Homily for Palm Sunday 2026<\/p>\n
Readings:\u00a0 Matthew 21:1-11<\/a>; Isaiah 50:4-7<\/a>;\u00a0 Psalm 22; Philippians 2:6-11<\/a>; Matthew 26:14\u201427:66<\/a><\/p>\n Listen at: soundcloud<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, On Palm Sunday, the crowds were united. The people were joyous. They were together following Jesus. There was a similar sense on Wednesday, the feast of the Annunciation, when Sarah Mullally was installed as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Anglican Church. While our own Vatican officials continue to kick the can down the road, intimating that the door is not completely closed forever on the question of women\u2019s ordination in the Roman Church, it just looked and sounded so natural to have a woman on the feast of the Annunciation reflecting on Mary\u2019s own call and being installed as the Archbishop of Canterbury. Mullally recalled: \u2018Over the last week I have walked the ancient pilgrim path from St Paul\u2019s Cathedral in London to Canterbury Cathedral. Each day my heart and spirits were lifted immeasurably by the people young and old we encountered, even though my aching feet and limbs tell a different story!\u2019<\/p>\n She reflected on Mary\u2019s call: \u2018For Mary, \u2026 following God\u2019s invitation to trust in his promises meant trusting in a future she couldn\u2019t yet see \u2013 a future she could never have imagined. Mary was invited to put her faith in God, and to trust in the angel\u2019s words of assurance: \u2018For nothing will be impossible with God\u2019.\u00a0 I resonate with this, as I look back over my life \u2013 at the teenage Sarah, who put her faith in God and made a commitment to follow Jesus. I could never have imagined the future that lay ahead, and certainly not the ministry to which I am now called. Mary followed in the footsteps of the faithful, her story resonates with the beautiful stories of women like Hannah in the Scriptures.\u00a0 Mary put her hope in God\u2019s future. She trusted that He was with her, and through Mary, God did a new thing!\u2019[1]<\/a><\/p>\n I daresay there will be many women in the Roman Church who will take heart from Mullally\u2019s life and ministry, though they be only part way along the journey she has travelled.<\/p>\n The Presidents of Churches Together in England presented Mullally with their covenant to work and worship together. Inviting Mullally to sign the covenant, they said: \u2018Dear sister in Christ, our Lord Jesus solemnly prayed for the unity of his disciples in truth and love, and he has given us the Holy Spirit who renews our hearts as he equips and calls us to service and witness for the life of the world.\u2019<\/p>\n For us Catholics, there were many hopeful signs at the Canterbury installation. Mullally wore the pastoral ring given to her predecessor Archbishop Michael Ramsey by Pope Paul VI. Richard Moth, the Catholic archbishop of Westminster, read the first reading. The Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity was there as were two English cardinals. All up there were 7 Catholic bishops in attendance. Gone are the days of staying apart and simply denying the validity of Anglican orders. Pope Leo sent a fraternal message affirming \u2018it is through the witness of a reconciled, fraternal and united Christian community that the proclamation of the Gospel will resound most clearly\u2019. Leo said, \u2018I firmly believe that we need to continue to dialogue in truth and love, for it is only in truth and love that we come to know together the grace, mercy and peace of God (cf.2 Jn1:3), and thus can offer these precious gifts to the world.\u2019[2]<\/a>\u00a0 In response, Mullally asked that Pope Leo \u2018continue to pray for the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion, that we may be guided by the Holy Spirit in faithfulness, unity, and charity.\u2019[3]<\/a><\/p>\n The Final Report of our recent Synod\u2019s Study Group on the Participation of Women in the Life and Leadership of the Church notes:<\/p>\n Reflection on the role of women in the Church is both necessary and urgent for the full recognition of the Church\u2019s identity. Faced with a world as complex as ours, the first attitude to adopt is that of listening to women before any decision or position is taken. Such listening allows for reflection that does not remain at a merely abstract level but takes into account the diversity of women\u2019s life experiences, education, and cultures across different parts of the world.<\/p>\n In approaching this reflection, certain attitudes must first be avoided. First, one must guard against the temptations of fear and haste. It is necessary both to foster the freedom to speak according to conscience, even when this proves \u201cuncomfortable,\u201d and to resist the impatience to achieve concrete results at all costs within a short time.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n This Palm Sunday as we process joyously proclaiming \u2018Hosanna in the highest\u2019, let\u2019s pledge ourselves and urge our bishops to listen to women. Like those at the first Palm Sunday, let\u2019s not be motivated by fear. As we wave our palms, let\u2019s have the confidence to speak according to conscience even when this proves uncomfortable.<\/p>\n At the commencement of Archbishop Mullally\u2019s installation, she was questioned by some children: \u2018How do you come among us and with what confidence?\u2019 She answered: \u2018I come knowing nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified, and in weakness and fear and in much trembling.\u2019 The children then replied: \u2018Let us then humble ourselves before God and together seek his mercy and strength.\u2019[5]<\/a><\/p>\n Together, seeking God\u2019s mercy and strength, we move towards the passion, death and resurrection of our Saviour who prayed that we would all be One. \u2018For nothing will be impossible with God\u2019.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Fr Frank Brennan SJ AO, Adjunct Professor of Thomas More Law School at ACU and Adjunct Research Professor at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, is a former Rector of Newman College, University of Melbourne, and CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA). His latest books include\u00a0Pope Francis: the Disruptive Pilgrims Guide<\/a>\u00a0(ATF Theology, 2025), and\u00a0<\/a>Gerard Brennan\u2019s Articles and Speeches: Maintaining the Law\u2019s Skeleton of Principle (2 volumes)\u00a0<\/a>(Connor Court, 2025).\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> See https:\/\/www.archbishopofcanterbury.org\/speeches\/archbishop-sarahs-installation-sermon<\/a><\/p>\n [2]<\/a> See https:\/\/press.vatican.va\/content\/salastampa\/it\/bollettino\/pubblico\/2026\/03\/26\/0233\/00460.html<\/a><\/p>\n [3]<\/a> See https:\/\/www.archbishopofcanterbury.org\/news\/message-archbishop-canterbury-pope-leo-xiv<\/a><\/p>\n [4]<\/a> See https:\/\/www.synod.va\/content\/dam\/synod\/process\/implementation\/10workinggroups\/final-reports\/sg5\/SG-5_ENG_Final-Report.pdf<\/a>, paras 11-12.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> See https:\/\/www.churchofengland.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2026-03\/installation-order-of-service-a4-large-print.pdf<\/a>, p.13.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Homily for Palm Sunday 2026 Readings:\u00a0 Matthew 21:1-11; Isaiah 50:4-7;\u00a0 Psalm 22; Philippians 2:6-11; Matthew 26:14\u201427:66 Listen at:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363074,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[175238,175239,175240,42,175241,43,175242,84159,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-363073","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-anglican-church","9":"tag-archbishop-of-canterbury","10":"tag-fr-frank-brennan-sj","11":"tag-headlines","12":"tag-homily","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-palm-sunday","15":"tag-pope-leo","16":"tag-top-news","17":"tag-top-stories","18":"tag-topnews","19":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
while others cut branches from the trees
and strewed them on the road.
The crowds preceding him and those following
kept crying out and saying:
\u2018Hosanna to the Son of David;
blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
hosanna in the highest.\u2019
And when he entered Jerusalem
the whole city was shaken and asked, \u2018Who is this?\u2019
And the crowds replied,
\u2018This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.\u2019<\/p>\n