GOOD FRIDAY REFLECTION 29 MARCH 2013

 

We adore you O Christ and praise you, 

for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Jesus is the grain of wheat that falls to the earth, is broken open, and dies, and for this very reason is able to bear fruit. From the moment when Christ was raised upon the Cross, which seemed to be a sign of failure, it was the new beginning: for from the depths of his death is raised the promise of eternal life.

In Jesus’ scourging, the crowning of thorns, and the vicious crucifixion, He took all of our sorrows and griefs and sins and drenched them in his blood upon the cross.

       By Jesus’ suffering and death, he unites himself with every human person who has ever lived and suffered and died.

       Jesus is the compassion of God.  Jesús es la compasión de Dios.

       Jesús es misericordia.  Jesus is mercy.

       Jesus makes the tender mercy of God present in a world which knows violence, cruelty, oppression, and injustice – even forgiving those who killed him!

       “Jesus’ ministry to the outcast and sinners led to his arrest and crucifixion.

       “Jesus is on the side of the oppressed and calls oppressors to conversion.

Jesus came to bring life to others!

       Jesus freely gives his life on the Cross and he freely gives us life.      

We adore you O Christ and praise you, 

for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

            His forgiving those who were nailing him to the cross shows that He was still choosing life and compassion even in the face of death and hatred.

       And as we set our hearts on Christ, we too will side with the oppressed, just as Jesus is on the side of the poor and voiceless.

       This is salvation at work in us!

       And in his death he frees them and restores their dignity as human persons.

      We as a church, as disciples of Jesus, are called to participate in overturning oppression and lifting up the poor and lowly, by being in solidarity with those who suffer. 

       Jesus freely gives us His life on the Cross and He gives us his loving  Mother, Maria, Mater Dei, Madre de Dios. 

Pope John Paul II wrote:

“Around the cross, cries of hatred, 

at the foot of the cross, the presence of love.
There she is, steadfast, the mother of Jesus.
With her, other women,
united in love around the dying man.

Beside them, the beloved disciple, no one else.

“Only love has been able to overcome all obstacles,
only love has persevered until the end,
only love generates love in others.

        “And there, at the foot of the cross, a new 

        community is born, there, in the place of death,

        emerges new life.

       "Mary receives the disciple as a son,

       'Woman, behold your child’

       and the beloved disciple receives Mary as a mother.

       ‘My child, behold your Mother.’

       And He took into his own home (Jn 19:27),

       A great treasure of which he has become the

       guardian.

         "For only love can guard love,

         and only love is stronger than death (Song 8:6)."  

Love is stronger than death.

(Together we protect one another –

And together, Mary will lead us to Jesus).

Together we are better.

We adore you O Christ and praise you, 

for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

St.John Chrysostom reminds us: The gospel records that when Christ was dead, but still hung on the cross, a soldier came and pierced his side with a lance and immediately there poured out water and blood. Now the water was a symbol of baptism and the blood, of the holy Eucharist….

From these two sacraments the Church is born: from baptism,the cleansing water that gives rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit, and from the holy Eucharist. And since the symbols of baptism and the Eucharist flowed from his side, it was also from his side that Christ fashioned the Church, as he had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam [according to the second story of creation in the book of Genesis].

Therefore, let us remain close to the poor and oppressed, so that we might know compassion and mercy as we help lift their burden and affirm their dignity as human persons.

         

Let us remain close to Mary, for she will always lead us to Her Beloved Son.

Let us remain close to the Church, for by doing so we remain close to the heart of Christ, from whom all blessings flow.

We adore you O Christ and praise you, 

for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.