Podcast: Palm Sunday, Year A

Hi and welcome to the Modern Psalmist Podcast. I’m Rebecca De La Torre.

We are approaching the end of the Lenten season this weekend with Palm Sunday and the passion of our Lord. This mass is very unique in that we begin with a celebration, but we end reflecting on the sorrowful passion that Jesus suffered in the crucifixion.

The entrance antiphon, taken from Matthew chapter 21 verse 9, celebrates the Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem when he rode in on a donkey and the people cried out:

Hosanna to the Son of David,
the King of Israel.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

In addition to the Gregorian chant antiphon you just heard, I also composed a metered song based on the entrance antiphon, titled Hosanna that I hope you enjoy.

The psalm for today is from chapter 22 and is attributed to King David. This is one of the most prophetic psalms, because it so accurately describes Jesus’ experience on the cross even though it was written as much as a thousand years before Jesus was incarnated on the Earth. The response is

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

which are the same words Jesus spoke on the cross, moments before he relinquished his Spirit.

The gospel acclamation is taken from St Paul’s letter to the Philippians and describes Jesus’ complete obedience to God and his subsequent exaltation. Taken from chater 2 verses 8 & 9, we read:

Christ became obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.

We are in year A of the liturgical cycle, so the Gospel reading for today (commonly referred to as “the Passion”) is from the book of Matthew. The story is told, beginning with Judas’ negotiation with the chief priests to betray Jesus and continuing all the way to Jesus’ crucifixion.

Because these events are so sacred and profound, I want to just share a few songs, in the order in which they reflect the events from the gospel. The first is the communion antiphon, next is the Stabat Mater, and the last is the Taize prayer “Jesus, Remember Me”

The communion antiphon is taken from Matthew chapter 26, verse 42. These are the words that Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, on the night he was betrayed:

Father, if this chalice cannot pass without my drinking it,
your will be done.

The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, originally in Latin, which portrays her suffering during Jesus’ crucifixion. Stabat Mater is Latin for “the mother was standing”. The version I composed is for the English lyrics by Edward Caswall 1849. Here are the first few verses:

And finally, the thief who was crucified with Jesus, yet revered him, said in Luke chapter 23 verse 42:

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

The Tiaze refrain by Jacque Berthier allows us to meditate on this prayer ourselves.

Thank you for joining me for Palm Sunday on the Modern Psalmist Podcast. Have a blessed Holy Week.