St John Paul II Parish - NB

Today, in countless Catholic churches the world over, palms will not be given to the faithful. Many of us will watch piously on our TV screens as priests begin by blessing the palm branches in an action that makes this Mass so distinct, so memorable, and, normally, so tactile.

Just over 1600 years ago, for example, Catholics had their world – a world they shared with numbers of non-believers – rocked. In 410, the Vandals, whose name has become synonymous with “marauding thugs,” sacked the city of Rome, which had stood largely untouched and untouchable for 1000 years. This crisis produced, among believers and pagans alike, deep existential angst, questioning, and insecurity.