Lenten Bible Study
using the readings from Sunday Mass
For RCIA/OCIA and Liturgical Cycle Year A (2005, 2008)

Passion Sunday
Read:
For the Procession with Palms, Matthew 21:1-11
Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24
Philippians 2:6-11
Matthew 26:14--27:66

The word "passion" has powerful implications. Theologically, we use it to describe the suffering love that Jesus had for each of us when He was beaten, mocked and crucified. The world counterfeits this word by applying it to strong feelings of romantic, even lustful, attraction. We also use it to refer to an obsessive drive that motivates us to do something we enjoy or greatly care about, which is why we can say that Jesus cared passionately about us while enduring The Passion.

The strong love that Jesus exhibited in His ministry and on Good Friday is a lesson on what it means to have "compassion" for others: We walk with them in their sufferings, we "suffer with". It's passionate love in it's holiest form.

Read the scriptures for Passion Sunday with an eye on how much they reveal Jesus' passionate love for you. See yourself in the passion of the people who enthusiastically welcomed Jesus and in those who rejected and denied Him. Consider how much compassion Jesus must have had for you when He willingly subjected Himself to the excruciating pains of His final hours, despite how much you've hurt Him.

Questions for Reflection and Faith Sharing

1. Read again the first Gospel, thinking of the ways you've been good to Jesus. How has this been praise and blessings for Him? How has this helped Him?

2. Looking at the reading from Isaiah, how have you beaten on Jesus, plucked His beard, and spit on Him, even while He was ministering to you?

3. What does your answer to #2 say about Jesus emptying Himself for you, as the reading from Philippians describes?

4. Identify the ways you've emptied yourself for others. In what ways does the Passion of Jesus minister to you in your own sufferings?

Question for Moving Forward on the Journey
For participating in the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the quiet tomb of Holy Saturday), bring to mind the most painful way you are suffering compassionately with (or in passionate love for) someone else. Connect this to what Jesus did. How does this help you feel more intimately involved with Jesus in the salvation story? How does it make your life a modern Gospel?

© 2005 by Terry A. Modica

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