others as Jesus loves us and to be a light for others according to the Father’s will.