Spiritual Practice - Getting Ready for Palm Sunday
Getting Ready for Holy Week #1
We are now half way through Lent and for many of us this is the time when we start to think about Holy week which begins with Palm Sunday April 13th and the practices that make this a very special week that is the centre of our faith.
Here is just a sample of what happens during Holy Week:
Palm Sunday, Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem
Monday of Holy Week, Jesus clears out the temple with a whip
Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus is anointed with oil at Bethany and preaches on the Mount of Olives
Spy Wednesday, Jesus is betrayed by Judas
Holy Thursday, Jesus celebrates the Last Supper, prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, and is arrested
Good Friday, Jesus is sentenced to death, scourged, beaten, crucified, and dies on the Cross
Holy Saturday, Jesus is buried in the tomb and descends into hell
Easter Sunday, Jesus rises from the dead
Holy Week Retreat
This is a great Holy Week retreat from Dynamic Catholic.
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday commemorates the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–9), when palm branches were placed in his path, before his arrest on Holy Thursday and his crucifixion on Good Friday. It thus marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent.
Here is a simple introduction to Palm Sunday
For Palm Sunday at Home
Palm Sunday at Home by Lilly Lewin - from 2020 applicable for 2022
From Happy Event Day - Palm Sunday Resources, including printable coloring pages!
Printable activities for kids and other resources from Sermons 4 Kids
A Complete Guide to Celebrate Palm Sunday at Home by Aleteia
5 Ways to Celebrate by Crosswalk.com
Powerline Productions offers some tips and ways to celebrate at home.
Making Room for the Cross at Home by Down the Hobbit Hole blog
Holy Week at Home by Benwellscottswood.com - from 2020, but still great resources to consider
Interactive ideas for Holy Week at Home by the Trinity Mission
Taizé Style Services from St. Andrew's Episcopal, Seattle
Litanies for Palm Sunday
We are entering the most subversive week of Jesus life - it begins with shouts of Hosanna but ends with shouts of crucify him. Read more in my post Meditation Monday - The Subversive Walk of Holy Week.
In many churches, after a walk around the church waving palms, the litany actually focuses on the passion of Christ. This is because the following Sunday is Easter Sunday and though most churches hold services throughout Holy Week, some people will not come to church again until Easter Sunday.
This Palm/Passion litany from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is an example of this.
Fran Pratt has a beautiful Palm Sunday litany that you might like to look at too.
Use a Little Creativity
There are of course a huge number of resources available for this season but I particularly wanted to highlight some of the out of the box, creative ideas I have come across.
I love these creative "out of the box" ideas from Steve Taylor (emergent kiwi) and his invitation to walk the streets and create outdoor spirit signs.
Here is another very creative and interactive liturgy from Rowland Croucher at John Mark Ministries in Australia.
Or you might like to download this Palm Sunday labyrinth. I think it would be a great focus for meditate on Palm Sunday.
I have posted other creative suggestions on my Holy Week and Easter Pinterest board.
Crafts and Decorations:
Palm Leaf Decorations: Use the blessed palm leaves to create decorations for your home or church, such as wreaths, crosses, or even palm leaf art. Here is one simple suggestion
Weaving Palm Crosses: Learn to weave palm crosses, a traditional practice that symbolizes the cross of Jesus.
DIY Palm Leaf Crafts: Engage in crafts like making paper palm leaves, origami palm leaves, or palm leaf art.
Palm Sunday Coloring Pages: Use coloring pages to teach children about Palm Sunday and the events of Holy Week.
Holy Week Wreath: Make a DIY holy week wreath using palm leaves and other materials.
Cross Decorating Kit: Decorate a cross with palm leaves and other materials.
Palm Leaf Art: Use palm leaves to create art projects, such as paintings, collages, or sculptures.
Activities:
Palm Sunday Games:
Play Palm Sunday-themed games, such as a Bible word search or a "Hosanna" guessing game.
Pray for the World:
Pray for peace and justice in the world, as Jesus' entry into Jerusalem was a time of both celebration and tension.
Study a Country:
Study about a country in the world, make a meal or order from a restaurant that makes food from that country, play a game from that country, pray for that country, or "adopt" a family from that country and invite them over to tell you about their country.
Decorate the grave of a loved one:
Place branches, flowers, and palms at their resting place, and take time to remember their life.
Palms for Crosses and Fronds
If you are concerned about whether or not the palms you are using are eco friendly check out this site. Ecopalms are concerned about social justice and environmental concerns. Well worth a look.
Or, if you don't know how to make palm crosses, check this out. It's not hard once you know what to do.
Traditional resources for Palm Sunday.
And another great "global arts collection" for Palm Sunday that helps us appreciate the ways different cultures view this event.
As usual Textweek.com has a very comprehensive and excellent list of resources from all over the world to help prepare for this celebration.
Anglican Prayer updated this list for Palm Sunday in 2014. Most of the links still work.
Work of the People also always has good video clips available
Some great downloadable resources from the Mennonite Church Canada.
A powerful film clip Scattered Palms from The Work of the People.
Getting Creative with our Palms
I posted these suggestions on what to do with our palms after the Sunday service. I like to hang onto mine to burn on Ash Wednesday the following year but there are lots of other creative things to do with them.
Minas Thomas has created a whole series of videos on palm weaving from a Coptic Christian perspective that are well worth viewing. He instructs us on everything from a simple cross to braiding of palm fronds and, a more complex Coptic cross and a donkey. Here is the link to the first video:
Reach Out To the Neighborhood for Palm Sunday
I encourage you think about ways to make the Palm Sunday procession a way to reach out to your neighbourhood rather than a way for your church to just have fun walking around singing songs. Maybe an invitation to a Sunday Easter lunch or another church event. Some friends of ours, Hilary and Trevor Horn, went around the neighborhood near their church giving succulents to all the people who have moved in over the last year. I think this would be a great activity for Palm Sunday.
My Favourite Palm Sunday Songs.
Benedictines of Mary have beautiful music for all seasons of the liturgical calendar including their Easter at Ephesus recording. Here is a glimpse of their beautiful music:
This is part of a series originally posted on Godspacelight on Holy Week Resources. Unfortunately when our website crashed last year all the links were destroyed so we are slowly reconnecting them and publishing them as posts on Substack.