Reflection for the Week of 04/09/06:
It's a Drama of Redemptive Proportions
By Sr. Regina Siegfried, ASC

The liturgical events from this Sunday until next Sunday and beyond are a five-act drama. Today, Palm Sunday, is Act I; Holy Thursday serves as Act II. Act III is Good Friday, with Holy Saturday as Act IV. Easter climaxes the drama as Act V. But the play goes on into Ascension, Pentecost and into all our lives as we continue to live out this drama of the Paschal Mystery.
If one heard only the gospel at the procession of today's liturgy, and if we didn't know the end of the story, we might assume this is a drama about a hero riding in triumph to the cheers, adulation, and love of an excited group of followers. Jesus enters Jerusalem looking like the victor. People line the road, cheering, waving branches, and shouting "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."
The mood and tone change quickly, however, when we listen to the rest of the readings for this day. The writer of Second Isaiah sketches a portrait of the Suffering Servant, whose part in the drama is to carry the burdens of other suffering servants. The reading from the letter to the Philippians spotlights the main character in the performance of this week-long liturgical worship service. Jesus, the Suffering Servant, empties himself, "becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Yet God "greatly exalted him," a dramatic foreshadowing of the outcome of the events of this week.
The reading of Mark's Passion narrative ends with the stark "Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last." Again, if we didn't know the end of the story, we'd incorrectly conclude we are witnessing a tragedy, a senseless death of a good man. We do know that Jesus' mission was to make the household of God real in our world. That is neither a tragedy nor senseless. We are also cast into active roles in this drama.
The drama of redemption is interactive. We participate by marching in procession with palm branches; we walk up the aisle to venerate the cross on Good Friday. We hold lighted candles on Holy Saturday to help dispel the darkness that could easily overcome us during this holiest of weeks. Yet, we are called to take bigger roles. We are to be the presence of Jesus in the work of making the kingdom of God alive in our world. That is no bit part in the drama of redemption.
Ponder:
" Why is this the holiest of weeks in our liturgical cycle?
" How can I make the age-old story alive in my life?
" What can we as a parish do to make it vibrant and vital in our parish community?
Do:
" Participate in as many of the Holy Week liturgies as possible.
" Make this a special week of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting.

Parish Mission Statement

We, the people of St. Vincent's Parish in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri, are committed to following Christ, evangelizer of the poor. We do this through:
- Worship and continued spiritual formation for both laity and clergy
- Serving the poor and oppressed
- Preaching the Gospel by word and action in an ecumenical spirit