29 March 2026 (Sunday) / Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

29 March 2026 (Sunday)

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

Procession: Matthew 21: 1-11
First Reading: Isaiah 50: 4-7
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 21(22):8‐9,17‐20,23‐24
Second Reading: Philippians 2:6‐11
Gospel Acclamation: Verse Before the Gospel: Philippians 2: 8-9
Gospel: Matthew 26:14‐27:66
Liturgical year 2026 (Cycle A/II)
Liturgical color: Red

The liturgical colour for Palm Sunday (March 29, 2026) in the Catholic Church is red.

This represents the blood of Christ’s Passion, which is commemorated on this day, as he enters Jerusalem. Red is used for Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and the Feast days of Martyrs.

First Reading : Isaiah 50:4‐7

The Lord has given me
a disciple’s tongue.
So that I may know how to reply to the wearied
he provides me with speech.
Each morning he wakes me to hear,
to listen like a disciple.
The Lord has opened my ear.
For my part, I made no resistance,
neither did I turn away.
I offered my back to those who struck me,
my cheeks to those who tore at my beard;
I did not cover my face
against insult and spittle.
The Lord comes to my help,
so that I am untouched by the insults.
So, too, I set my face like flint;
I know I shall not be shamed.

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 21(22):8‐9,17‐20,23‐24

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
All who see me deride me.
  They curl their lips, they toss their heads.
‘He trusted in the Lord, let him save him;
  let him release him if this is his friend.’
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Many dogs have surrounded me,
  a band of the wicked beset me.
They tear holes in my hands and my feet
  I can count every one of my bones.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
They divide my clothing among them.
  They cast lots for my robe.
O Lord, do not leave me alone,
  my strength, make haste to help me!
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
I will tell of your name to my brethren
  and praise you where they are assembled.
‘You who fear the Lord give him praise;
  all sons of Jacob, give him glory.
  Revere him, Israel’s sons.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Second Reading : Philippians 2:6‐11

His state was divine,
yet Christ Jesus did not cling
to his equality with God
but emptied himself
to assume the condition of a slave
and became as men are;
and being as all men are,
he was humbler yet,
even to accepting death,
death on a cross.
But God raised him high
and gave him the name
which is above all other names
so that all beings
in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld,
should bend the knee at the name of Jesus
and that every tongue should acclaim
Jesus Christ as Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Gospel Acclamation: Verse Before the Gospel: Philippians 2: 8-9

8-9 Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.
(2:6 His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God
2:7 but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men are,
2:8 he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.
2:9 But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names
2:10 so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus
2:11 and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.)

