Reflection 11: Palm Sunday & Entering the Mystery of Holy Week
Dear Pilgrims,
This week, we enter into the sacred terrain of Holy Week, a time unlike any other in the spiritual calendar. It is a path of deep companionship with Jesus Christ, one that invites us to move beyond observing a tradition and into a living encounter with Divine Love. We walk through these days not as spectators, but as friends, drawn into the intimacy, mystery, and transformative power of this holy journey.
Over the past week, we explored the sacred language of friendship with God, how Love speaks through presence, attention, and action, and how we are called to respond with the fullness of our hearts. That friendship deepens now. As we walk through Holy Week, we walk alongside Jesus as a companion and a mirror. His path begins to reflect our own. His vulnerability, loss, trust, and ultimate rising illuminate the spiritual patterns that shape our inner lives.
Holy Week holds within it every dimension of the human and divine experience: joy, confrontation, betrayal, grief, silence, love, surrender, and resurrection. It begins with Palm Sunday and moves through the Last Supper, the pain of the cross, the silence of the tomb, and the radiance of Easter morning. Each moment invites reflection, not only on the life of Christ, but on how his story reveals the deeper movements of Spirit within our own lives.
For over 25 years, I have dedicated this week to contemplative prayer and meditation on the Passion of Christ, drawing from the mystical visions of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich. Her vivid and intimate accounts have helped me walk closely with Jesus complementing theological concepts with symbols, emotions, and moments that speak directly to the heart. Every Holy Week, I slow down, sit with her visions, and ask God to show me what is unfolding in my own soul. Sometimes it’s grief that rises, sometimes a tender surrender, sometimes awe at Love’s courage. This has been the most important week of my year; it’s a week that has shaped and shapes who I am in ways I continue to discover.
I invite you to give yourself fully to this journey. Let these days be different. Make space for silence, prayer, stillness. Let your heart be open to both the beauty and the weight of the mystery. Each day, you will receive a reflection that draws from Scripture and from Emmerich’s visions. These reflections are invitations to feel, to listen, to respond.
This journey is deeply personal. The more attention you give to it, the more it reveals. Every relationship is a mirror, and this week offers the clearest reflection of all. As we walk with Jesus, we begin to see more clearly who we are in God, and who God is within us. The story of Christ begins to awaken our own story, one marked by hope, loss, courage, love, and the quiet power of resurrection.
Below, you’ll find the guide for each day of Holy Week, its meaning, its spiritual invitation, and an overview of the daily teaching to help you enter the mystery with your whole being.
Let this week be a pilgrimage of the heart. Let it open something within you that words cannot name. And may you come to know, more than ever, the nearness of the One who walks beside you.
With all my love and blessings,
Swaady
Holy Week introduction and overview
Holy Week, like all sacred stories, offers many layers of meaning. It can be read as historical memory, religious observance, or symbolic myth. But for us, on this pilgrimage of love and longing, we receive it as a living mirror, a profound reflection of our inner landscape and our evolving friendship with God. We walk with Jesus not only as a revered figure, but as a Friend and Guide. His path opens something within us. His life reflects our own.
🌿 Palm Sunday | The Entry of the Soul
Scriptural Moment: Jesus enters Jerusalem, welcomed with palm branches and joyful shouts of “Hosanna!” (Mark 11:1–10).
Mystical Meaning: This moment marks the soul’s awakening, when we recognize Divine Presence within and around us. It is the stirring of spiritual longing, the moment we say yes to something greater. The palms laid before Jesus become symbols of our own readiness to honor the sacred path.
Invitation: In what ways are you awakening to God within and around you? Where is your soul ready to say yes?
🕊️ Holy Monday & Tuesday | Inner Cleansing and testing
Scriptural Moment: Jesus enters the Temple, cleanses the temple, confronts religious hypocrisy, and drives out those misusing sacred space. (Mark 11:12–26)
Mystical Meaning: These days call for inner purification. The temple Jesus cleanses is also the temple of our own hearts. God calls us to examine our inner world, to notice where fear, distraction, or ego has taken up space meant for the sacred. These days are an invitation to honesty and renewal.
Invitation: What is cluttering the sacred space within you? What must be cleared out so that Divine Presence can dwell more fully? What false attachments, pretenses, or distractions must be cleared for the Holy to dwell fully within? What must be removed from your life to make space for sacred presence and integrity?
