At the beginning of today’s Mass, we were given palm branches, which were blessed and we waved it to commemorate the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem.
But these palm branches are not some kind of door gift or freebie that the church gives out once a year.
In fact they are “loaned” to us because a year later we will collect them back to be burnt and used for ashes on Ash Wednesday.
We bring them back and place it in a prominent place at home or at the workplace or in the car.
It is a sign of our welcoming Jesus into the areas of our lives where we live out our faith.
These sturdy and spiky palm branches remind us to be firm and sturdy in our faith just as Jesus remained sturdy and firm in His Passion because of His love for us.
And those spiky needles of the palm branches reminds us that life has its painful moments and there will be times when like Jesus we will cry out: My God, my God, why have you deserted me.
But God will never desert us. Jesus suffered and died. But He rose from the dead. So let us stay close to Jesus and we too will rise from our pain and sufferings. When we do, then we will wave these spiky palm branches joyfully.