Bishop Solis’s Holy Week Message

Friday, Mar. 22, 2024

Greetings of Christ’s peace and love! 

On Palm Sunday, the Church commemorates the triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem, where the crowds lined up on the street to welcome Jesus as he rode in on a colt. Waving cut palm branches, they shouted, “Hosannah to the King! Hosannah to the Son of David!”

The event signaled the beginning of the Passion of Christ, through which he fulfilled his mission as the Suffering Servant who redeemed the world through his death and Resurrection. 

In the coming days, between Palm Sunday and Easter, we will celebrate the Paschal Mystery of Christ – his Passion, death and Resurrection for our salvation. The Church invites us to focus our attention on and unite our hearts with Christ’s selfless and sacrificial offering so that we understand the costly price he paid for the forgiveness of our sins and God’s gift of newness of life. 

I encourage you to attend all the Holy Week services and reflect on the sublime sacrifice of Christ and God’s infinite love for us. Jesus came for us sinners not to condemn but to save, that through his death and Resurrection we will have eternal life. So, let us gather in prayer as a faith community to recognize with thanksgiving God’s greatest gift that he has given us. 

In his Angelus address for the fifth Sunday of Lent this year, Pope Francis reminded us that “on the Cross, we see the glory of Jesus and of the Father,” and this glory “does not correspond to human success, fame or popularity” but rather is “about loving to the point of giving one’s life.” 

The Holy Father continued, saying that this happened in a definitive way on the Cross, “where Jesus unfolded God’s love to the fullest, fully revealing the face of mercy, giving life, and forgiving those who crucified him.”

During the past couple of months, we have joined in solidarity with our brothers and sisters from various parishes and missions of our diocese on their spiritual journey of conversion in preparation under the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, as well as with all those who are on their journey of continuing conversion. Please welcome them at the Easter Vigil services when they receive the Sacraments of Initiation and by the grace of God become full members of our Catholic Church, the Body of Christ.

Let us continue to walk together on our path of renewal, conversion of heart and reconciliation with God during these last days of Lent, and open our hearts to the outpouring of his blessings as we celebrate his gifts of joy and peace that the resurrection of Christ on Easter brings.  

Have a grace-filled Holy Week!