Good Friday. Today is the only day of the year when there is no Mass. Though there is no Mass, I’m sure that your parish will be having at least one service today. Perhaps it wil be Stations of the Cross and Veneration of the Cross. Maybe it will be the commemoration of the Passion. Maybe a combination thereof. Whatever the case, please be sure to attend at least one of the services at your church.
Today’s first reading from Isaiah 52 is one of the most beautiful and emotional of the Church year. Listen to what Jesus did for us.
Yet 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.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
each following his own way;
but the LORD laid upon him
the guilt of us all.
Today we reflect upon the cross. Yes, we are a resurrection people. But, as the old saying goes, you can’t get to the resurrection without going through the cross.
Father, we thank you for the sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the cross. Help us to never take that sacrifice for granted. We thank you for our healing by His stripes. Amen.
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