Part 1: COMMEMORATION OF THE LORD’S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM
Gospel - Mt 21:1-11
When Jesus and the disciples drew near
Jerusalem and came to
Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,
Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,
“Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately you will find an ass
tethered, and a colt with her.
Untie them and bring them here to me. And if anyone should say anything to you,
reply,
‘The master has need of them.’
Then he will send them at once.”
This happened so that what had been spoken
through the prophet might be fulfilled:
“Say to daughter Zion,
‘Behold, your king comes to you,
meek and riding on an ass,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of
burden.’ ”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had
ordered them.
They brought the ass and the colt and laid
their cloaks over them,
and he sat upon them.
The very large crowd spread their cloaks on
the road,
while others cut branches from the trees
and strewed them on the road.
The crowds preceding him and those
following
kept crying out and saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of
the Lord;
hosanna in the highest.”
And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken and asked,
“Who is this?”
And the crowds replied,
“This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth
in Galilee.
Part 2: THE MASS
1st Reading - Is 50:4-7
The Lord God has given me
a well-trained tongue,
that I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my
beard.
My face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.
The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced.
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
Responsorial - Psalm Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
R – My God, my God, why have you abandoned
me?
* All who see me scoff at me;
they mock me with parted lips, they wag
their heads:
“He relied on the Lord;
let him deliver him, let him rescue him,
if He loves him.” R.
* Indeed, many dogs surround me,
a pack of evildoers closes in upon me.
They have pierced my hands and my feet;
I can count all my bones. R.
* They divide my garments among them,
and for my vesture they cast lots.
But you, O Lord, be not far from me;
O my help, hasten to aid me! R.
* I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise
you:
“You who fear the Lord, praise him;
all you descendants of Jacob, give glory
to him;
revere him, all you descendants of
Israel!” R.
2nd Reading - Phil 2:6-11
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of
God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness.
And found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and
under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Verse before the Gospel - cf. Jn 4:42, 15
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of
endless glory.
Christ became obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which
is above every name.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of
endless glory.
Gospel - Mt 27:11-54
Characters:
J: Jesus;
N1: First Narrator;
N 2: Second Narrator;
P: Pilate;
C: Crowd,
Chief priests, others
P – The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Matthew
N1 –Jesus stood before the governor, Pontius
Pilate, who questioned him,
P –“Are you the king of the Jews?”
[N2 –Jesus said,]
J –“You say so.”
N1 –And when he was accused by the chief
priests and elders, he made no answer. Then
Pilate said to him,
P –“Do you not hear how many things they
are testifying against you?”
N2 –But he did not answer him one word, so
that the governor was greatly amazed.
Now, on the occasion of the feast, the
governor was accustomed to release to the
crowd one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time, they had a notorious
prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had
assembled, Pilate said to them,
P –“Which one do you want me to release
to you: Barabbas, or Jesus called Christ?”
N1 –For he knew that it was out of envy that
they had handed him over. While he was
still seated on the bench, his wife sent him a
message,
C –“Have nothing to do with that righteous
man. I suffered much in a dream today
because of him.”
N2 –The chief priests and the elders
persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas
and to destroy Jesus. The governor said to
them in reply,
P –“Which of the two do you want me to
release to you?”
[N1 –They answered,]
C –“Barabbas!”
[N1 –Pilate said to them,]
P –“Then what shall I do with Jesus called
Christ?”
[N1 –They all said,]
C –“Let him be crucified!”
[N1 –But he said,]
P –“Why? What evil has he done?”
[N1 –They only shouted the louder,]
C –“Let him be crucified!”
N2 –When Pilate saw that he was not
succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking
out instead, he took water and washed his
hands in the sight of the crowd, saying,
P –“I am innocent of this man’s blood.
Look to it yourselves.”
N1 –And the whole people said in reply,
C –“His blood be upon us and upon our
children.”
N2 –Then he released Barabbas to them, but
after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him
over to be crucified.
N1 –Then the soldiers of the governor took
Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the
whole cohort around him. They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak
about him. Weaving a crown out of thorns,
they placed it on his head and a reed in his
right hand. And kneeling before him, they
mocked him, saying,
C –“Hail, King of the Jews!”
N2 – They spat upon him and took the reed
and kept striking him on the head. And when
they had mocked him, they stripped him of
the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and
led him off to crucify him.
N1 –As they were going out, they met a
Cyrenian named Simon. This man they
pressed into service to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha
– which means “Place of the Skull” –, they
gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall. But
when he had tasted it, he refused to drink.
N2 –After they had crucified him, they
divided his garments by casting lots; then
they sat down and kept watch over him there.
And they placed over his head the written
charge against him: “This is Jesus, the King
of the Jews.”
N1 –Two revolutionaries were crucified with
him, one on his right and the other on his left.
N2 – Those passing by reviled him, shaking
their heads and saying,
C –“You who would destroy the temple and
rebuild it in three days, save yourself, if you
are the Son of God, and come down from the
cross!”
N1 –Likewise, the chief priests with the
scribes and elders mocked him and said,
C –“He saved others; he cannot save
himself. So he is the king of Israel! Let him
come down from the cross now, and we will
believe in him. He trusted in God; let him
deliver him now if he wants him. For he said,
‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
N2 –The revolutionaries who were crucified
with him also kept abusing him in the same
way.
N1 –From noon onward, darkness came over
the whole land until three in the afternoon.
And about three o’clock, Jesus cried out in a
loud voice,
J –“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”
N2 –which means, “My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?” Some of the
bystanders who heard it said,
C –“This one is calling for Elijah.”
N1 –Immediately, one of them ran to get a
sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it
on a reed, gave it to him to drink. But the rest
said,
C –“Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save
him.”
N2 –But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice,
and gave up his spirit.
(Kneel down in silent prayer.)
N1 – And behold, the veil of the sanctuary
was torn in two from top to bottom. The
earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were
opened, and the bodies of many saints who
had fallen asleep were raised. And coming
forth from their tombs after his resurrection,
they entered the holy city and appeared to
many.
N2 –The centurion and the men with him
who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all
that was happening, and they said,
C –“Truly, this was the Son of God!”
