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The Veil Has Been Removed, We Can See Jesus’ Glory and Be Transformed into His Image and Likeness

Sunday, April 9, 2006
Palm Sunday

John 12:12-16
Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm 22:8-9,17-20,23-24
Philippians 2:6-11
Mark 14:1–15:47

Click here for readings  (For quick review only; bring your Bible)

Today we not only celebrate our redemption, we begin a week-long celebration of Jesus’ love. This is not a week for sorrow but for gratitude, joy, and hope.

St. Mark tells us that as Jesus breathed his last, the veil in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom (Mark 15:37-38). This veil was a thick curtain that separated the people from the holiest and most sacred portion of the Temple (Exodus 26:31-35). So by tearing this veil, God was making a powerful statement: There was no longer any separation between him and his people.

Just as the veil in the temple separated the people from the presence and holiness of God, so did a thick veil of guilt and sin hang between us and our Creator. But when Jesus died, this veil was also torn from top (heaven) to bottom (earth). The way to heaven was opened, and God’s life and love were free to flow to every one of us. Now, finally, we all can hear his voice and experience his presence personally.

This sounds so wonderful, and yet each of us has known the feeling of separation or distance from God. Veils can still shroud our lives, blocking our access to the Father’s throne. But Jesus wants to tear apart these veils during this Holy Week. He wants to remove the obstacles that still exist between us and his heavenly Father. We have only to come to him and ask. The whole reason Jesus died was so that we could gaze on his glory and be filled with his love. (John 12:31)

So don’t mourn this week. Instead, open your heart to Jesus. Don’t be sad. Be hopeful. Be humble. Be joyful! God can remove every veil that keeps you from being transformed into his image—and he can do it this very week!

“Jesus, words fail me when I look at your cross. All I can do is praise you for your love and ask you to come and rend the veils in my life. Lord, I want to see your glory and be made more like you!”

Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men

1. Today, Passion or Palm Sunday, begins Holy Week, when we are all called to relive and to celebrate the events, which went before and surrounded Christ's death and resurrection, the inexhaustible source of our salvation. We begin by recalling Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. He is a sign of contradiction, acclaimed by some and reviled by others. In what ways can Jesus be a sign of contradiction in your own lives: acclaimed at times, ignored at other times, and even hated during times of suffering?
2. In the first reading and the responsorial Psalm we begin to get a vivid glimpse of what Jesus suffered for us. Don't let the words slip by because they are so familiar to you. Let your imagination visualize what it must have been like for the Son of God to have been beaten, scoffed at, mocked, and pierced for YOU. How well are you able to use your imagination to allow yourself to enter more deeply into the Holy Week events?
3. In the second reading we learn that Christ "emptied" himself and humbled himself when he became man. St. Augustine called humility the "royal road". It is the road Christ took when he became man and it is the only way we can get back to God. How important to you is your sense of self and pride in your own worth and talents? Does it ever interfere in your relations with others? How do you react when you have been humbled or criticized or even rejected?
4. It is said that St. Mark wrote his Gospel for the Gentile's whom he desired to bring to believe in Jesus' divinity. The gentile Roman centurion at the cross professes: "Truly this man was the Son of God." In what ways do you see Jesus’ divinity in his passion, death, and resurrection?
5. In the meditation we read these words, “Just as the veil in the temple separated the people from the presence and holiness of God, so did a thick veil of guilt and sin hang between us and our Creator. But when Jesus died, this veil was also torn from top (heaven) to bottom (earth). The way to heaven was opened, and God’s life and love were free to flow to every one of us. Now, finally, we all can hear his voice and experience his presence personally.” Do you believe this? What are the veils in your life that can keep you from hearing Jesus’ voice and experiencing his presence, especially in prayer and at Mass? What steps can you take to change this?
6. In what ways can you “stay” with Jesus through this Holy Week of suffering and death on the cross? Share some steps the men in your group can take during Holy Week to do this.

Come Holy Spirit!  ~  Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and en kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit and they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. Let us pray: O God, you taught the hearts of your faithful by sending them the light of your Holy Spirit. In that same spirit give us your right judgment and the joy of your consolation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Prayer to St. Joseph  ~  Glorious St. Joseph, guide and protector of the Holy Family, we ask that you obtain for us from your son, Jesus, the strength and wisdom to lead our families to their Father in heaven. Most Chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may we imitate your obedience to the will of God and be ever mindful of the vocation to which we have been called. Amen