“Live the paschal mysteries with hope, love, and solidarity,” urged Washington Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjívar during a Palm Sunday Mass celebrated in Spanish at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on March 29, 2026.
Bishop Menjívar, the principal celebrant and homilist, recalled that the passion and resurrection of Jesus continue to be relevant events for believers today.
With the Palm Sunday Mass, Holy Week began, a time during which the Church throughout the world commemorates the mystery of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection.
“Let us live with faith what Jesus did for us, for our salvation, to bring healing to our souls, freedom from the chains of sin and death, and the possibility of new life,” Bishop Menjívar said in his homily.
The Palm Sunday liturgy began with the blessing of palms and olive or laurel branches carried by the faithful, recalling the Gospel passage describing Jesus’s the triumphant entry into Jerusalem and providing an opportunity to reaffirm their faith.
Bishop Menjívar was joined by the rector of the Cathedral of St. Matthew, Msgr. W. Ronald Jameson, and Father Isaac Sagastume, who serves as a parochial vicar there. The clergy led the symbolic procession, accompanied by hundreds of the faithful.
After the blessing of palms, the congregation processed through streets adjacent to the church, recalling the moment when the people went out to meet the Lord, recognizing Him as king.
Passion Sunday “is a celebration of triumph and tragedy, of joy and sorrow, much like what happens in our own lives,” Bishop Menjívar noted, emphasizing that “sometimes, on the same day, we can experience joy and sadness, success and defeat.”
In the Palm Sunday liturgy, the passage recounting Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey marks the beginning of the Mass during the procession with palms, a detail the bishop highlighted to explain its meaning and relevance in the life of faith.
“We are like the little donkey mentioned in today’s Gospel. On the one hand, we rejoice in being able to walk on the cloaks spread along the road, but at the same time, we suffer from having to carry a weight that sometimes exceeds our strength,” the homilist stressed.
More than 1,700 catechumens and candidates will be baptized or fully received into the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil in parishes in the Archdiocese of Washington – the highest number in more than 15 years.
“There are many reasons to be optimistic and many more things that fill us with hope. Today we see so many people entering the sacramental life of the Church, especially young people,” he said.
At a time when many people suffer from isolation, there is an awakening of faith and a strong desire to become involved in parish and community life, the bishop said.
“At the same time, how can we not be concerned about the stories of fear and anxiety that many immigrants in our community continue to live?” Bishop Menjívar asked, expressing that “for many people this is a burden that is almost impossible to carry on their shoulders.”
Since being appointed auxiliary bishop of Washington, Bishop Menjívar has become a strong and visible voice in defense of migrants, denouncing immigration policies that sow fear and undermine human dignity.
The bishop was recently in El Paso, Texas, and in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, participating in a vigil and a march for life and for immigrants in commemoration of the martyrdom of St. Óscar Romero.
“I had the opportunity to share with immigrant families who have been stranded on the other side of the border, in Ciudad Juárez, and I was able to listen to their stories of anxiety, anguish, and despair as they do not know what will happen to their lives,” he explained.
In El Paso, he added, the situation is no less painful, as the city is becoming a “prison city” due to the proliferation of massive immigrant detention centers, where he said people remain in precarious, deeply troubling, and scandalous conditions.
He also mentioned the suffering caused by bloody wars and conflicts around the world, pointing out that what is most serious is that these fratricidal wars are claiming the lives of many innocent children, which “will bring more poverty, more forced migration, resentment, and division in the world.”
“Each one of us may be carrying the weight of a burdening guilt, a hidden humiliation, or the wound of a betrayal that bleeds within. The Passion of Christ is not something of the past; it is happening right now – it is real and present,” he said.
Bishop Menjívar emphasized that the passion and humiliation endured by Jesus cannot be understood without keeping in mind the reason why He, being God, accepts suffering: obedient love.
He explained that Jesus’s love is selfless and therefore will always involve the pain of self-giving and total self-donation. “It is not that we must allow ourselves to be used, disrespected, or humiliated, but when we place the needs of others above our own, we encounter a certain degree of suffering and self-emptying,” he said.
The bishop added that “when we are in solidarity with the poor, with immigrants, and with those who are rejected, as well as when we defend truth, life, peace, justice, and equality, we always run the risk of being misunderstood, despised, and ridiculed.” However, he emphasized that this loving sacrifice brings with it true joy, fulfillment, personal realization, and the promise of eternal life and happiness.
“Let us therefore enter this holy season with a sense of reverence and appreciation for what Jesus did for us. Let us live these mysteries with hope, with love, and with solidarity, and wave our palms with joy to welcome our King, humble and gentle. They are palms that proclaim, even amid pain, the triumph of love,” he concluded.
