Palm Sunday

The gateway to the Passion, Palm Sunday begins triumphantly with the crowd acclaiming Jesus as King and strewing palm branches before him. We received our palms today blessed with the beautiful blessings of the Church. As with other sacramentals, the blessed palms can dispose us to receive grace and by the power of Christ exercised through the Church they can be the instruments of God's protection, as is reflected in the traditional Collect at the end of the procession:
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"O Lord Jesus Christ, our King and Redeemer, in Whose honor we have borne these palms and gone on praising Thee with song and solemnity: mercifully grant that where ever these palms are taken, there the grace of Thy blessing may descend, and may every wickedness and trickery of the demons be frustrated; and may Thy right hand protect those it hath redeemed....Amen."

​The welcome rain prevented us from having a procession outside the Cathedral, but we received our palms chanting, "Hosanna Filio David!" and singing the beautiful Gloria Laus:

"Glory, praise, and honor to Thee,
O King Christ, the Redeemer:
To Whom children poured their glad and sweet hosanna's song...
On Thy way to die,
They crowned Thee with praise;
We raise our song to Thee, now King on high..."

For more pictures, see the gallery.

Father Keyes blessing the palms