April 13, 2025: Love That Chose the Cross

This Sunday begins the most sacred and solemn week of the Christian calendar—Holy Week. It starts with celebration and ends with sacrifice. We wave palms to welcome our King, but soon we will kneel in silence as He walks the road to Calvary.

This is Passion Sunday—when we read and remember the suffering of Jesus. We are invited not just to hear the story, but to enter into it.

From Cheers to Chains

“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9)

The crowds shouted with joy as Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. They saw a hero, a miracle-worker, perhaps even a revolutionary. But Jesus wasn’t entering to conquer with swords. He was coming to conquer with love—a love so deep, it would go all the way to the cross.

By the end of the week, those same voices would fall silent—or turn into shouts of “Crucify Him!”

The True Passion

The word “Passion” doesn’t just mean suffering. It comes from the Latin passio, meaning to endure, to bear—and ultimately, to love deeply and sacrificially.

Jesus didn’t suffer by accident. He chose to walk this path. Not because He had no power to stop it, but because He had too much love to turn away.

“No one takes my life from me; I lay it down of my own accord.” (John 10:18)

That’s the Passion we remember this Sunday—not just the pain, but the purpose behind it.

The Nurse and the Cross

A few years ago, a Catholic nurse named Anita worked in a crowded government hospital. She was known for her kindness, especially to the poor and abandoned. One night, during Holy Week, a badly beaten man was brought in—no family, no name, left for dead after an accident.

The staff was busy. No one wanted the extra work. But Anita stayed late. She washed his wounds, held his hand, whispered prayers. When he died a few hours later, she made sure he was buried with dignity.

A young intern watched the whole scene and asked her later, “Why did you do all that? No one even knows who he was.”

She quietly replied, “Because this week, Jesus reminded me: ‘What you do to the least of these, you do to Me.’ And I couldn’t let Jesus suffer alone.”

That’s the heart of Passion Sunday—to recognize Christ in the suffering, the forgotten, the wounded… and to respond with love.

What Does This Mean for Us?

1. Don’t Rush Past the Cross

It’s tempting to jump from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday—but the journey of salvation passes through Gethsemane, Golgotha, and the grave. Sit with the sorrow. Let it open your heart.

2. Follow the Passion with Compassion

Jesus' passion calls us to embrace others with sacrificial love. Look around—who’s carrying a cross today? Can you walk beside them?

3. Let Your Heart Be Moved

Passion Sunday is not about guilt—it’s about grace. Jesus suffered, not to condemn you, but to redeem you. Let His love move you to repentance, gratitude, and deeper trust.

A Closing Prayer:

Lord Jesus, as You rode into Jerusalem, You knew the pain that was coming—but You went anyway. You chose the cross because You chose me. As I enter this Holy Week, help me to stay close to You. Let Your Passion become my path, and Your love become my strength. Amen.

Reflection Question:
What part of the Passion story speaks to you the most? How can you live that truth this Holy Week?