Palm Sunday | 2025
PALM SUNDAY 2025
Invitation to Wonder: Enter into the Story with Jesus
Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem….After throwing their cloaks on the colt, [two disciples] set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,
"Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!" Luke 19:28-40 (read more Lenten Scripture)
On this Palm Sunday, your God-given imagination can bring you into a prayer-ful encounter with Jesus Christ himself, helping you see the Gospel story in a new way.
The practice of imaginative Gospel contemplation is a method of prayer in which you imagine yourself in a Gospel scene, stepping into the story and encountering Jesus there. St Ignatius, who taught this way of praying, firmly believed that God can speak to you just as clearly in your imagination as through your understanding of the Scriptures and sacraments. It is one more way to know Jesus.
You will be invited to take on the role of an active participant who meets Jesus in a unique and personal way. You will picture yourself in the story: right there with Jesus, watching Jesus’ face, listening to the way he speaks, seeing how people respond to him. Come to know Jesus as more than a name or a historical figure in a book. Meet him as a living person whom you may encounter in prayer, joining centuries of believers who say, “We have come to know him ourselves...” (John 4:42)
Are you ready to try imaginative Gospel contemplation?
#1 Read the Scripture passage
two times through, becoming familiar with the details of the story:
As Jesus came to Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he gave two disciples a task. He said, “Go into the village over there. When you enter it, you will find tied up there a colt that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘Its master needs it.’” Those who had been sent found it exactly as he had said. As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
They replied, “Its master needs it.” They brought it to Jesus, threw their clothes on the colt, and lifted Jesus onto it. As Jesus rode along, they spread their clothes on the road. As Jesus approached the road leading down from the Mount of Olives, the whole throng of his disciples began rejoicing. They praised God with a loud voice because of all the mighty things they had seen. They said,“Blessings on the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens.” (Luke 19:29-38)
#2 Now….Imagine the place
Set the scene. What is the location? What does it look like? What details do you see? Take time to “compose the place” in your mind’s eye.
#3 Engage all your senses
Go beyond just what you can see to involve all of your senses. Fully immerse yourself into the story; What do you smell, hear, taste and touch? Follow whatever thoughts help you fill out an imagined sensory experience of the place.
#4 Let the scene play out
Now move into the ‘action’ of the scene. Let the story unfold in your mind. You are not just watching the scene from the outside, as a viewer of a movie. Instead, see yourself as a character inside the story, perhaps even someone on the periphery of the main action. Allow yourself to be drawn into whatever captures your imagination.
#5 Open your heart to Jesus
Conclude with a conversation in your imagination between Jesus and yourself, as one friend speaks with another. Express what is in your mind and heart. Let Jesus express His responses too. This is prayer.