A large crowd of palm-waving worshippers, including women wearing saris, thronged Mary Immaculate Catholic Church in Quakers Hill, in the Diocese of Parramatta, on Palm Sunday to commemorate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
Each year on Palm Sunday, Christians throughout the world celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, where he was greeted by cheering crowds waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna”. The feast also commemorates the beginning of Holy Week and Jesus’ final journey to the Cross.
At Mary Immaculate Parish in the vibrant, rich Quakers Hill community, Monsignor Cesar Echano MSP encouraged more than 500 devotees to reflect on the divine love story during Holy Week.
“Make this week holy because it’s an encounter with the Bridegroom,” Msgr Cesar told the crowd gathered outside the church.
He added that Holy Week and the Week of the Bridegroom cannot be separated, referring to ‘Jesus the Bridegroom’. This is a metaphor rooted in biblical passages like Ephesians 5:22-33, which compares the relationship between Christ and the Church (the bride) to the covenant between a husband and wife.
Mary Immaculate Parish, Quakers Hill-Schofields. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Ways to prepare for the Cross
During his homily, Msgr Cesar reminded the gathered faithful to observe the Church’s traditional practice of fasting and abstinence on Good Friday and urged everyone to keep reflecting throughout the week on the events leading up to and including Jesus’ crucifixion, as described in the Gospels.
He suggested praying the Stations of the Cross as a family and watching religious movies during Holy Week.
“In a mysterious way it helps.”
Mary Immaculate Parish, Quakers Hill-Schofields altar adorned with palms to celebrate Palm Sunday. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Palm blessing and procession
This year’s Mass began outside, where devotees re-enacted Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem by gathering around their beloved priest waving palm fronds, which were blessed with holy water.
These palms were taken home by parishioners, and next year will ultimately be turned into ashes for Ash Wednesday.
“As a parish we wanted to do something a lot different this year and so we created a space where we could bring the Scripture to life,” Parish Secretary Anthony Saliba OSB explained.
The Bible recounts how children were active participants in Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. So they were in this joyful re-enactment.
Girls and boys, among those gathered enthusiastically, raised their hands to answer questions about their symbolic encounter with ‘Jesus the Servant’.
Children holding their palms. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
“It made me feel like Jesus was here walking among us,” said Christine, aged 9, a pupil at Mary Immaculate Primary School Quakers Hill.
Malia, aged 9, another Mary Immaculate pupil, said it felt amazing to take part.
Another local pupil Elissa, aged 8, said when she thinks of Jesus she thinks of “love and forgiveness”.
Eight-year-old Jace, a pupil at Holy Cross Primary Glenwood, went with the word “kindness”.
Ariel, a Year 3 pupil at St Aidan’s Primary Rooty Hill, said he felt happy thinking about Jesus “because when He died for us, he saved us”.
After the outdoor ceremony, churchgoers formed a procession into the church, throwing down their palms as Msgr Cesar approached the altar, preceded by a cross-bearer and other servers.
Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
A strong Indian Catholic community
The path was strewn with a colourful sari, a nod to the high number of Quakers Hill’s population — 16.8% — who had nominated Indian as one of their ancestries in the most recent Census.
Sari-wearing churchgoer Latha Chandran was especially delighted by this custom.
Latha, who lives in India and is visiting her son, said back home they do the same.
“Only it’s usually a red sari carpet because of the King of the Jews,” she said, unpacking the significance of the colour in Catholic liturgy, symbolising the blood of Christ and Christian martyrs, and also the colour used on Passion (Palm) Sunday.
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