Palm Sunday in the Melbourne Eparchy
On March 29, the Sunday before Easter, parishes in the Melbourne eparchy celebrated the Feast of the Entering of our Lord into Jerusalem, commonly known as Palm Sunday. On this day, clergy and faithful gathered for the Divine Liturgy, followed by the blessing of willow, olive, or palm branches, symbolically reenacting the veneration of Christ as He solemnly enters Jerusalem.
After the service, people greeted one another with the traditional ukrainian Palm Sunday saying, “It is not I who strike you, but the willow branch, and in one week it will be Easter,” and also carried the blessed branches to their homes to welcome the Lord into their dwellings.
His Eminence Mykola Cardinal Bychok presided over the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral in Melbourne. In his homily, he noted that the people who were with Jesus during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem did not fully understand the significance of this event; they imagined Him as a king who would reign, and even among His closest circle, few realized—even though Christ had spoken of it many times—that He would suffer, that He would be crucified, and that on the third day He would rise again.
Recalling the event of Lazarus’ resurrection, Bishop Mykola emphasised: “The voice that called Lazarus out of the tomb also calls each of us to rise from our sins, to rise from fear, from everything that holds us captive.”
catholicukes.au
