GOOD FRIDAY 2021
The last
words spoken by Jesus on the cross were: “It is finished.” Jesus then bowed and gave up His spirit.
When Jesus spoke those final words,
he wasn’t just saying, "This is the end of me" as if there was
nothing else to do but to give in to his enemies and die. His last words
weren’t a final surrender to the power of Satan as if to say, "You have
won. I’m done for". These words don’t tell us that Jesus was dead now and
that’s all there is to it. He is finished and so is everything that he stood
for and promised during his earthly life.
Rather, is it most important to
understand that Jesus is saying his mission of saving the world has been
completed. He has finished the task that
God has given Him to do, and nothing can be added to what has been done. Jesus' announcement from the cross, "It
is finished" is clear and simple. Jesus has completed his mission. The
reason why he came as a human has been fulfilled. He came so that you and I can
have forgiveness and salvation. He came to give us the victory. He came to
ensure that we would enter his kingdom and live forever.
While on Good Friday, we think of
the sufferings of Jesus. As we pray the
sorrowful mysteries of the rosary, we reflect on the Agony of the Garden, the
Scourging at the pillar, the crowning with thorns, carrying the cross, and
finally his crucifixion. Jesus endured pain, soul-wrenching agony, hanging by
the nails in his hands for hours, death on a rough wooden cross, for our sakes
But it is not suffering, not even the
suffering of Jesus, that makes this day Good Friday. It is Good Friday because of love, the
reconciling love of God that is revealed to us in the person of Jesus.
God did all this for us. He did all
this because of his love for us. Paul
writes, "God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were
still sinners that Christ died for us! … We were God's enemies, but he made us
his friends through the death of his Son.” That’s how much God loves us –
Jesus died for us even though we don’t deserve it. His death has made us God's
friends
That’s why we call today "Good
Friday". We call today "Good Friday" because the cross is
proof of the powerful love that God has for each of us. No one, not even God,
would do something like that unless he truly loved us. Here we see a love that
was prepared to endure the ultimate in order to rescue us.
The Good Friday liturgy calls to
mind what happened historically to Jesus so long ago. May the Good Friday liturgy also help us to
call to mind the ways Jesus still suffers in the hearts of so many refugees, so
many people who are hungry for food for their bodies and the food of love for
their spirits.
Today’s celebration must help us
realize that Christ continues to suffer in many of our brothers and sisters.
There are too many people that suffer hunger, cold, solitude and
discriminations. Perhaps, we do not take note of them. So, our Good Friday
liturgy must help us see them.
Also, Christ is suffering and dying
in each of us because we are still tied to many things that imprison us. We
continue to be slaves of our sins, habits, and weaknesses. This Good Friday, Christ calls us from the
cross to a total change, and to be generous with our lives as he was with his
for the sake of our salvation.
As we venerate the cross during our
liturgy today, pray and ponder what Jesus has done for you through His death on
the cross. In our Good Friday prayer, we
ask for the grace even to embrace the cross as we experience how we are called
to be the followers of the crucified Christ.
How can we deal with the crosses and the sufferings of life?
We find meaning in the crosses of
our life when we know in the depths of our hearts that the cross of Jesus is a
symbol of love and a symbol of hope. The cross brings to mind the
sacrificial love of the one who hangs there. It is a clear proof of His love
that He laid down His life for us and challenges to do the same for our
brothers and sisters.
As we venerate the cross during our
liturgy today, pray and ponder about what
Jesus has done for you through his death on the cross. Think about the love that God has for you and
thank him.
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