St Anthony’s parish celebrates Palm Sunday

Apr 26, 2017

By Patrick Gerard Au
St Anthony’s Church celebrated Palm Sunday and the 32nd World Youth Day with the theme The Mighty One has done great things for me with five Masses: the English-Mandarin Mass on April 8, two Masses in Tamil and B.Indonesia in the morning and two more Masses in the evening at Changkat Menteri and Coldstream (both by the Indonesian BEC’s) on April 9.

The ceremony began with the blessing of palms and solemn procession into the church signifying Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

In the homily, the priest spoke about the significance of the number ‘3’ depicted in Matthew’s Passion account on how Jesus was unjustly accused, judged and condemned by the people and how he was betrayed, denied and abandoned by the very person who was close to him. The number ‘3’ in ancient times was considered a perfect number symbolising completion. In Matthew’s Passion account this year, “threes” abound as Jesus completes His earthly ministry. The “threes” are the life of Jesus, his death and resurrection which are similar to the threefold pattern of our own lives:

1) We must hear His Good News and live it.
2) We must die to self to give others the goodness, hope and healing He has given to us.
3) We must open ourselves to the New Life He offers us. The Passion Gospel is not just about the past, but also the present and the future.

Before the youths and young adults (ages between 13 - 45) renewed and pledged their commitment, they were called to follow the example of Mary who said ‘yes’ to become the mother of God. When Mary proclaimed the Magnificat she experienced ‘great things’ that happened to her. Young men and women were told to experience the ‘great things’ in their lives like Mary. When we trust God, we are given ‘Great Things.’