MASTERPIECE SUNDAY
- Behold Visio Divina
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
March 29, 2026
By Madeline Larson
Rending of the Veil, William Bell Scott, 1869.
The readings on Palm Sunday take us on an emotional whirlwind. We begin mass with the extreme joy of welcoming our King. The people welcome Jesus into Jerusalem with such clarity of who He is - the Son of David, the Messiah, the one who comes in the name of the Lord. The first and second readings give us further understanding of how Jesus saw His ministry and sacrifice, looking forward to the universal worship which belongs to Him. Then we dive into the depths of the Passion of Our Lord in the Gospel reading. Every Palm Sunday I feel the immense weight of what Our Lord endured, the great sacrifice which He gave freely and willingly.
Each year there is something particular that stands out to me, and this year? The tearing of the veil.
“And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split.”- Matthew 27:50-51
I tear up thinking about the temple veil tearing. It was behind the veil that the Holy of Holies was - the Ark of the Covenant. The real presence of God! This was the most important and sacred place in all of Judaism, where only the high priest could enter once a year to give an offering and atonement to God. It was considered powerful, dangerous even. So much so that when the high priest entered it on Yom Kippur, they would tie a rope to him in case he died from the mere presence of God.
It was this veil that tore when Jesus died. The presence of God was no longer in the temple - it was dead on the cross.
You can see the three crosses in the upper right corner of this painting, reminding us of the reality that was lived out across the world when Jesus died. It did not just affect the people on Golgotha, but affected the entire human race past, present and future. The trajectory of the human race was radically altered the moment that Jesus Christ died for our sins. The coming of Jesus Christ fulfilled every prophecy and typology of the Old Testament, including coming for the entirety of the world.
God could no longer allow Himself to be present only in the temple of the Jewish people, He had to go out to all nations.
We see the priests preparing an offering for God, while the true Lamb of God was being crucified. Their offering is now obsolete, for God desires more than just sacrifices in the temple, He desires the whole world in its entirety. The Psalms foretell it - “For thou hast no delight in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, thou wouldst not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” - Psalm 51:16-17
As we enter into Holy Week, let us give to the Lord our broken and contrite hearts. We can bring Him the exhaustion, failures, and struggles that this Lent has brought up to the surface. We can bring Him ourselves, just as we are, to offer as a sacrifice. He will take us up to Calvary with Him to die, which is the greatest gift for us.
Feel the immense power, the sadness, and the fear. Diving into the depths will allow us to properly receive what is to come.