A Portal to the Passion

In her homily yesterday evening, Mary referred to Palm Sunday as the 'portal' to the week of Jesus' Passion. Portals or doors have a way of opening and closing according to God's plan, not mine. This lovely door, a portal to a Provencal home, did not open to me when I visited France; God definitely opened the portal to Holy Week for me through Mary's sermon and the liturgy last evening, though. How many times have I heard the Easter story? So many, yet last evening for the first time I felt as if I were there. First, in the triumphal crowd cheering Jesus, then as Peter denying Him. I traveled with the crowd to Golgotha and scorned Jesus with the rest. Yet, in the end, I stood with the centurion who acknowledged this Jesus as 'truly the son of God.' As Mary said, standing at the foot of the cross is not easy and to get there we must walk with Jesus through this week of Passion. It is an emotional time for Christians.