Mostly short videos about the fundamentals of Catholic Manhood from Frank J Casella, Catholic Men Chicago Southland Co-founder & Executive Director -  'Living the Goodness of a Catholic Man'. https://cmcsmen.net 

Lent: April 13, 2025

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Topic: Our Salvation Depends on Following Him.

Hey there, let's talk about Palm Sunday. So, when we're at church on Palm Sunday, we're not just remembering something that happened a long time ago. We're actually experiencing it with Christ right now. How's that possible? Well, Christ is present in three ways: in the cross that leads the procession, in the priest who's representing Him, and in all of us as a community gathered together.

The procession is also a look to the future. Christ went from this world to heaven, which is like a new Jerusalem. Our church is like the old Jerusalem, so when we enter it, we're actually thinking about the day when we'll enter heaven with Christ as our King. It's like a rehearsal for our final journey on the Last Day.

Let's take a step back and think about why Christ went to Jerusalem in the first place. He didn't go to get crowned as King - that's not what it's about. He went to suffer and die for us, and then He rose from the dead. Our salvation depends on following Him, and that means we have to die with Him if we want to rise with Him.

When we're at Mass, we ask God to help us learn from Christ's endurance so we can have fellowship in His resurrection. That's a pretty powerful prayer, and we should definitely add our Amen to it.

After the procession, we take our palms home and put them behind our crucifix. It's a good idea to have palms in all the places where we spend our time, like the living room, kitchen, and bedrooms. Why? Because the priest says a prayer that asks God to bless those places and protect us from evil. The palms aren't magic or anything - they're just a visible sign of the Church's powerful prayer.

So, if we have faith in the Church, we should have faith in her prayers and use her power to make us holy and safe.

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Gospel - Luke 23:1-49

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041325.cfm