🌒 Holy Wednesday (Spy Wednesday) | The Shadow Appears
Scriptural Moment: Judas makes the decision to betray Jesus. (Mark 14:10–11)
Mystical Meaning: This is the day we confront the shadow. The part of us that chooses fear, comfort, or control over truth. It is the moment where betrayal becomes real, not only from others but within ourselves. We meet the inner saboteur who resists the path of love when it becomes too costly.
Invitation: Where do you turn away from your soul’s truth? What part of you betrays your calling or avoids vulnerability? What parts of you long to be forgiven and reintegrated?
🍞 Maundy Thursday | The Feast of Love and Surrender
Scriptural Moment: The Last Supper, the washing of feet, and the institution of communion. (Mark 14:12–26; John 13:1–17)
Mystical Meaning: This is a day of sacred intimacy, humility, and selfless service. Jesus gives himself fully, to friend and betrayer alike. Jesus offers radical love and humble service, kneeling to wash feet, breaking bread in sacred unity. He models the kind of love that gives without grasping. It is the path of radical love and holy surrender.
Invitation: How are you called to embody love today? What does it mean for you to share a table with both your beloveds and your wounds? What does it mean to sit at the table with those who both support and challenge your heart?
🌑 Good Friday | The Death of the False Self
Scriptural Moment: Jesus is crucified and dies on the cross (Mark 15:16–41).
Mystical Meaning: Good Friday brings us face-to-face with loss, pain, and the end of illusions. It is the surrender of ego and control. The cross is not only a place of death, but also the gate to deeper truth.
Invitation: What in you must die so something truer and freer can rise? What false identity, attachment, or illusion must come to an end so that something new can begin? What are you being asked to release at the cross?
🕯️ Holy Saturday | The Silent Abyss
Scriptural Moment: Jesus lies in the tomb. The world holds its breath (Mark 15:42–47).
Mystical Meaning: This is the space between death and resurrection. A day of silence, stillness, sacred waiting, a space between, between what was and what will be. A sacred pause, where the soul rests in mystery. It is the womb of darkness where new life silently stirs.
Invitation: Can you rest without answers? Can you stay in the silence and trust what is being formed in the dark? Can you trust the waiting? Can you stay present in the unknown without rushing toward answers?
🌅 Easter Sunday | The Rising of the True Self
Scriptural Moment: Jesus rises from the dead. The tomb is empty. Life returns (Mark 16:1–8).
Mystical Meaning: Resurrection reveals the deeper truth of who we are. Life cannot be overcome. Love is stronger than fear. The risen Christ shows us the radiance of the soul when it has passed through death and surrendered into Divine Life.
Invitation: What in you is ready to rise? What truth, calling, or dream is waiting to step out of the tomb and into the light?
Entry into Jerusalem, Fra Angelico 1450
“So they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the colt, and helped Jesus to mount. As he rode along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road; and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen. They proclaimed: ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.’”
Palm Sunday | The Entry of the Soul
Today, Palm Sunday invites us to recognize the Divine in our midst. Jesus enters Jerusalem, humbly riding a donkey, greeted by the crowd’s joyful cries of "Hosanna!" He rides not with grandeur, but with gentleness. As the crowd shouts “Hosanna!” and lays down palm branches, symbols of peace, honor, and divine victory, the city stirs. Hearts open. Something sacred is in their midst, and they sense it. This moment is a call to awaken to the Divine Presence, both around us and within us.
The One who enters Jerusalem also enters the depths of our being. The palms we lay down are not only branches; they represent the old defenses we’re ready to release, the fears we’re willing to let go of, and the longings we’re no longer ashamed to name.
Palm Sunday marks the soul’s entry into awareness. It awakens our inner Jerusalem, the holy city within, where the Divine has always longed to dwell. This is the mystery of the Divine indwelling. God is not only to be sought; God is also to be received. The Holy is not only above us; the Holy lives in us. As St. Augustine wrote, “You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you.”
Many of us spend years seeking God outside of ourselves, longing for signs, chasing spiritual experiences, hoping to feel worthy. But Palm Sunday reminds us that the Divine Presence does not storm the gates of our lives. It enters with humility. It comes as an invitation, not a demand. It asks only this: Will you recognize me? Will you welcome me in?