Gospel : Matthew 26:14‐27:66

Key: N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.
  N. One of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said,
  O. What are you prepared to give me if I hand him over to you?
  N. They paid him thirty silver pieces, and from that moment he looked for an opportunity to betray him.
  Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus to say,
  C. Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the passover?
  N. He replied:
  ✠ Go to so‐and‐so in the city and say to him, ‘The Master says: My time is near. It is at your house that I am keeping Passover with my disciples.’
  N. The disciples did what Jesus told them and prepared the Passover.
  When evening came he was at table with the twelve disciples. And while they were eating he said:
  ✠ I tell you solemnly, one of you is about to betray me.
  N. They were greatly distressed and started asking him in turn,
  C. Not I, Lord, surely?
  N. He answered,
  ✠ Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with me will betray me. The Son of Man is going to his fate, as the scriptures say he will, but alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! Better for that man if he had never been born!
  N. Judas, who was to betray him, asked in his turn,
  O. Not I, Rabbi, surely?
  N. Jesus answered:
  ✠ They are your own words.
  N. Now as they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said:
  ✠ Take it and eat; this is my body.
  N. Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them, saying:
  ✠ Drink, all of you, from this, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. From now on, I tell you, I shall not drink wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in the kingdom of my Father.
  N. After psalms had been sung they left for the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them,
  ✠ You will all lose faith in me this night, for the scripture says: I shall strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered, but after my resurrection I shall go before you to Galilee.
  N. At this, Peter said,
  O. Though all lose faith in you, I will never lose faith.
  N. Jesus answered him,
  ✠ I tell you solemnly, this very night, before the cock crows, you will have disowned me three times.
  N. Peter said to him,
  O. Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.
  N. And all the disciples said the same.
  Then Jesus came with them to a small estate called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples,
  ✠ Stay here while I go over there to pray.
  N. He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him. And sadness came over him, and great distress. Then he said to them,
  ✠ My soul is sorrowful to the point of death. Wait here and keep awake with me.
  N. And going on a little further he fell on his face and prayed:
  ✠ My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it.
  N. He came back to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter:
  ✠ So you had not the strength to keep awake with me one hour? You should be awake, and praying not to be put to the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
  N. Again, a second time, he went away and prayed:
  ✠ My Father, if this cup cannot pass by without my drinking it, your will be done!
  N. And he came back again and found them sleeping, their eyes were so heavy. Leaving them there, he went away again and prayed for the third time, repeating the same words. Then he came back to the disciples and said to them,
  ✠ You can sleep on now and take your rest. Now the hour has come when the Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up! Let us go! My betrayer is already close at hand.
  N. He was still speaking when Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared, and with him a large number of men armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders of the people. Now the traitor had arranged a sign with them. He had said,
  O. ‘The one I kiss, he is the man. Take him in charge.’
  N. So he went straight up to Jesus and said,
  O. Greetings, Rabbi.
  N. and kissed him. Jesus said to him,
  ✠ My friend, do what you are here for.
  N. Then they came forward, seized Jesus and took him in charge. At that, one of the followers of Jesus grasped his sword and drew it; he struck out at the high priest’s servant, and cut off his ear. Jesus then said,
  ✠ Put your sword back, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father who would promptly send more than twelve legions of angels to my defence? But then, how would the scriptures be fulfilled that say this is the way it must be?
  N. It was at this time that Jesus said to the crowds,
  ✠ Am I a brigand, that you had to set out to capture me with swords and clubs? I sat teaching in the Temple day after day and you never laid hands on me.
  N. Now all this happened to fulfil the prophecies in scripture. Then all the disciples deserted him and ran away.
  The men who had arrested Jesus led him off to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. Peter followed him at a distance, and when he reached the high priest’s palace, he went in and sat down with the attendants to see what the end would be.
  The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus, however false, on which they might pass the death sentence. But they could not find any, though several lying witnesses came forward. Eventually two stepped forward and made a statement,
  O. This man said: ‘I have power to destroy the Temple of God and in three days build it up.’
  N. The high priest then stood up and said to him,
  O. Have you no answer to that? What is this evidence these men are bringing against you?
  N. But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him,
  O. I put you on oath by the living God to tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.
  N. Jesus answered:
  ✠ The words are your own. Moreover, I tell you that from this time onward you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.
  N. At this, the high priest tore his clothes and said,
  O. He has blasphemed. What need of witnesses have we now? There! You have just heard the blasphemy. What is your opinion?
  N. They answered,
  C. He deserves to die.
  N. Then they spat in his face and hit him with their fists; others said as they struck him,
  C. Play the prophet, Christ! Who hit you then?
  N. Meanwhile Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant‐girl came up to him and said,
  O. You too were with Jesus the Galilean.
  N. But he denied it in front of them all, saying:
  O. I do not know what you are talking about.
  N. When he went out to the gateway another servant‐girl saw him and said to the people there,
  O. This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.
  N. And again, with an oath, he denied it:
  O. I do not know the man.
  N. A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter,
  C. You are one of them for sure! Why, your accent gives you away.
  Then he started calling down curses on himself and swearing:
  O. I do not know the man.
  N. At that moment the cock crew, and Peter remembered what Jesus had said, ‘Before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.
  When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people met in council to bring about the death of Jesus. They had him bound, and led him away to hand him over to Pilate, the governor.
  When he found that Jesus had been condemned, Judas his betrayer was filled with remorse and took the thirty silver pieces back to the chief priests and elders, saying:
  O. I have sinned. I have betrayed innocent blood.
  N. They replied:
  C. What is that to us? That is your concern.
  N. And flinging down the silver pieces in the sanctuary he made off and hanged himself. The chief priests picked up the silver pieces and said,
  C. It is against the Law to put this into the treasury: it is blood‐money.
  N. So they discussed the matter and bought the potter’s field with it as a graveyard for foreigners, and this is why the field is called the Field of Blood today. The words of the prophet Jeremiah were then fulfilled: And they took the thirty silver pieces, the sum at which the precious One was priced by children of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, just as the Lord directed me.
  Jesus, then, was brought before the governor, and the governor put to him this question:
  O. Are you the king of the Jews?
  N. Jesus replied,
  ✠ It is you who say it.
  N. But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders he refused to answer at all. Pilate then said to him,
  O. Do you not hear how many charges they have brought against you?
  N. But to the governor’s complete amazement, he offered no reply to any of the charges.
  At festival time it was the governor’s practice to release a prisoner for the people, anyone they chose. Now there was at that time a notorious prisoner whose name was Barabbas. So when the crowd gathered, Pilate said to them,
  O. Which do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?
  N. For Pilate knew it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. Now as he was seated in the chair of judgement, his wife sent him a message,
  O. Have nothing to do with that man; I have been upset all day by a dream I had about him.
  N. The chief priests and the elders, however, had persuaded the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus. So when the governor spoke and asked them,
  O. Which of the two do you want me to release for you?
  N. they said,
  C. Barabbas.
  N. Pilate said to them:
  O. But in that case, what am I to do with Jesus who is called Christ?
  N. They all said:
  C. Let him be crucified!
  N. Pilate asked:
  O. Why? What harm has he done?
  N. But they shouted all the louder,
  C. Let him be crucified!
  N. Then Pilate saw that he was making no impression, that in fact a riot was imminent. So he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd and said,
  O. I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your concern.
  N. And the people, to a man, shouted back,
  C. His blood be on us and on our children!
  N. Then he released Barabbas for them. He ordered Jesus to be first scourged and then handed over to be crucified.
  The governor’s soldiers took Jesus with them into the Praetorium and collected the whole cohort round him. Then they stripped him and made him wear a scarlet cloak, and having twisted some thorns into a crown they put this on his head and placed a reed in his right hand. To make fun of him they knelt to him saying,
  C. Hail, king of the Jews!
  N. And they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head with it. And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the cloak and dressed him in his own clothes and led him away to crucify him.
  On their way out, they came across a man from Cyrene, Simon by name, and enlisted him to carry his cross. When they had reached a place called Golgotha, that is, the place of the skull, they gave him wine to drink mixed with gall, which he tasted but refused to drink. When they had finished crucifying him they shared out his clothing by casting lots, and then sat down and stayed there keeping guard over him.
  Above his head was placed the charge against him; it read: ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ At the same time two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.
  The passers‐by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said,
  C. So you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! Then save yourself! If you are God’s son, come down from the cross!
  N. The chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him in the same way, saying:
  C. He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He puts his trust in God; now let God rescue him if he wants him. For he did say, ‘I am the son of God.’
  N. Even the robbers who were crucified with him taunted him in the same way.
  From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
  ✠ Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
  N. That is, ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ When some of those who stood there heard this, they said,
  C. The man is calling on Elijah.
  N. and one of them quickly ran to get a sponge which he dipped in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink. The rest of them said:
  C. Wait! See if Elijah will come to save him.
  N. But Jesus, again crying out in a loud voice, yielded up his spirit.
  Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
  At that, the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth quaked; the rocks were split; the tombs opened and the bodies of many holy men rose from the dead, and these, after his resurrection, came out of the tombs, entered the Holy City and appeared to a number of people. Meanwhile the centurion, together with the others guarding Jesus, had seen the earthquake and all that was taking place, and they were terrified and said,
  C. In truth this was a son of God.
  N. And many women were there, watching from a distance, the same women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and looked after him. Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
  When it was evening, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, called Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate thereupon ordered it to be handed over. So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean shroud and put it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a large stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. Now Mary of Magdala and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulchre.
  Next day, that is, when Preparation Day was over, the chief priests and the Pharisees went in a body to Pilate and said to him,
  C. Your Excellency, we recall that this impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I shall rise again.’ Therefore give the order to have the sepulchre kept secure until the third day, for fear his disciples come and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ This last piece of fraud would be worse than what went before.
  N. Pilate said to them:
  O. You may have your guard. Go and make all as secure as you know how.
  N. So they went and made the sepulchre secure, putting seals on the stone and mounting a guard.

