🎧 [Listen to Homily: Audio]
📺 [Watch Mass: YouTube Video]
In the
country of Austria, in the city of Vienna, there is a ritual for the arrival of
a deceased Habsburg king or emperor at the cathedral for his funeral.
It is called the Habsburg “Knocking Ritual,” where a herald knocks on the
church doors.
When the
procession arrives, a herald steps forward and knocks on the great door.
From inside,
a voice calls out: “Who seeks entry?”
In 2011, the heralded responds with a long list of titles— Otto of Austria, former
Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, Prince Royal of Hungary…
And the
reply comes back: “We do not know him.”
A second
knock. Again the question: “Who
seeks entry?”
More titles.
More achievements.
Again, the
answer: “We do not know him.”
A third knock. Again the question: “Who seeks entry?”
No titles. No achievements. Only this: “Otto—a mortal, sinful man.”
And the
doors are opened: “Now he may enter.”
In the end,
titles do not open the door. Achievements do not open the door.
Palm Sunday
proclaims the same truth.
What matters
is who we are before God.
Because, as
St. Paul writes,
we brought nothing into
this world—and we take nothing out.
And today,
we see a king—Jesus—who already lives this way.
He enters
Jerusalem not with power or wealth, but in humility.
The crowds
shout, “Hosanna!”
Yet within minutes, we hear the Passion.
He will be
stripped of everything.
He will carry nothing out of this world.
So Palm
Sunday asks us:
Who are we—really—before
God?
2. The Grain of Wheat – Not Alone
Jesus says:
Unless a grain of wheat
falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone.
That word is
everything: alone.
A seed
cannot grow in isolation.
Even if you
could take a seed, soil, water, and oxygen
and place them far from Earth—
it still would not grow.
Because life
requires more than ingredients.
It requires relationship…
environment… connection.
So it is
with faith.
We are
nourished here—
but we are meant to be planted out there.
3. God Gives the Growth
St. Paul
tells us:
I planted, Apollos watered,
but God gave the growth… you are God’s field.
Faith is not
something we manufacture.
We are not
self-made.
Growth is not under our control.
We belong to
something larger—
a field, a people, a mission.
And God is
the one who gives growth.
Even our
intelligence is part of that plan—
not only to
improve the world,
but to understand suffering
and respond with love.
4. Learning to Die Each Day
This is
where it becomes concrete.
We are
called to “die” each day—
not physically, but spiritually.
Through
simple, real acts:
·
forgiving
someone who hurt us
·
visiting
the sick
·
letting
go of resentment
·
surrendering
control
These are
not small sacrifices.
They are the
soil of growth.
Because when
we cling to pride or anger,
we remain like the seed that stays alone.
5. The Purpose of What We Learn
God has
given us intelligence for something deeper.
Not just to
solve problems or achieve success—
but to recognize what truly matters.
When you
forgive…
when you endure suffering with patience…
when you serve someone in need…
You begin to
understand
how God brings life out
of death.
6. The Danger of Isolation
One of the
great dangers today is isolation.
We isolate
ourselves:
·
in
resentment
·
in
comfort or control
·
in
work
·
even
in religion, if we keep it contained here
But a seed
kept safe never grows.
Jesus did
not remain safe.
He entered
the world.
He suffered in it.
He died in it.
And because
of that—he bore fruit.
7. Sent Into the Field
What happens
here today matters.
We are
nourished.
We are strengthened.
But this is
not the field—
this is where we are prepared.
You are
meant to be planted:
·
in
your family
·
in
your work
·
in
your struggles
·
in
your relationships
That is
where God brings growth.
8. The Decision of Palm Sunday
So the
question is not what the crowd did.
The question
is:
What will I do? What
will you do?
Will we keep
our faith contained—
or allow it to be planted?
Will we hold
onto control—
or learn to die to ourselves each day?
Will we
remain alone—
or become part of God’s field?
9. Conclusion
Jesus enters
Jerusalem knowing what awaits him.
He will be
stripped of everything.
He will carry nothing out of this world.
And yet—he
will bear fruit that will never end.
Because he
did not remain alone.
So this
week, ask yourself:
Where
is God asking me to be planted?
What must die… so that
something greater can grow?
Because in
the end:
We bring
nothing in.
We take nothing out.
Except this—
the fruit that God has
grown through us.
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