Palm Sunday

For grown-ups

Today the Church begins Holy Week. We start with joy, as the crowd cheers Jesus into Jerusalem on a donkey, and then we hear the long Passion, where the same city turns against him. Isaiah and the psalm speak of a servant who suffers faithfully, and Paul says Jesus emptied himself out of love, so that every tongue may call him Lord. Children feel this contrast more than we expect: the waving palms, and then the hush of kneeling.

In ordinary family life, we swing from cheering to difficulty, sometimes within an hour. Holy Week gives us permission to slow down together. Keep the palm somewhere visible at home, perhaps behind a crucifix, and let your children ask what it is for. You do not need to explain everything. It is enough to say that Jesus is our King, that he chose the hard road because he loves us, and that we shout “Hosanna!” because we are glad he came.

Dinner-table questions

1. Why were the people so happy when Jesus came on the donkey?
2. How do you like to say hello to someone you love?
3. Why do you think Jesus rode a little donkey and not a big horse?