"Palm Sunday, the gateway to Holy Week, is first of all, the great memorial to our Lord's Solemn Entrance into Jerusalem when He was about to suffer and to die. He did not fall, a victim of hatred; He went voluntarily to His death, with royal freedom. His death had been divinely decreed as the purchase price of humanity's redemption. This festive entrance was His wedding march as He proceeded to seal with blood His Bridegroom's love for humanity.
The greatest and holiest of weeks is about to begin. We should not call it a week of mourning, for Cross and Resurrection are inseparable. Christ's redemptive work did not end with death, it continues on in the victory of His Resurrection. Therefore, we must not separate the passion from the resurrection, but rather regard the Cross as the way to Easter victory.
The liturgy does not make this week one of sorrowful lamentation or tearful sympathizing with our suffering Lord. That was the medieval approach. No, through the whole week there runs a note of victory and joy, a realization that Christ's sacred passion was a prerequisite to Easter glory. We cannot understand the Church's liturgy unless we keep this in mind." - Pius Parch, The Church's Year of Grace.
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