April 02, 2021

Good Friday

Heb 4:14-16, 5:7-9 

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 

Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 

Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

Standing at the foot of the cross

One of the lasting images for me from a visit to Rome in 2016 is a set of statues at Castel Sant’Angelo, a short walk from the Vatican.  It is of Mary, Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea and a few others standing over the body of Jesus taken down from the cross.  The expressions on their faces are filled with sorrow and confusion.  We are nearing the end of our Lenten desert experience, and for many of us the hopeful end of the extended desert experience of the pandemic.  We are thirsty and anxious to place our feet on solid ground, but today is not the day to rush ahead.  Today is the day to enter into Scripture as St. Ignatius instructs us in explicit detail; the sights, sounds, and smells.  Today is the day to cry with Mary as she and the loved disciple crumble at the feet of Jesus.  To hear the crowds mocking Jesus.  To see Jesus gasping for his breath on the cross.  To be reminded of Paul’s message to the Hebrews: in Jesus we have a Savior who has experienced everything that we have sorrow and pain, blessings and joy.  Easter will arrive, yes; but today let us remember that for there to be a resurrection first there must be death.

—Jim Bozik is a permanent deacon at St. Peter Catholic Church in Charlotte, NC, the Jesuit parish in the Diocese of Charlotte.

 

Prayer

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord? 

Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?

Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb.

—African-American Spiritual

Please share the Good Word with your friends!