Q: Why do we receive palms on Palm Sunday? What do they mean?

A: In general, the palm is a symbol of victory and triumph. It is associated with the rejoicing that comes with victory. Thus saints, especially martyrs, are often depicted carrying the palm of victory—they have triumphed over sin and won the victory of heaven.

All the Gospels recall the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem before his passion and death. The Gospels tell us that the crowds lined the road welcoming Jesus to the city. And they laid branches from the trees or reeds on the road before Jesus. John recalls, "...they took palm branches and went out to meet him, and cried out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord...’"(12:13).

In the first part of the liturgy on Passion (Palm) Sunday we commemorate and reenact Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Palms are blessed and given to those present to carry in procession.

In the blessing of palms the priest prays, "Today we honor Christ our triumphant King by carrying these branches. May we honor you every day by living always in him."

Some of the palms blessed on Passion Sunday will later be burned to provide ashes for use in the Ash Wednesday liturgy the following year.

Our present Sacramentary puts the washing of feet after the Gospel telling how Jesus washed the feet of the apostles (John 13:1-15) and the homily.

The rubric in the Sacramentary states that those who have been chosen for footwashing are led by the ministers to chairs prepared in a suitable place. Then the priest goes to each and with the help of the ministers pours water over each one’s feet and dries them.

In other words, the priest performs the washing of the feet with the assistance of other ministers. That does not seem unreasonable if there is a basin and towels as well as a pitcher of water to handle. The deacon and servers are at the altar to assist the celebrant.

The rubric does not envision several people going around washing feet apart from the priest.

Three different collections of the lives of the saints, however, give their names as Dismas, traditionally the "good thief," and Gestas, the unrepentant thief.

They use as their source for this information an Arabic Gospel of the Infancy. This book was very popular in the West during the Middle Ages. It contains a legend or myth that two thieves waylaid the Holy Family on their flight into Egypt.

In character, Dismas paid Gestas 40 drachmas to leave the family unharmed. At this point the infant Jesus predicted the two would be crucified with him in Jerusalem and he would take Dismas with him into paradise.

The Church’s documents on the liturgy, however, do not support the practice of reciting (in a group or privately) the rosary during the celebration of the Eucharist.

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (#30) states: "To promote active participation, the people should be encouraged to take part by means of acclamations, responses, psalms, antiphons, hymns, as well as by actions, gestures and bodily attitudes. And at the proper time a reverent silence should be observed."

The Instruction on Music in the Liturgy says: "The faithful fulfill their liturgical role by making that full, conscious and active participation, which is demanded by the nature of the liturgy itself and which is by reason of Baptism, the right and duty of the Christian people. This participation a) should be above all internal, in the sense that by it the faithful join their mind to what they pronounce or hear, and cooperate with heavenly grace, b) must be, on the other hand, external also, that is, such as to show the internal participation by gestures and bodily attitudes, by the acclamations, responses and singing."

In other words, the Church expects us to take part as much as we can in the prayers and ceremonies of the Mass. That is rather difficult to do while continuing to say the rosary or some other unrelated prayers.

In The Book of Saints the Ramsgate monks use three different designations: 1) R.M., listed in the Roman Martyrology, 2) A.C., Approved Cult (there is positive evidence the person was venerated as a saint) and 3) P.C., Popular Cult (the person was referred to as a saint by ancient writers).

At the same time, remember there was no formal process of canonization until 993. Earlier than that, people were accepted as saints by common opinion.

The Ramsgate book tells us of the feast days of Abraham (October 9), David (December 29), Moses (September 9) and Samuel (August 20), which are to be found listed in the Roman Martyrology. The Greeks celebrate a feast of David and all the ancestors of Jesus on December 19. Adam and Eve, December 24, are listed as having an approved cult.

Please remember this book of saints was published before the 1969 revision of the calendar and the revision of the Martyrology still under way.

Originally, it had a very practical purpose. Clerics wore a hairstyle called the tonsure. The hair on the crown of the head was cut and shaved. A skullcap was then often worn to keep the head warm.

While some priests may continue to use a skullcap for utilitarian reasons, members of the hierarchy must use the zucchetto as a liturgical vestment. Its color will tell you the person’s office.

The pope wears a white zucchetto; cardinals, red; bishops, purple; and abbots and other clergy, black. Prelates must remove the zucchetto from the Sanctus of Mass until after Communion and whenever the Blessed Sacrament is exposed.

According to James-Charles Noonan, Jr., in The Church Visible (Viking), the zucchetto did not develop from the Jewish yarmulke, but has a development all its own.