Christians observe Palm Sunday in Ellembelle District

A cross-section of Christians in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region on Sunday, March 28, 2021, joined all Christians across the globe to observe Palm Sunday.

Christians in Ghana on Sunday celebrated the occasion amidst Coronavirus pandemic.

Daniel Kaku visited some churches in the Ellembelle District to observe how some Christians were celebrating the Palm Sunday.

At Menzezor, this reporter saw the Roman Catholic Church in the area singing Hosanna amidst brass band music and waving of decorated palm leaves.

At a point in time, our Correspondent also saw some people coming out from their various houses to join the procession.

The chanting of 'Hosanna' by the church made the folks in the town to feel the presence of Jesus Christ and remembered his death and resurrection.

The children among them (Roman Catholic Church) became very happy.

This reporter also observed that many of the church members were not wearing nose masks.

At the church premises, the congregants took the opportunity to intercede for Ellembelle District and Ghana as a whole against the deadly Coronavirus pandemic.

They also prayed for Ghana to continue to the existing peaceful atmosphere.

At Nuba, Rev. Father Samuel Bulu of Saint Edward Catholic Church, said: "Today marks the beginning of the Holy Week. Thus, we are called upon to follow Jesus and live with him the last events of his earthly life" .

He added that: "In today’s liturgy, we celebrate first the triumphant entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem amid the jubilation and chants of Hosanna of the crowd. Jesus enters the holy city, where he will suffer, die, be buried and resurrect for our redemption".

He noted that "Then, the readings for the Mass narrate the Passion of Jesus: his sufferings, crucifixion and death as the humble Servant of God. From the Hosanna chants of the triumphant entry, we pass to the “crucify him” of the Passion".

He observed that "But the attitude of Jesus remains the same: humble and silent. He bears the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, the abandon of his close friends, the hatred of the Pharisees, chief priests and scribes, the unjust condemnation of Pilate, the scourging and beatings of the soldiers, the curses and insults of the crowd, and the shameful death of the cross in obedience to the Father for our sake".

He rhetorically asked that "After listening to these readings, we cannot but ask ourselves some questions. How many times have we not betrayed those who trusted us? How often have we not turned back to humiliate the same people we had appreciated? How many times have we not been accomplices to the atrocities against some people and to the condemnation of the innocents? How many times have we not exchanged justice and integrity with the fear of losing our friends or our position? How often do we not sacrifice others on the altars of our pride, selfish desires and shameful ambitions?"

"In any case, whether we are agents or victims of such acts, we must always remember that God will surely save the just and the innocent. He will not put them to shame. Amen", he ended.

Background

Christians all over the world celebrate Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast celebrated in all major Christian churches, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox.

The day is also known as Passion Sunday in recognition of the beginning of Holy Week and Jesus’ final agonizing journey to His crucifixion, the Sunday before Easter.

The feast commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels.