Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week - yet the Church is largely silent after Palm Sunday, until the celebration of Holy Thursday. The first days of Holy Week are silent witnesses of anticipation that we should not overlook in our own preparation for the Easter Triduum.
Today’s first reading at Mass (Is. 42:1-7) carries a
sense of anticipation, of waiting, in its use of “shall” and “until”. God’s
servant “shall bring forth justice,” and “the coastlands will wait
for his teaching” until he establishes justice. Isaiah’s words are
evocative of a mission that is not yet complete – “I, the LORD, have called
you… To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners…”
The eyes of the blind are not yet open; the prisoners are still captive; sight and freedom have not yet come. These things are essentially a work in progress.
The eyes of the blind are not yet open; the prisoners are still captive; sight and freedom have not yet come. These things are essentially a work in progress.
One could sum up this
reading in a single sentence: “The world awaits the Lord’s salvation.”
And of course, salvation came, in the person of Jesus Christ, and through his death and resurrection. However, as Catholics, we know that our own salvation depends on our response to the Risen Lord over the course of our entire lives. We await salvation – until God grants us the vision of heaven in eternity. "The Lord is my light and my salvation..." (Ps. 27)
We are all “a work in progress.”
And of course, salvation came, in the person of Jesus Christ, and through his death and resurrection. However, as Catholics, we know that our own salvation depends on our response to the Risen Lord over the course of our entire lives. We await salvation – until God grants us the vision of heaven in eternity. "The Lord is my light and my salvation..." (Ps. 27)
We are all “a work in progress.”