Guam’s faithful mark the start of Holy Week

It was a full house at Santa Barbara Catholic Church in Dededo, where every pew was filled as the village’s Catholic faithful gathered with palms in hand to mark the start of Holy Week through the observance of Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, commemorates Jesus Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The celebration is deeply rooted in Christian tradition.

“It is important for us, for Catholics because this is already our culture. We do this every year,” said Annaliza Encarnacion of Dededo. The observance also marks the beginning of the Paschal Mystery — Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Resurrection on Easter Sunday — referring to the core of Christian belief, encompassing Jesus’ passion, death, resurrection and ascension.



“It reminds us of his humility and the beginning of his journey to the cross,” said Tessie Matanguihan, a eucharistic minister from the Philippines. “It let us welcome him into our hearts with faith and gratitude, preparing our lives for the hope and victory of Easter.” Masses ran throughout the day to accommodate the turnout, starting as early as 6 a.

m. The service began with the blessing of palm leaves, followed by a solemn procession, mirroring the crowds who welcomed Jesus with palms. “It’s joyful because we are still here to celebrate that Paschal Mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Matanguihan said.

For many, Palm Sunday is a reminder of faith, sacrifice and devotion. “It’s to spread love for Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for all of our sins,” Encarnacion said. “When it comes to Palm Sunday, you have to sacrifice, the same as what Jesus Christ has done for us.

” Matanguihan shared a similar message. “It’s celebrating the way Jesus Christ saved us. He died on the cross for us.

So we have to praise and thank him always and to follow Jesus,” she said. “Without Jesus, we cannot be saved. He gave us a choice, the free will, but we have the choice to follow Him.

Otherwise, there are two things. That’s where we go, the hot and the cold. So we want to go to the cold.

We want to — and heaven is his choice. It’s really a choice. So we have to follow Jesus.

” Beverly Huffington of Yigo, another Sunday parishioner, said Palm Sunday remains deeply personal and spiritual. “Well, it’s significant for me only because, growing up, I’ve been presented with this kind of religion, and so with my parents or other relatives, we just go every Sunday. It’s just a practice that we do,” Huffington said.

“But in terms of a deeper meaning of a Palm Sunday, it is just to celebrate Jesus, that’s my main reason why.” Huffington said tradition is one part of it, but spirituality and memory are what keep her coming back. “I’d say because I’m very spiritual,” she said.

“Like I said, ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been going to church, and it’s just very important to me...

to remember his sacrifice and love for the people.” A key part of the celebration is the blessing and distribution of palm leaves, which families traditionally take home and keep for the year. “We put it on the door.

Or if you have a cross, you put it on the back of the cross, reminding us of God’s sacrifice for us, that he died on the cross for us,” Matanguihan said. “We hold it for a full year.” Next year, the leaves will be burned for the ashes used during Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent.

Encarnacion said the practice also serves another purpose. “For me, it’s to keep the bad spirits away for the whole year. So every year after that, it’s blessed and I put it all around my house,” she said.

As much as Palm Sunday honors biblical history, it also reflects on modern spiritual challenges. “Sometimes, especially on this island, there are a lot of problems, especially the young ones,” Matanguihan said. “So during this time, we have also to pray for them, so that they will be enlightened, and they will come back to Jesus.

Because some—they don’t come to Mass anymore, those other people, especially the young so we have to pray for them.” Her message for this year’s observance was clear. “We continue to do good things for the glory of God, that’s it.

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