My reflection today:
“This day is part of something bigger than itself. It is the first day of the Paschal Triduum. The liturgical services of Good Friday have no formal beginnings or endings, no greetings or dismissals. The services are all part of the single, three day liturgy of the Triduum.
John’s account of the passion is heard today. This account is in many ways different from those of the other three gospels. John shows us how God‘s glory is seen in the suffering and death of Jesus. We hear that Jesus was buried like a monarch, with a hundred pounds of sweet smelling myrrh. The tomb was in a garden. Perhaps John is telling us that, because of the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord, we are welcome back to paradise.
On Good Friday the gathered church prays for the world and all its peoples. We do this every day, but today the prayer takes an ancient form, with kneeling and standing so that even the movement of our bodies becomes part of the prayer.
A large wooden cross is carried into the church. Then, in most parishes everyone comes forward in procession to honor the holy wood, ‘on which hung the Savior of the world.’”
Let us take time today to thank God for the gift of his life and love for each one of us.