“Either give up Christ or give up your jobs.”
Constantine the Great was the
first Christian Roman emperor. His father Constantius I who succeeded Diocletian
as emperor in 305 A.D. was a pagan with a soft heart for Christians. When he
ascended the throne, he discovered that many Christians held important jobs in
the government and in the court. So he issued an executive order to all those
Christians: “Either give up Christ or give up your jobs.” The great majority of
Christians gave up their jobs rather than disowning Christ. Only a few cowards
gave up their religion rather than lose their jobs. The emperor was pleased with
the majority who showed the courage of their convictions and gave their jobs
back to them saying: "If you will not be true to your God you will not be true
to me either.” Today we join the Palm Sunday crowd in spirit to declare our
loyalty to Christ and fidelity to his teachings by actively participating in the
Palm Sunday liturgy. As we carry the palm leaves to our homes, we are declaring
our choice to accept Jesus as the king and ruler of our lives and our families.
Let us express our gratitude to Jesus for redeeming us by his suffering and
death, through active participation in the Holy Week liturgy and reconciliation
with God and His Church, repenting of our sins and receiving God's pardon and
forgiveness from Jesus through his Church.
-------------------------------------
Thomas
O’Loughlin
Introduction to
the Celebration
The text in the Missal (p. 123: ‘Dear friends in Christ …‘)
cannot be bettered. However, care should be taken to read it as if it were
one’s own notes so as to stress the notion that we are entering into the Great
Week, accompanying Christ in the Paschal Mystery.
