Also known as Passion Sunday, the day symbolizes the moment of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, when he was cheered by people with cloaks on the floor and branches in his hands
The, also known as Passion Sunday, marks the beginning of, and is precisely the moment of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, when he was cheered by people with robes on the floor and branches in their hands. This Sunday (13), faithful Christians, especially the Catholics, celebrate the tradition, during this period preceding Easter, which this year will be celebrated next Sunday (20).
“It is much more than a simple tradition of bringing blessed branches home. It marks the beginning of the Holy Week, the most important time of the year for us Christians. On this day, we celebrate the entry of Jesus in Jerusalem, the city where he would give life to all of us,” says Dom Leomar Antônio Brustolin, Archbishop of Santa Maria (RS), through an article released by the National Conference of Brazil (CNBB).
It is a celebration that brings together joy and pain, victory and suffering. On the one hand, the multitude that welcomes Jesus with a party; On the other hand, the shadow of the approaching cross is already present. “The interesting thing about this moment for Christians is that he begins a reflection marked by humility, because he enters this city mounted on a donkey, while the symbol of power is precisely the horse. So, the fact that he is in this much simpler, humble animal reveals that he is surrendering to humanity with the great moment of resurrection, which will be precisely in Easter,” explains Oscar d’Ambrosio and curator of Ambrosio and curator Art.
According to him, it must not be forgotten that the concept of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is the beginning of a journey, one of the most important moments for the Christian faith, because his death symbolizes the redemption of the original sin committed by Adam and Eve. “At the moment he dies for us, by humanity, he redeems us from this original sin,” says D’Ambrose.
In the procession of branches, the faithful come out in community, with the branches in their hands, to manifest the desire to welcome Jesus in their lives. “This branch is usually kept somewhere important in the residence, because it symbolizes precisely his faith, his communion with Jesus,” adds the expert in History of Culture.
In Brazil, the Sunday Mass of Ramos, once again, brought many devotees to the National Sanctuary of Aparecida, in the interior of São Paulo. The celebration, which marks the beginning of Holy Week, was presided by the birthday of the day, Archbishop of Aparecida, Dom Orlando Brandes.
Branches Sunday: Papa Francisco makes a new appearance and surprises faithful
A convalescent Pope Said the crowd in St. Peter’s Square on this Sunday of Ramos, 13, wishing for more than 20,000 faithful a “good Sunday of Ramos, a good Holy Week,” in another public signs reassuring his recovery after bilateral pneumonia that endangered his life.
In a homily prepared for Ramos Sunday and read by a high Vatican cardinal, Francis urged the faithful to carry the cross “of those who suffer around us” to mark the beginning of the solemn Holy Week, Christian tradition that recalls the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
*With information from Estadão Content
Posted by Carolina Ferreira
