What are we prepared to give God?
That was the question Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB asked in his 2024 Palm Sunday homily.
Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem and marks the beginning of Holy Week. It is celebrated before Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Delivered on a sunny Perth morning at St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth on Sunday, 24 March, Archbishop Costelloe emphasised the depth of God’s love, which remains steadfast despite human failings, mistakes, weaknesses, and betrayals.
Archbishop Costelloe said that God’s ultimate act of love was manifested in the gift of Jesus Christ, who willingly sacrificed His life for humanity.
In light of this profound love bestowed upon us, Archbishop Costelloe challenged those gathered to contemplate what they are willing to offer God in return for this sacrifice.
“No failure, no mistake, no weakness or betrayal on our part can destroy God’s love for us. In giving us Jesus, who offers His life for us, God gives everything to us and for us.
“The question is: what are we prepared to give in return?” Archbishop Costelloe said.
A procession, with the faithful holding palm leaves, around the Cathedral preceded the Mass. Palm leaves were placed in Christ’s path as he entered Jerusalem.
Turning to Jesus, the Archbishop said that He was more than “a really good man.” Rather, “we know that Jesus is the revelation of God. He is God with a human face.”
“This takes us to the very heart of our faith. We Catholics believe, and indeed know with the certainty of our faith, that in Jesus we have so much more than a really good man who lived a wonderful life and left us a remarkable legacy and a powerful teaching.
“He is all that of course but, much more importantly and essentially, we know that Jesus is the revelation of God.
“He is God with a human face.
“And because of that, and because He has risen from the dead, He is not just a great man from the past. He is a living presence today filling our lives with His love. As we contemplate
“His face, as we gaze on Him in the gospels, we are seeing into the very heart and mind of God Himself.”
“Jesus gave His life for us because He loved us so much that He would not stop proclaiming the truth about who God really is, even though He knew it would cost Him His life.”
Archbishop Costelloe also called upon the parishioners to become “missionary disciples” as Pope Francis has called for.
The “Catholic Church around the world, including of course here in our archdiocese, is being invited by Pope Francis to enter into a process of renewal which might help us, as the Lord’s Church, to become more fully what the Pope calls a community of missionary disciples.
“In issuing this invitation the Pope is really asking us to reflect on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.”
“There is nothing new in this of course. It has always been true that as Christians we are called to reflect the face of Christ to all those we meet – and to do this by witnessing – by the way we speak and act – to the love, compassion and mercy of Christ who is our Way, our Truth and our life.”
