Good Friday
Good Friday originated as the day of Jesus’s death (the 14th day of Nisan, which would have been Friday). It was a day of mourning accompanied by “fasting”, which was later extended to every Friday of the year.
The Liturgy consists of three moments: the Liturgy of the Word, the Adoration of the Holy Cross, and Holy Communion.
Today, through the Liturgy, the faithful are invited to fix their eyes on Jesus Crucified. He died on the cross to fulfill the mission of salvation the Father had entrusted to him: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. Isaiah says: “it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted” (Isaiah 52:13—53:12). With His life, Jesus paid the highest price for our disobedience, and He did it with and for love: Christ “became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9).
Under the shadows of Good Friday, each one of us can place ourselves before the Cross and compare ourselves with the Lord Jesus regarding our own problems, our own tragedies, our own sufferings. Every one of life’s questions can be illuminated by the Cross to such an extent that we can truly say: “The heart has reasons that reason cannot understand.” The Lord Jesus deserves to be followed unto the end, just like He loved us.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. (Jn 19:25-30).
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
Crucified One,
to Your cry of agony,
I unite my suffering
my fears and failures,
my delusions and the emptiness of my heart.
I cry out my need for You.
Lord Jesus,
Crucified One,
I make myself an intercessor
on behalf of all my brothers and sisters:
I bring and unite to Your cry
the cries of the hearts that weep
for their dear ones who have died.
Lord Jesus,
Crucified One,
I bring and unite to Your cry
the anxiety of the sick and elderly,
the fatigue of the healthcare workers,
the exhaustion of many families,
the diffidence of children and adolescents.
Lord Jesus,
Crucified One,
I bring and unite to Your cry
the worries of entrepreneurs,
the uncertainty of employees,
the trepidation of teachers,
the confusion of our Christian communities.
Lord Jesus,
Crucified One,
receive our cry and hear us.
Teach us to entrust ourselves
into the loving arms
of Your Father and our Father.
Lord Jesus,
Crucified One,
receive our cry and hear us,
for we are certain that nothing happens
that is not a part of Your loving plan.
Teach us to believe
that in You, everything has meaning.
Lord Jesus,
Crucified One,
I trust in You. I entrust myself to You.
(Father Andrea Vena)
