Today is the first day of a columnist I'm very proud to introduce, the Budding Young Theologian, who is certified to answer your spiritual, religious and otherworldly questions. Today he addresses the topic of a very special Sunday that does not have to do with the Super Bowl.  If you sent him a question last week and he did not respond to it, don't worry, he will, after he's finished praying for your little soul.

Ask the BYT

Dear BYT:

I've just been informed that this Sunday is Palm Sunday in the Catholic Church.  Possibly other churches as well, but I was repeatedly taught in my years of Catholic School to pay as little attention as possible to other "religions," so I'm not sure.  Some may call me ignorant.  Sue me.

 Can you clarify for me whether or not it is sacrilegious to fold the palms accordion-style during the lengthy Gospel and Homily during Palm Sunday Mass?  If so, are there any circumstances under which is IS acceptable to practice "palm-igami?"  Is it considered okay to fiddle distractingly with the palm during Mass as long as you're turning it into a religious symbol, such as the ever-popular "Palm Cross" or the significantly more challenging "Palm Jesus riding into town on a donkey?"  I realize this question won't be answered until Monday, which is post-PD (Palm Distribution), but given the likelihood of my attendance at Mass on Sunday, I can safely say the delay won't make a whole lot of difference.

Thanks!

PS.  Do you have a diagram or something for that "Palm Jesus riding into town on a donkey?"  I can never seem to get Jesus' hair to look right.

First, I have to say, in all my many years attending Catholic Mass, I've never seen the "Jesus on donkey" fronds-folding. I cannot give you instructions for making it come out right. Nor can I give you instructions for the "Palm Cross." In my family, we always returned from Church after Palm (Passion) Sunday Mass and immediately slid the long palm strip, unfolded, under the mattresses of our beds. Occasionally, we would bend (never fold) the palm into a circle, and tuck the ends behind a crucifix that hung on the wall in my parents' bedroom. The ends (one pointy, one flat) would stick out the sides, just beneath Jesus' right and left arms. It would stay like that all year, until a few weeks before Lent started, when we would return the fronds to the church, where they would be burned for the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday.

I'm not sure how much I need to go into the significance of Passion Sunday, what it means to Christians. But it's a really, really big deal. Basically, it marks the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, the Sunday of the last week of his life. According to the Gospels, as Jesus rode into town, the crowds awaiting him placed palm fronds at the feet of his donkey, which signified a sort of honor, the respect and reverence due a king. Of course, by week's end, this reception would appear to be long forgotten; on (Good) Friday, these same crowds would shout "Crucify him!" and he would be put to death, wearing a purple robe and a crown made of thorns, symbols of royalty turned on their heads used to mock and humiliate Jesus. INRI, the words nailed to the cross, explained his crime--Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews.

One of the more interesting, and troubling (yet moving, in my experience) moments of the Passion Sunday Mass is, during the reading of the long Gospel account, the congregants read along from the pews, playing the part of the crowds; by voicing the words CRUCIFY HIM, modern day Christians seem to accept their role in deicide.

With Passion Sunday, Christians begin their Holy Week, preparing for the Last Supper on Thursday night, the death of Jesus on Friday, the Harrowing of Hell all day Saturday, and the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. This is bigger than Christmas.

Now, to get to the more specific question: Is palm-igami sacrilegious? No. I would say not. Certainly, with something to fiddle with during the Mass, sometimes it is difficult to pay attention, especially if the priest is dull in his sermon. Does God care if you fold the palm? Personally, I don't think God gives two shits.

Still, if you find yourself in a church, try not to fiddle so much; listen to the reading of the Gospel. I'm not asking you, necessarily, to accept some role in the crucifixion. But do listen. As I said above, it is a troubling, beautiful and moving story. In it, Jesus appears at his highest and lowest, alternately praised and abused, honored and humiliated; in turn, he both praises God and expresses the doubt and helplessness of a forsaken son. Jesus was humble and broken in those last moments, emotionally, physically and spiritually. This week, Passion Sunday and Good Friday in particular, is meant to remind Christians of this, and to remind them of their humanity. Seems to me that God would be more concerned with these questions than any reverence one shows or does not show to blessed flora.

On a personal note, I decided to sidestep the whole issue of palms this year by spending my Passion Sunday at the Brooklyn Monthly Meeting of Friends. The Quakers don't do palms. One older gentleman at the meeting reminded us that this week was something special, and hoped that we would be able to focus as much--or more--on the life of Jesus as on his death. A middle-school girl talked about how mean her basketball coach seems, yet acknowledged both how much her team has improved over last year and how much they owe the coach for his one-on-one attention and discipline. Another women, an apparent retiree to Arizona, was moved by the Holy Spirit to tell everyone in the Meeting House to speak up, that she couldn't hear. Each was humble in her way. And we all listened, even as one girl fiddled with her knitting in the middle of the room.