On Sunday, April 13, 2025, the beginning of the Holy Week for the Catholic Church, with the commemoration of Ramos Sunday, the day that evokes the moment when Jesus entered triumphant in Jerusalem.
Catholics are invited to join this celebration, whose meaning and practices are detailed in the Easter party letter DEL VATICANO (1998) and in the book Jesus of Nazareth: from the entrance to Jerusalem to the resurrection, of Pope Benedict XVI.
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Next, we present 9 key points on this liturgical day.
1. Ramos Sunday is also called “Sunday of Passion”
The term “Palm Sunday” derives from the event that commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus in Jerusalem, when the crowd received by stirring branches of palm (John 12,13).
Which is also known as “Sunday of Passion” is attributed to the story of Jesus’ passion that reads complete at the masses of this day. If not, this evangelical passage would not be read on a Sunday, since next Sunday he focuses on the resurrection.
According to the Easter party letter, Ramos Sunday “covers both the omen of Christ’s real triumph and the announcement of his passion.” In addition, he adds that “the relationship between both aspects of the Pascual Mystery must be evidenced both in the celebration and catechesis of the day.”
2. On Palm Sunday a procession is carried out before the Mass
The procession is carried out once, usually before the Mass with greater assistance, either on Saturday or Sunday.
“During the procession, the faithful imitate the acclamations and gestures of the Hebrew children who went out to receive the Lord, singing the fervent ‘Hosanna!'” Easter party letter.
3. They can wear palms or other plants during the Ramos Sunday procession
It is not necessary to use palm leaves in the procession. You can also use other local plants such as olive tree, willow, fir and other trees.
According to him Directory on popular piety and liturgy: “The faithful like to keep in their homes, and sometimes in the workplace, the olive or other trees, which have been blessed and taken in the procession.”
4. The faithful must understand the meaning of the celebration and receiving instruction
According to it Directory on popular piety and liturgy“The faithful must be instructed on the meaning of this celebration so that they can capture its meaning.”
“It should be remembered in a timely manner that the important thing is participation in the procession and not only in obtaining palm or olive leaves”, which should not be maintained “as amulets, or for therapeutic or magical reasons to dissipate evil spirits or to avoid the damage they cause in the fields or in homes,” says the text.
5. Jesus claims the right of kings at the triumphal entry to Jerusalem
In his book Jesus of Nazareth: from the entrance to Jerusalem to the resurrectionPope Benedict XVI explained that Jesus Christ claimed the right of kings to demand private transport modes. The use of an animal (the donkey) in which no one had sat before this real right indicates.
Jesus wanted his path and actions to be understood in terms of the promises of the Old Testament fulfilled in his person.
6. The pilgrims recognized Jesus as their messianic king
Pope Benedict XVI points out that the act of the pilgrims of placing their mantles on the ground so that Jesus walks on them “belongs to the tradition of Israelite royalty (2re 9,13).” The Holy Father explains that the gesture made by the disciples represents a enthronement in the tradition of the Davidic monarchy, pointing to the messianic hope that arose from it.
The pilgrims, continue, “take branches of the trees and sing verses of Psalm 118, words of blessing of the liturgy of the pilgrims of Israel who on their lips become a messianic proclamation: ‘Hosanna! Blessed who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of Our Father David who comes! (Mc 11,9-10, see salt 118.26) ”.
7. Palm Sunday: “hossana” is a cry of joy and a prophetic prayer
In Jesus’ time this word had messianic nuances. In the acclamation the emotions of the pilgrims who accompany Jesus and his disciples are expressed: the cheerful praise to God at the time of the processional entrance, the hope that the time of the Messiah had arrived.
At the same time it was a prayer that indicated that the Davidic reign, and therefore the reign of God on Israel, would be restored.
8. The crowd that applauded the arrival of Jesus is not the same that demanded his crucifixion
In his book, Pope Benedict XVI argues that in the three synoptic gospels, as well as that of St. John, it is made clear that those who applaud Jesus at his entrance to Jerusalem were not its inhabitants, but the crowds that accompanied him and entered the holy city with him.
This point becomes clearer in Mateo’s story, in the passage that follows the Hosanna Aimed at Jesus: “When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was agitated by saying: ‘Who is this?’ And the crowds said: ‘This is the prophet Jesus of Nazareth of Galilee’ “(Mt 21,10-11).
People had heard of Nazareth’s prophet, but he didn’t seem to have any importance for Jerusalem, and people did not know him there.
9. The passion story enjoys special solemnity in the liturgy
The Easter party letter He points out in numeral 33: “It is advisable to maintain the tradition in the way of singing or reading it, that is, that they are three people who act as of Christ, the narrator and of the people. The passion must be proclaimed already by deacons or presbyters, already, in its absence, by readers, in which case, the corresponding part to Christ reserves the priest.”
In the proclamation of passion, there are neither lights nor incense, nor is the greeting to the people as ordinary for the Gospel, nor is the book signs. Only deacons ask for the blessing to the priest.
For the spiritual good of the faithful, the narration of the passion is read, and that the readings that precede it are not omitted.
Translated and adapted by ACI Press. Originally published in the National Catholic Register on March 23, 2013. It has been updated for republication.
Jimmy Akin
Jimmy was born in Texas and grew nominally Protestant, but in his youth he experienced a deep conversion and entered the Catholic Church. He is the main apologist of Catholic Answers, collaborating editor of Catholic Answers magazine and a weekly guest in “Catholic Answers Live.”