“Our Saviour Jesus Christ triumphally enters into Jerusalem. That is why today’s feast is a foretelling of Christ’s victory over sin and death, it is a foretelling of Easter,” said Patriarch Daniel on Palm Sunday, April 25, 2021.
“They say that the weather on Palm Sunday predicts the weather on Easter,” added the Patriarch, but, he mentioned, “no matter how the weather is, the relation between the two feasts is the following”:
“Jesus Christ, through His victory over the death of his friend Lazarus, whom He resurrected, foretold the Universal Resurrection at the end of times for all people and also foretold the victory over His own death.”
Entering into Jerusalem, a new stage
By entering into Jerusalem, our Saviour foretells His entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem, His Beatitude explained in his homily.
“Our Saviour Jesus Christ’s entrance into the earthly Jerusalem, going towards His passions, preparing to go through suffering and death and then be resurrected, is a new stage towards His entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem through His resurrection and Ascension to heaven”.
The flowers of the virtues
Palm Sunday is also a feast of the Christians’ victory.
“This feast also shows the victory of the Christians, who fasted for 40 days, prayed and kept vigil, confessed their sins and partook of the Body of the Lord, gave more alms and gathered the flowers of the virtues in their souls,” emphasized the patriarch.
“These flowers of the virtues, gathered through spirituall struggle during the Great Lent, by crucifying our selfish passions and nurturing humble and merciful love, are the spiritual flowers or spiritual branches that we offer our Saviour Jesus Christ on this day,” said His Beatitude.
A priceless myrrh: the righ-believer’s humble soul
The patriarch also spoke of Mary’s gesture. Lazarus’ sister anointed Christ’s feet with a very expensive myrrh in thanksgiving for the resurrection of her brother. Her act was also prophetic, announcing our Saviour’s death.
“This priceless myrrh used by Mary became the symbol of many holy works in the Church, it became the Holy and Great Myrrh, which is made of many aromatic oils and is blessed in autocephalous churches by the patriarch and the Holy Synod once in 10 or 15 years, according to missionary necessity,” said HB Daniel.
He mentioned the utility of the Holy and Great Myrrh in the Church, which is used to anoint the churches, the Holy Altar Tables and the Holy Antemensions. The newly-baptized Christians are also anointed with it and also the holy relics.
Patriarch Daniel said that “the Holy and Grat Myrrh also represents the multitude of gifts brought by the faithful to Christ in His Church: icon, vestments, liturgical objects”.
“Beyond all these material beauties, the Holy and Great Myrrh represents the righ-believer’s humble soul, the soul of the one who has lived his life in repentance, confessing his sins and partaking of the Holy Mysteries of the Church.
“First of all, the priceless Holy and Great Myrrh is the Christians’ right faith and holy, pure life. All the other gifts are added to this in the Church of Christ,” said the patriarch.
At the end of his homily His Beatitude congratulated those bearing names of flowers, by mentioning many of them. (see list).
