“And when they drew nigh to Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto mount Olivet, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them: ‘Go ye into the village that is over against you, and immediately you shall find an ass tied, and colt with her: loose them and bring them to me. And if any man shall say anything to you, say ye, that the Lord hath need of them: and forthwith he will let them go.’ Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: ‘Tell ye the daughter of Sion: Behold thy king cometh to thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of her that is used to the yoke.’ And the disciples going, did as Jesus commanded them. And they brought the ass and the colt, and laid their garments upon them, and made him sit thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way: and others cut boughs from trees, and strewed them in the way: and the multitudes that went before and that followed, cried, saying: ‘Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.’”
Bethphage was a small village of priests, and upon arriving, Jesus sends two disciples to retrieve a donkey and a colt, saying that the Lord, not “our Lord,” but “the Lord,” for He is King of all: “For God is the king of all the earth: sing ye wisely” (Psalm 46:8). Within is a small lesson, that these who did not know Christ yielded their animals, and so to you, Theophila, it is commanded: “Give to every one that asketh thee” (Luke 6:30), because “As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40), and so if someone has need of one of your goods, the Lord has need of it. It is said of St. Francis that, when he saw someone that was poorer than himself, he would give to the person what they lacked, saying that he had merely been holding on to what was theirs, essentially keeping their coat warm for them. Jesus only used the beasts for a brief time, it being understood that he returned them, and herein is another lesson: Let the things of this world be merely things of use: “They that use this world, as if they used it not: for the fashion of this world passeth away” (1 Corinthians 7:31), and to let love and truth be what you enjoy: “Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart” (Psalm 36:4); “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup” (Psalm 15:5). Many times throughout the public ministry of Jesus, the people, scribes, and Pharisees asked for a sign: “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying ‘Master we would see a sign from thee’” (Matthew 12:38), and here they are given one: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy king will come to thee, the just and saviour: he is poor, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zacharias 9:9), that they may know their King and rejoice in Him. When the prophecy refers to the daughter of Sion, this refers to Jerusalem, the Church, and your heart; all three are instructed to behold with the eye of your understanding your King who comes to you, meek, not to be feared for His power: “And I saw: and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the ancients, a Lamb standing as it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes: which are the seven Spirits of God” (Apocalypse 5:6) , but welcomed tenderly as a lover “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young” (Isaias 40:11). He comes on a quiet creature, which the disciples eagerly go and retrieve, and then the people then throw their garments and tree branches before this little train, that the donkey may not step on something that will inconvenience it, or fall away, and so too is it the Christian way to lighten the burdens of those around you: “For you remember, brethren, our labour and toil: working night and day, lest we should be chargeable to any of you, we preached among you the gospel of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:9), to make their walk less painful and risky, even if it means the clothes off your back. The word “Hosanna,” according to St. Jerome, can be closely interpreted as “I pray thee, O Lord, save, I pray thee,” it is the cry of the people asking for a glorious savior: “Make us a king, to judge us” (1 Kings 8:5); “And afterwards they cried to the Lord, who raised them up a saviour” (Judges 3:15). The people also sing “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” which is like an ambassador coming in the name of a king, to be the mouth of the king when he cannot be physically present: “I am come in the name of my Father, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive” (John 5:43). Jesus, then, comes, co-equal with the Father, in the Father’s name, to show His people what love truly is and how to love well: “God is love: and he that abideth in love, abideth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). Or, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord can point to the coming of a King in His humanity, but by saying, “Hosanna in the highest,” it was an indication that He would restore the magnificence of the worship of God, just as David was a mighty king and a liturgical leader: “And when he had made an end of offering holocausts and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts” (2 Kings 6:18); “Moreover David and the chief officers of the army separated for the ministry the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Idithun: to prophesy with harps, and with psalteries, and with cymbals according to their number serving in their appointed office” (1 Paralipomenon 25:1). Now, it is of note that, to this point, the Lord had not ridden animals or surrounded Himself with décor, letting the gift of Himself be enough, with the adornments of spiritual beauty being His glory, but now on this day of rejoicing and celebration, the people have opportunity to rejoice in Him. Mystically, Jesus leaves the Jericho of the world with the treasures of His people, that He may bring them to their heavenly rest: “There remaineth therefore a day of rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9). He sends His preachers out, the number two indicating those that love God and neighbor, understand the Old and New Testaments, are versed in letter and inflamed with love, are wise and practice what they preach, and men fashioned in this way were sent in the early Church to the Jews and Gentiles, which is what is indicated by the donkey and the colt, respectively. It shows the refinement needed for one that would confer the sacraments, or to rise to great heights of wisdom, that love requires much tailoring, as an artist needs much planning, technique, and vision to make a masterpiece: “How beautiful are thy steps in shoes, O prince’s daughter! The joints of thy thighs,” which indicate one’s walk of life, “are like jewels, that are made by the hand of a skilful workman” (Canticle 7:1). Now, in riding a donkey, which is one of the dimmest of creatures, Jesus shows the depths to which humanity falls without Him, that unclean with gross desires, not grasping truth, ignoring the voice of God, ignoble, exchanging heavenly goods for base pleasures, and is tied, which means that they are not free to do what is truly good without the aid of grace: “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:16). Unless Jesus sends forth His people to set the captives free by teaching and works of love, and bring them to Him, they will remain tied to the post of error and sin. However, great is the dignity of the one that transports the Lord into His Church through His presence in their souls: “I will take hold thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house” (Canticle 8:2), and He is always calling great saints to be loosed from their old ways into His service, for He does not see what they are, but what they can become, if love drives them, thus “the Lord has need of them.” The clothes that are placed on the donkey is Catholic dogma, for these come from the teaching of the Apostles, and with it a proper knowledge of Sacred Scripture, for without these, if Jesus were to climb onto their soul, it would be uncomfortable and harsh, whereas the Catholic understanding makes for a sweet, pleasant trip through life to the heavenly Jerusalem, even through life’s hardships, for love sweetens all things: “A cluster of cypress my love is to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi” (Canticle 1:13). Those that then put their garments on the way are those that remove from themselves all that is fleeting, so that, naked before God, they must focus entirely on their spiritual wellbeing, realizing that their souls are bare before Him, but when this is a comfort rather than uncomfortable, then there is harmony with God: “And they were both naked: to wit, Adam and his wife: and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25).To take down branches and put them before the Lord is to take the great sayings of the saints, the beautiful things from the trees of others, and use them for one’s own celebration of the divine love story: “The wise man will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, and will be occupied in the prophets. He will keep the sayings of renowned men, and will enter withal into the subtilties of parables” (Ecclesiasticus 38:1-2). Thus, go out before Jesus naked in spirit and rejoicing much, for this is a holy offering to the Lord: “’How glorious was the king of Israel to day, uncovering himself before the handmaids of his servants, and was naked, as if one of the buffoons should be naked.’ And David said to Michol: ‘…I will both play and make myself meaner than I have done: and I will be little in my own eyes: and with the handmaids of whom thou speakest, I shall appear more glorious’” (2 Kings 6:20-22).