Pope Francis, humble like a donkey in all faithfulness on this Palm Sunday (Yikes!)

Holy Souls Hermitage ^ | 3/24/2013 | Fr. George David Byers

[markomalley]

“He Defends His People!” Pope Francis departed from his prepared text many times in order to urge us all to be humble, humble, humble, faithful, faithful, faithful.

Palm Sunday… Also the feast day of all donkeys… Sent in by email…

• One day there was an assassination attempt on the life of St Josemaria Escriva, the founder of OPUS DEI (“The Work of God.”) As Josemaria was climbing some steps through a busy crowd, a man came towards him with knife intent on killing him. Suddenly it seemed, out of nowhere, another large man passed in front of him and disarmed the man with the knife. Josemaria did not recognise either of the men, but as the assailant was led away, the other tall man came over to Josemaria and whispered in his ear: “You mangey donkey!” Josemaria immediately knew then who this man was: it was his Guardian Angel. Each day in his prayers, Josemaria would ask God to look after His “mangey donkey,” referring to himself. He had done this all his adult life but had never told a living soul.

I very often think about what it might be like to enter the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven, wondering about the presence of my guardian angel, wondering if he will be having a great time of being super-snarkey with me as he accompanies me, which would be great. I hope to be another mangey donkey.

Meanwhile, we are to be about he business of all donkeys, humility, humility, humility in all faithfulness, faithfulness, faithfulness. This doesn’t preclude singing like any donkey, of course. I think we have a precedent with some little ones when Jesus was entering Jerusalem on a donkey:

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

Now, for a little anecdote on “hosanna” and the Holy Name of Jesus that some have seen previously on this blog:

From the Hebrew, we have: הוֹשַׁע־נָא, which, transliterated into the Greek of the New Testament, is Ὡσαννὰ, which, transliterated into the Latin of the Vulgate, is Osanna, which, transliterated into English, is Hosanna.

This is what all the crowds were crying out as Jesus entered into Jerusalem on my all time favorite beast, the donkey:

“And the crowds were going before Him, and those following cried out, saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David. The One who is coming in the Name of the Lord perfectly continues to be perfectly blessed. Hosanna in the highest places’” (Matthew 21,9).

I remember perhaps the most highly hailed spiritual director in Rome (not mine) giving a homily about this word, hosanna, which he insisted with effervescent niceness was no more and no less than a wonderfully joyous exclamation of exuberant niceness. Well… um… No! After I told him what the word meant, he half threw a tantrum, insisting that I never, ever give a homily based on the meaning of that word, for “that would be the worst thing.” Let’s just ignore his protestations, and see what this is all about.

The meaning of הוֹשַׁע־נָא, in Hebrew, the start of all this, is “Therefore, because of that… Save us!” In context with the crowds welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem, the “Hosanna in the highest places” bit, the meaning is, “Because you are in the highest places (hailing Him as the Son of God), therefore, because of that, save us!” In other words, we are not in the highest places. We have no power to save ourselves. Because you are, in fact, in the highest places, therefore, save us! You can do it. We can’t. So, do it! Save us!

Now, the mockery of Jesus when He was in the highest places, that is, when He was lifted up on the Cross, when He would draw all to Himself, was spoken by the religious leaders of the time: “Come down from there. Save yourself and save us! Just come down, and then we will believe!” But He chose to stay in that highest of all places, and actually save us.

To the point, “Hosanna!” (Therefore, save us!), is the verbal form of the Holy Name of Jesus, so that the Name Jesus means “Savior.”

Christ, meaning “anointed”, is, in Hebrew, Messiah. So, Jesus Christ means “Anointed Savior.”

So, it being that Jesus means Savior, how is it that we are to use that Holy Name? Well, we are to believe what the name says, and so use it from the perspective of one who is being saved by the One who is doing the saving, the Savior, Jesus!

Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner! = O Savior, have mercy on me, a sinner! The Lord’s mercy saves us. When we call on Jesus’ name, Savior, we call on His mercy.

Oh, and just to say. In the Gospels, the use of the appellative “Lord” — Kurios — is what is used for Yahweh, taking the example of the Greek Old Testament. Some people think Yahweh is strictly Old Testament, and that it would be evil to use it today. That’s just anti-Semitism flaunting blasphemy against the Holy Spirit who inspired the Sacred Scriptures, objectively. People just don’t know what they are doing. Yahweh means “The One who causes to be.” Sounds ever applicable to the Lord, to Jesus, through whom all things were made, no?

The Lord Jesus = the Savior who causes to be, that is, who brings about a new creation within us by way of the mercy, the salvation, which He, the Savior, Jesus, brings to us.

* * *

Much more on donkeys later today, please God. We’ll see more about donkeys, humility and faithfulness, right to death. Yikes!

[Mercat]

Today is my great nephew’s third birthday. I bought him a picture book about the donkey who carried Jesus on Palm Sunday into Jerusalem. The donkey had never been ridden because he was small and weak. “My help is enough; It’s all that you need. It’s all you require in life to succeed. The weaker you are the more strength I give. I’ll be there to help you as long as you live.”

[Salvation]

Pope Francis, humble like a donkey in all faithfulness on this Palm Sunday (Yikes!)

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