Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Holy Week, and commemorates the triumphant arrival of Christ in Jerusalem, days before he was crucified.
Palm Sunday is known as such because the faithful often receive palm fronds, which they use to participate in the reenactment of Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem. In the Gospels, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a young donkey, and to the lavish praise of the townspeople who threw clothes, or possibly palms or small branches, in front of him as a sign of homage. This was a customary practice for people of great respect.
Palm branches are a widely recognised symbol of peace and victory, hence their preferred use on Palm Sunday.
The use of a donkey instead of a horse is highly symbolic, it represents the humble arrival of someone in peace, as opposed to arriving on a steed in war.
A week later, Christ would rise from the dead on the first Easter.
This year we celebrate Palm Sunday on Sunday, 28th March, with the rest of Holy Week as follows.
- Palm Sunday – 28th March
- Holy Thursday – 1st April
- Good Friday – 2nd April
- Holy Saturday – 3rd April
- Easter Sunday – 4th April
I look forward to celebrating Holy Week with our school community and sharing in the wonderful time that it begins for us as Catholics.
Please take a moment to read Fr Bernards recent Easter message linked below. Fr’s message also contains the dates and times for the Holy Week celebrations at both St Dominic’s and Our Lady of Good Counsel.
Easter 2021 – A Message from Father Bernard
Leon Bolding
Principal