The Liturgy of the Palms
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, marks the beginning of Holy Week. On this significant day, we remember Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
The practice of blessing and processing with palms has deep roots in the early Church. The diary of Egeria, a Spanish nun and pilgrim, provides evidence of this tradition. During her pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the late 4th century, Egeria described witnessing a procession of people descending the Mount of Olives and entering Jerusalem. As they walked, they waved branches of palms or olive trees, singing psalms, including Psalm 118, and proclaiming the antiphon, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” This historical tradition continues to enrich our own celebration.
Will this be your first time to Palm Sunday?
Read what fellow St. John’s parishioners found memorable or meaningful to them about the blessing and procession of the Palms.
"I experienced Palm Sunday at the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany for the first time when I was 20. The play began on Palm Sunday with Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on an actual donkey, with over 400 actors on the very large stage waving palms and shouting, 'Hosanna' and 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'" The Rev. Jane Rohrer
"I remember as a child growing up in the Indian Orthodox Church, we were each given a palm leaf for the service. Everyone holds them, even the little kids. At the end of the service, we could take this leaf home. Most member households chose to display it somewhere in the living room - ours was in front of a painting of Jesus praying at the Garden of Gethsemane. At Christmas mass we returned with our palms and burned them in a huge bonfire, and everyone was given myrrh to throw into the fire." Susan Issac
"My recollection of attending Palm Sunday Mass with my cousins, where we learned to make palm crosses and had a friendly competition, is what ultimately made me understand something important. It dawned on me that our extended family's tradition of gathering for dinners was specifically because it was Holy Week. Our shared experience at Palm Sunday Mass with our cousins was a direct consequence of these Holy Week gatherings." Emily Besaw
Do you have special memories from past Holy Weeks? Please email Fr. Michael at rector@stjohnskirkland.org for inclusion in next year’s series. For a deeper dive in the ancient origins and later practices of the Blessing and Procession of the Palms, follow the link below to read Michael Monnikendam’s fascinating article.