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Today we commence that week we call holy with the blessing and distribution of palms and the reading of the Passion narrative from the Gospel of Matthew. This week is a royal opportunity to carve out extra time from our normal routine to journey with Christ through the last week of his earthly life in personal prayer with the Gospels and in the communal celebration of the powerful liturgies of the Sacred Triduum.

In order for this week to be different from others, in order for it to be holy, we must sacrifice other good things in order to give more time and attention to our Savior who surrendered his life in loving obedience to the Father for the purpose of redeeming the whole world and setting us free from every one of our sins.

We know that during the last few days of Jesus’ life, his physical suffering is quite extraordinary. It includes, as we well know, sleepless nights, the scourging at the pillar, the crowing with thorns, the carrying of the cross and the hanging on the tree. It is dreadful to ponder how we treated our precious Lord who only knew love for this world and who, as the completely Innocent One, submitted to these unspeakable crimes. These sorrows boldly proclaim to all the world the great reality that the Second Person of the Holy Trinity truly took on our human condition to pay the price of our salvation.

In addition to this physical suffering, the Sacred Heart of Jesus endured a deeper sorrow flowing from the lack of faith of so many who were blinded to his identity and mission. We recall how previously Jesus wept on his way into Jerusalem over the lack of faith of her residents. He lamented what would soon happen to the great city, “because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” Jesus’ pain over the world’s lack of faith in him would reach a pinnacle this week.

We see the lack of faith among the Romans. Their leaders, including King Herod, Pontius Pilate, and numerous soldiers were unable to grasp the marvels the God-man was performing, embrace the truths he was revealing, or accept the love he was offering. Herod and Pilot found Jesus’ words attractive and his actions perplexing but were unable to make the leap of faith.

A little closer to home, the lack of faith of many Jewish leaders from among the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees and the scribes weighed very heavily on his Sacred Heart. Our Heavenly Father had been preparing the Hebrew people for 2,000 years for the coming of the Messiah. The Eternal Son of the Father had emptied himself and pitched his tent among us. For three years, he taught, healed, forgave and loved with incomprehensible power and generosity. However, they found it too hard to see beyond their limited expectations and misguided interpretations and to recognize in the carpenter from Nazareth the answer to all their hopes and prophecies.

Finally, Jesus’ boundless sorrows were capped with the lack of faith of his Apostles. Those closest to us are the ones who can hurt us the most. All Twelve Apostles abandoned Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane after his arrest. Peter attempts to draw close to Our Lord and enters the high priest’s courtyard during Jesus’ false trial. However, in a most regrettable moment of weakness, after having sworn that he would go to death with Jesus, Peter melts before the crowd and those who claimed, “This man was with Jesus the Galilean.” Three times Peter denies knowing Jesus. In the end, none but Mary, Mary Magdalene, John and a few others have the courage and faith to be present to Jesus at the foot of the Cross.

It is right here, in the midst of the darkness of sin, weakness and a lack of faith that Jesus demonstrates the depth of his goodness and love. He remains faithful to the Father’s plan. He humbly accepts all that we dish out upon him as the Suffering Servant. “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.” He endures his Passion with unfathomable meekness and patience. It is here that Jesus demonstrates the depth of his love for each one of us. Indeed, Jesus loves us to the end.