For our reflection today:

Jesus “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant” (Phil 2:7). Let us allow these words of the Apostle Paul to lead us into these holy days, when the word of God, like a refrain, presents Jesus as a servant: on Holy Thursday, he is portrayed as the servant who washes the feet of his disciples; on Good Friday, he is presented as the suffering and victorious servant (cf. Is 52:13); and tomorrow we will hear the prophecy of Isaiah about him: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold” (Is 42:1). God saved us by serving us. We often think we are the ones who serve God. No, he is the one who freely chose to serve us, for he loved us first. It is difficult to love and not be loved in return. And it is even more difficult to serve if we do not let ourselves be served by God.

But – just one question – how did the Lord serve us? By giving his life for us. We are dear to him; we cost him dearly. Saint Angela of Foligno said she once heard Jesus say: “My love for you is no joke”. His love for us led him to sacrifice himself and to take upon himself our sins. This astonishes us: God saved us by taking upon himself all the punishment of our sins. Without complaining, but with the humility, patience and obedience of a servant, and purely out of love. And the Father upheld Jesus in his service. He did not take away the evil that crushed him, but rather strengthened him in his suffering so that our evil could be overcome by good, by a love that loves to the very end.

The Lord served us to the point of experiencing the most painful situations of those who love: betrayal and abandonment.

