Catholics of Azerbaijan celebrated the beginning of Holy Week — the Palm Sunday

Rites and Holy Masses for the Palm Sunday were celebrated by the General Vicar of the Apostolic Prefecture of the Catholic Church in Azerbaijan, Fr. Jozef Marek (SDB) at the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as at the Parish of St. John Paul II.

During the Holy Mass, in accordance with tradition, the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew was proclaimed.

Why is it that on this day Catholics of both Western and Eastern traditions (as well as Orthodox Christians) decorate churches with palm, willow, or olive branches and begin the liturgy holding them in their hands? In the ancient Near East, including Israel in the time of the Old Testament, palm branches were used to greet a king or to celebrate his victory. By entering Jerusalem, Jesus Christ begins the path that will lead Him to His saving Passion, which He freely embraces. The crowd welcomes Him as the Messiah — the King and Savior promised by the prophets, who would free Israel from occupation and put an end to injustice. Jesus truly is the Messiah, King, and Savior. Yet He came not to save earthly structures, whose end is death, but to save the human person, created for immortality and for participation in the blessedness of God, yet having lost this blessedness because of sin.