We enter on Palm Sunday the last throes of Holy Church’s liturgical glory and self-emptying before her death during the Sacred Triduum and her resurrection at Easter. The Church, liturgically and sacramentally, goes with Christ in procession to Jerusalem to fulfil His saving mission. When we participate in these rites, we truly participate in the mysteries they celebrate and represent. Sacramental reality is no less real than sensible reality.
On Palm Sunday, Father blesses palms for our own processions before Holy Mass. In some places, such as Rome, olive branches are used. In Germany, you might find boxwood branches. Our Eastern brethren use sallow catkins, also called pussy willows. In the traditional Roman Rite the priest blesses our branches, saying:
