Good Friday

   Why is today known as Good Friday?  On this day the most evil act ever committed occurred, the crucifixion and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Today He was beaten unmercifully.  A crown of thorns pierced the flesh of His head and face.  Forced to carry His own cross through Jerusalem He was mocked and derided by the crowds.

   Today He was nailed, naked, to the cross.  He was raised up and put on display for all passersby to see, treated as just another criminal suffering the cruelty of Roman execution.  The Scribes, Pharisees and Priests, not satisfied that they had forced His execution, stood below yelling insults at Him, mocking His claim to be the King that He surely was.

   Today is Good Friday, not because of the evil that was done on this day, but because of the great good that would come from it.  There will be no Mass today, only the reading of His passion to remind us of His suffering.  We will venerate the cross in recognition that what was once seen only as a horrific means of execution, was redefined as the tree of life by the sacrifice our Lord offered upon it.

   So, let’s take this day to sorrow for our Lord, for His pain and suffering brought about by the sins of the world; brought about by the sins we continue to commit every day.

   Then, on Easter Sunday, let us rejoice in His resurrection, for the prophecies have been fulfilled.  He has made all things new.

“My servant, the just one, shall justify the many, their iniquity he shall bear.” (Isaiah 53: 11)