The Lord's entry into Jerusalem, also known as Palm Sunday, was once again an occasion of great joy for the faithful of the Holy Resurrection Church in Sacramento. The feast itself, with the message, "Fear not, daughter of Zion! Behold, your King is coming to sit on the foal of the donkey" (John 12:15), brought a surplus of joy through the presence of His Eminence, Metropolitan Nicolae, among the faithful in Sacramento, CA. It is commonly known that participation in a Hierarchical Liturgy is done with more emotion, and more liveliness on behalf of those present, including priests and the faithful. The hierarch himself in the Divine Liturgy represents Christ, and the ritual’s beauty, symbolism and majesty embodies the Kingdom of God which, according to the way of affirming faith through paradoxes, is here and now, and is to come.
His Eminence Nicolae's arrival took place on Saturday evening at Vespers, in an hour of soft light, at the end of which His Eminence gave a word of teaching. He urged the faithful to take a closer look at the coming week: Holy Week. The faithful were also urged to read more of the Holy Scriptures, especially the parts that recall the sufferings of our Savior Jesus Christ, and all the other events that make up this week: the love of silver (money) that led to the betrayal of Judas, the washing of the disciples' feet during the Last Supper, the commandment of love, the capture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal of Peter, the unjust judgment, the mockery and torment by the Jewish and Roman hierarchy, and finally, His crucifixion and burial. All these events, which will be reactualized in this week's services, can be better reflected upon if we manage to set aside our daily worries and take part, alongside the events mentioned, the one moment when Jesus the Saviour - God - needed man's help: 'you could not watch with me one hour' (Matthew 26:40).After the lecture, there was an agape meal prepared by the ladies of the women's committee of the parish.
On Sunday morning, the parish priest Teodor Gîrlonța and the priest Aurel Zmeu attended the Divine Liturgy together with His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae. The parish priest's children, helped by some faithful, gave the responses at the choir stands. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, in his homily, the Metropolitan specifically noted the event of the Savior’s entry into Jerusalem: the procession with palm fronds, His humility, His resistance to the Pharisees, and the turning of tables of the money changers who had turned the temple into a place of commerce.
On this feast day, the church was full of the faithful who came to meet their Hierarch. The excitement and joy experienced by the faithful can also be explained by the fact that, unlike in the Romanian dioceses where the hierarchs, due to the size of the dioceses and the administrative apparatus, do not get to know their priests closely, the smaller Romanian parishes in the US have the chance to meet their hierarch every year and observe his direct concern for all pastoral, spiritual and administrative matters. We see the joy of the faithful when they are engaged in projects that relate to the beautification of the church. A joy which, if not blessed and confirmed by the hierarch, is not fulfilled. This year, the faithful of the Holy Resurrection Church welcomed their hierarch with a new wooden linden iconostasis with all its furnishings, which were brought from Romania. The iconostasis was made in Sânmărghita, Cluj County, by the sculptor Câmpean Nicolae, and cost just over $50,000, including shipping from Romania. In addition, the social hall, which is currently in an advanced stage of refurbishing, was a reason for satisfaction and joy upon receiving the appreciation of His Eminence.
The Divine Liturgy was followed by a Panikhida service for the departed, after which all the faithful participated in the agape meal which was organized in the social hall of the church.
We thank God for the abundance of His gifts, and we thank His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae for the care he grants us, and for the unceasing prayers towards Our Savior and the Mother of God. We hope that we will endure every obstacle that is put before us, and that the joy of endurance leads us to eternity.
Fr. Teodor Gîrlonța
