“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Mark 11:9-10)

On the feast of Palm Sunday, we celebrate the solemn entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. On that day, the people welcomed Him with great joy and enthusiasm, holding palm branches in their hands and crying out: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9). Their hearts were filled with hope, faith, and love, because they felt that the Savior was standing before them.

This beautiful scene of the people is not only a story of the past. It is a living message for us today. Just as people opened their hearts and joyfully received the Lord, we too are called to open our hearts and welcome Christ within us. The Lord desires to enter not only cities, but also our souls, our lives, and our daily reality.

Often our hearts become filled with daily worries, busyness, and sometimes even doubt and fear. All of this becomes a closed door for the Lord. However, Palm Sunday reminds us that we can open those doors again. When we pray, when we love, when we are forgiving and kind, we prepare the way for Christ to enter our hearts and dwell within us.

Welcoming the Lord is not only with words, but with our lives. It means choosing good, being peacemakers, helping those in need, and living every day with the awareness of God’s presence. When Christ dwells in our hearts, our lives are transformed; we begin to live not only for ourselves, but also for others.

Let this day become a new beginning for us. Let us open our hearts with love, receive the Lord with faith, and keep Him in our lives always. May our souls be filled with the same joy with which the people of Jerusalem welcomed Christ, and may that joy never fade within us.

Deacon MIKAYEL MARGARYAN