A few years ago, our parish switched from a passive listening to the Passion to an active participation; we now read the lines designated as “the crowd.” I’ve written at my own blog about why I am so moved by this kind of declaration of the Gospel:

Even though no one ever told me in so many words when I  was a child, I had this idea that I needed to say “Crucify Him!” during the Mass. I knew, even though it made me cry (even as a very small child), that I was responsible in some way for what happened to my Beloved Jesus. No one ever told me that, and I don’t recall my CCD teachers being blunt enough to say that my sins were responsible for Jesus’ death, but I knew it. And I think that the reason I knew was because every year the people in the pews would help to proclaim the Gospel. Just once a year, and we did it just to accuse ourselves of Christ’s death.

It’s a tradition that deserves a comeback. It’s a silent catechism: gentle, but stern. It helps even small children to understand that we are the ones denying Christ, that we are the ones putting the nails in His hands and feet.

And I realized this year that we are constantly vacillating between two crowds: those that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, as our parishes do each year, and those who call for His death on Good Friday. …

Read the rest at Catholic Mom.