Holy Week begins Sunday with Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem shortly before his death.
“This is a moment for us to really reflect on the mystery of our redemption — the mystery of God’s love for us,” said Archbishop Jose H. Gomez. “Jesus carried his cross for us and he died for us. To set us free to live a new life — to live for God and for the love of our neighbors and families.”
Gomez will celebrate an English-language Palm Sunday Mass at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles. A Spanish-language Mass will be celebrated at 12:30 p.m. by the Rev. David Gallardo, the cathedral’s pastor.
Due to ongoing pandemic restrictions, palm branches will be handed by ushers wearing gloves and the faithful may take their places in the church holding the branches. Gomez will bless the palms from the altar during the Mass. The branches represent the palms the crowd brought when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, a Christian tradition since the fourth century.
Attendance at each Mass will be limited to 130 people because of coronavirus-related restrictions. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles continues to encourage the elderly and all those with underlying health problems to stay home and watch Mass through social media.
Face masks or coverings over the nose and mouth must be worn at all times by anyone over 2 years old. Social distancing is required.
The Masses will be streamed live at facebook.com/lacatholics, facebook.com/olacathedral and olacathedral.org/live/.
“As we enter into our second Holy Week in the time of the coronavirus, we are starting to see signs of hope,” Gomez said. “I encourage you all to read Pope Francis’ beautiful and practical letter for this Year of St. Joseph. From St. Joseph’s example, the Holy Father writes, we learn that “Our lives can be miraculously reborn if we find the courage to live them in accordance with the Gospel.’
“This is the mystery of God that we enter into during Holy Week and Easter. The way of the cross leads to the Resurrection. Our God is the God of the living, not of the dead. The promise of Easter is that we can be reborn, we can become a new creation in Jesus Christ.”
“In the cross, we see the certainty of God’s saving love. One of the saints said, `While the world changes, the cross stands firm.’ This is the lesson we have been learning in this pandemic, in all our disappointments and losses, in all the plans we have been forced to change or abandon.”