Betrayal. Jesus suffered betrayal by the disciple who sold him and by the disciple who denied him. He was betrayed by the people who sang hosanna to him and then shouted: “Crucify him!” (Mt 27:22). He was betrayed by the religious institution that unjustly condemned him and by the political institution that washed its hands of him. We can think of all the small or great betrayals that we have suffered in life. It is terrible to discover that a firmly placed trust has been betrayed. From deep within our heart a disappointment surges up that can even make life seem meaningless. This happens because we were born to be loved and to love, and the most painful thing is to be betrayed by someone who promised to be loyal and close to us. We cannot even imagine how painful it was for God who is love.

Let us look within. If we are honest with ourselves, we will see our infidelities. How many falsehoods, hypocrisies and duplicities! How many good intentions betrayed! How many broken promises! How many resolutions left unfulfilled! The Lord knows our hearts better than we do. He knows how weak and irresolute we are, how many times we fall, how hard it is for us to get up and how difficult it is to heal certain wounds. And what did he do in order to come to our aid and serve us? He told us through the Prophet: “I will heal their faithlessness; I will love them deeply” (Hos 14:5). He healed us by taking upon himself our infidelity and by taking from us our betrayals. Instead of being discouraged by the fear of failing, we can now look upon the crucifix, feel his embrace, and say: “Behold, there is my infidelity, you took it, Jesus, upon yourself. You open your arms to me, you serve me with your love, you continue to support me… And so I will keep pressing on”.

Abandonment. In today’s Gospel, Jesus says one thing from the Cross, one thing alone: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46). These are powerful words. Jesus had suffered the abandonment of his own, who had fled. But the Father remained for him. Now, in the abyss of solitude, for the first time he calls him by the generic name “God”. And “in a loud voice” he asks the question “why?”, the most excruciating “why?”: “Why did you too abandon me?”. These words are in fact those of a Psalm (cf. 22:2); they tell us that Jesus also brought the experience of extreme desolation to his prayer. But the fact remains that he himself experienced that desolation: he experienced the utmost abandonment, which the Gospels testify to by quoting his very words.

Why did all this take place? Once again, it was done for our sake, to serve us. So that when we have our back to the wall, when we find ourselves at a dead end, with no light and no way of escape, when it seems that God himself is not responding, we should remember that we are not alone. Jesus experienced total abandonment in a situation he had never before experienced in order to be one with us in everything. He did it for me, for you, for all of us; he did it to say to us: “Do not be afraid, you are not alone. I experienced all your desolation in order to be ever close to you”. That is the extent to which Jesus served us: he descended into the abyss of our most bitter sufferings, culminating in betrayal and abandonment. Today, in the tragedy of a pandemic, in the face of the many false securities that have now crumbled, in the face of so many hopes betrayed, in the sense of abandonment that weighs upon our hearts, Jesus says to each one of us: “Courage, open your heart to my love. You will feel the consolation of God who sustains you”.

Dear brothers and sisters, what can we do in comparison with God, who served us even to the point of being betrayed and abandoned? We can refuse to betray him for whom we were created, and not abandon what really matters in our lives. We were put in this world to love him and our neighbours. Everything else passes away, only this remains. The tragedy we are experiencing at this time summons us to take seriously the things that are serious, and not to be caught up in those that matter less; to rediscover that life is of no use if not used to serve others. For life is measured by love. So, in these holy days, in our homes, let us stand before the Crucified One – look upon the Crucified One! – the fullest measure of God’s love for us, and before the God who serves us to the point of giving his life, and, – fixing our gaze on the Crucified One – let us ask for the grace to live in order to serve. May we reach out to those who are suffering and those most in need. May we not be concerned about what we lack, but what good we can do for others.

Behold my servant, whom I uphold. The Father, who sustained Jesus in his Passion also supports us in our efforts to serve. Loving, praying, forgiving, caring for others, in the family and in society: all this can certainly be difficult. It can feel like a crossroads. But the path of service is the victorious and life giving path by which we were saved. I would like to say this especially to young people, on this Day which has been dedicated to them for thirty-five years now. Dear friends, look at the real heroes who come to light in these days: they are not famous, rich and successful people; rather, they are those who are giving themselves in order to serve others. Feel called yourselves to put your lives on the line. Do not be afraid to devote your life to God and to others; it pays! For life is a gift we receive only when we give ourselves away, and our deepest joy comes from saying yes to love, without ifs and buts. To truly say yes to love, without ifs and buts. As Jesus did for us.

Pope Francis - St Peter's Basilica, Celebration of Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Year A (5 April 2020) 35th World Youth Day.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Pelayan Atasan Tertinggi / Most High Servant,
Yesus, Maria, Yusuf Pelayanan Kasih / Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 
(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

My vocation is Blessed and Saints.

"I am the most humble of all the Saints in Heaven" Mary, Mother of God."

"I am the handmaid of the Lord, said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me."

Mother Mary is the most humble Saint in Heaven and she is also the Mother of God for us all
(Luke 1:38)