Jesuit On The Savior's Victory

On Palm Sunday, which was the 25th of March,1646 (and consequently coincided with the Annunciation), there was no sermon at high mass; but at the end of the asperges we gave a word of advice concerning the blessing of the palms, and the distribution of them which was about to be made, and how they must be kept in the hand during the passion,

in order to testify one’s faith that this death and passion was not a victory for death over the savior of the world, but rather for the savior of the world over death.

Then the choristers sang what there was to be sung, during which the blessing of the bread occurred. After that, the whole blessing of the palms was sung; the distribution of them took place as with the candles at Candlemas; and then we sang the Venicreator . During the passion I held my palm in the left hand, which is not the rule when that is sung.

Link (here) to the Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents

Journal of the Jesuit Fathers, in the year 1646