In today’s world, we often expect spiritual experiences to be dramatic or quick. We live in a culture that craves instant gratification, even in our spiritual lives. We seek fast fixes, fleeting highs, and “fast-tracked” transformations. We turn to a constant stream of workshops, content, healers, and gurus, hoping for instant enlightenment or healing. But true spiritual growth doesn’t come from consuming experiences or looking for shortcuts.
Palm Sunday teaches us that true spiritual awakening isn’t about spectacle or speed. The Divine enters quietly, humbly, and simply. We may think that a profound spiritual experience must be extraordinary, but it is often the small, humble moments of stillness, reflection, and prayer that bring the deepest transformation. One sincere prayer, one heartfelt question, or one moment of deep reflection can be more powerful than any fleeting spiritual high.
Spirituality is not something to consume or chase. It’s about receiving the Divine into our hearts and lives. In a world filled with distractions, we are invited to pause and recognize that God is already here, present in our ordinary lives, not just in extraordinary moments. True spiritual awakening happens not by running away from our busy lives or seeking something outside of ourselves, but by inviting the Divine into the everyday moments.
Jesus entered Jerusalem during a time of great busyness and celebration. This was not the moment for grand spectacle, but for a quiet and humble transformation amidst it all. Similarly, our spiritual journey doesn’t require dramatic experiences or fast results. It requires patience, humility, and the willingness to receive God’s presence in the midst of life’s ordinary, everyday moments.
I find myself often reflecting on how easy it is to get caught up in the search for the next spiritual high, the next big moment. It's tempting, in a world that celebrates quick fixes and instant results, to think that transformation has to be loud or fast. But the truth is, the most meaningful moments often happen quietly, without fanfare. In the midst of everything, the Divine is present, not in the rush, but in the stillness.
I don’t have all the answers, and I am still on this journey. But I’m learning that the path to true transformation doesn’t come from chasing after the next experience. It comes from being present in each moment and welcoming the Divine into our hearts and lives. The people of Jerusalem didn’t have a grand plan; they simply recognized something holy when it came. And I think that's a reminder for us all, that sometimes it’s the quiet, patient moments that carry the most profound spiritual growth.
As we move through Holy Week, I am reminded that transformation isn’t about waiting for the extraordinary. It’s about recognizing that God is already here, present with us, in every moment. So, we don’t need to chase after spiritual highs or look for the next big thing. Instead, we can simply open our hearts and be present, welcoming the Divine in our everyday lives, just as the people of Jerusalem welcomed Jesus. It’s in the simplicity, humility, and patience that God works the most deeply in our lives.
So, today, I say yes. Yes to the Presence already within me. Yes to the longing that draws me closer. Yes to the sacred procession that begins with a whisper of “Hosanna.”
Because the Divine is indeed coming, not to judge or conquer, but to dwell. To dwell in me. To dwell through me. To make my heart His sacred home.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 21:1-11 (also found in Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-40, and John 12:12-19)
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Jesus wept, as did the Apostles also, when He told them that many who were now shouting acclamations of joy would soon deride Him, and that a certain one would even betray Him. He looked upon the city, and wept over its approaching destruction. When He entered the gate, the cries of joy became still greater. Many sick of all kinds had been led or carried thither, consequently Jesus frequently halted, dismounted, and cured all without distinction. Many of His enemies had mingled with the crowd, and they now uttered cries with a view to raise an insurrection.
The nearer to the Temple, the more magnificent was the ornamentation of the road. On either side hedges had been put up to form enclosures, in which little animals with long necks, kids, and sheep, all adorned with garlands and wreaths around their neck, were skipping about as if in little gardens. The background of these enclosures was formed of bushes. In this part of the city there were always, and especially toward the Paschal feast, chosen animals for sale, pure and spotless, destined for sacrifice. To move from the city gate to the Temple, although a distance of about half an hour only, the procession took three hours.
Spiritual Invitation
Today you are invited to begin not with striving, but with receiving. Let your soul recognize the Divine at your threshold. Say yes, even if you don’t know what will follow. You don’t need to have it all figured out. Simply lay down the palm branches of your longing, and let the Presence ride in.
Where are you awakening to God within and around you?
What stirs in your soul at the presence of the Sacred?
Where is your inner “Jerusalem” beginning to open its gates?
