A sacred task, and gift, for Palm Sunday

For western Christians around the world, Palm Sunday represents the beginning of Holy Week, the most sacred time on the Christian calendar. Traditionally, children wave palm fronds in remembrance of Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, just days before his crucifixion on Good Friday, a story recorded in all four Gospels.

At St. Joseph Catholic Church, Monsignor Richard Harris, the senior pastor of the Devine Street congregation, spent part of Saturday morning arranging a variety of palms on the altar of the historic church.

“It’s my way of being able to give back to the parish, a gift, something personal that I’ve done,” he said as he placed Mediterranean, date and fan palms in the altar vases. “I’ve done this at every parish I’ve been in since I was ordained.”

Harris has a gift for floral arranging – he once owned a flower shop before he entered the priesthood in 1993.

The half-hour in the quiet sanctuary, the organist practicing in the background, serves as spiritual preparation for Harris as he and his parishioners enter the solemn week ahead, including the stripping of the altar on Holy Thursday, the remembrance of Christ’s suffering on Good Friday and the triumph of the resurrection on Easter.

“It just sets the tone for me,” he said.

This story was originally published March 29, 2015 at 8:58 AM with the headline "A sacred task, and gift, for Palm Sunday."