Opening Prayer:
Let us pray.
Father, look with love on your people,
the love which our Lord Jesus Christ showed
us
when he delivered himself up
and suffered the agony of the cross,
for he lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
We enter the liturgy on Good Friday in silence.
We don't need a "gathering rite." It is as though we have been
"gathered" since the night before. The first act of the liturgy
is for the Presider and ministers to lay face down before the cross,
in silence. As with all liturgical rituals, that invites us
to lay prostrate before the cross as well. That takes some preparation.
We can prepare to begin the Good Friday celebration by reflecting
upon ourselves laying there - with all the feelings we want to identify
and pay attention to. Our feelings may not be consistent or
even inspiring. I might feel awe, gratitude, guilt, powerlessness,
all at once. In my reflection preparing for Good Friday, I prepare
that brief silent moment at the beginning of the service. Perhaps
I will want to simply open my hands when the Presider lays face down
and say "I know this is all for me; thank you."
The Word.
The readings take on a power today, from
the quiet and solemnity of the service. Read the Daily Reflection
and Reflection on the Passion, to the right, to chew them more deeply.
The General Intercessions.
These prayers, and their style, are perhaps
the oldest liturgical ritual we have. They link us to the prayer of
our sisters and brothers down through the centuries. They also give
us a sense of our long tradition of public prayer. The Presider makes
an invitation to pray - saying who it is we pray for and what it is
that we ask. We respond to the invitation with our silent prayer.
Then, the Presider prays out loud in our name, first praising God
and naming how God has been loving and caring for the person or need
we present, then asking for a particular grace. We affirm that
prayer with our "Amen." We could prepare for these great intercessions
by reflection on our prayer for each of the people and needs to the
right. That will help us with our responding to the invitation
to pray in silence, and to appreciate the powerful words of these
ancient prayers.
Venerating The Cross.
To "venerate" is becoming a lost experience
to many of our cultures. In our growing "equal-itarianism," we want and expect
everyone to be "equal" (which is a good thing). But, sometimes it is
at the expense of reverence. To revere a wise person, an extraordinary
role model, or someone who has struggled heroically, is still very important.
And part of that is to have reverence for places or objects or symbols which
are full of meaning and very special significance for us, because they re-connect
us with relationships. Visiting the place where I grew up, holding
a newborn baby, treasuring a gift from a loved one, seeing a photograph or
piece of art that stirs my spirit, and a thousand other places and things,
all can become "religious" and objects of veneration.
We revere and venerate the wood of the
cross, because our Savior was nailed there, and gave his life for us there.
Preparing for this special veneration on Good Friday is very important.
We may want to pray by making the Stations of the Cross, in our church, or
in the privacy of our home, or with the Online version to the right.
We want to be prepared to touch, kiss, embrace the cross with the greatest
devotion we can express. We want our gesture to be able to ritualize
our acceptance for the love, forgiveness and everlasting life that flows from
that cross. We want to feel the love of Jesus, to feel it as being
"for me," and to express our grateful response as reverence.
Receiving the Eucharist
from the Holy Thursday
Celebration of the Lord's
Supper.
We fast from celebrating the Eucharist today,
but we are gathered by the Spirit to re-connect with our celebration of the
Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday. We do not want to forget what that
liturgy continues to mean for us. This is the bread that gives life.
This is his self-giving love for us. This is our nourishment for our
mission.
Departing in Silence, Again.
With closing prayer and a blessing, we again
depart in silence. We are a people who are full of faith, but who continue
to wait for the fullness of our redemption. Our leaving in silence
links this celebration to the Easter Vigil, as our beginning in silence connected
us with Holy Thursday.
Let us pray.
Almighty and eternal God,
you have restored us to life
by the triumphant death and resurrection
of Christ.
Continue this healing work within us.
May we who participate in this mystery
never cease to serve you.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Amen.
or
Let us pray for God's blessing.
Lord,
send down your abundant blessing
upon us who have devoutly recalled the death
of your Son
in the sure hope of the resurrection.
Grant us pardon; bring us comfort.
May our faith grow stronger
and our eternal salvation be assured.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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Good Friday
Isaiah
52:13--53:12
Psalms 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-17, 25
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
John 18:1--19:42
Daily Reflection
Reflecting on the Passion
from John's Gospel
General Intercessions:
For the Church ...
For the Pope ...
For the clergy
and laity of the Church
...
For those preparing for baptism
...
For the unity of Christians
...
For the Jewish people ...
For those who do not believe
in Christ ...
For those who do not believe
in God ...
For all in public office ...
For those in special need
...
Behold the wood
of the cross
on which hung
the Savior of the world.
Come, let us worship!
Online
Stations
of the
Cross
Stations
from the
Jesuit
chapel
at
the Univ. of
Central
America
in
San Salvador
Dear
Lord, as I approach your cross, I am like the disciples who ran.
I
love you and I want to be a good servant, but getting close to your cross
is difficult.
I'm
not sure why. I want to say that it is just a struggle to let you die for
me. But there is more. I resist responding gratefully. I resist seeing in
your death the mystery of my life.
When
I behold you there on the cross I see the meaning of life. You are completely
who you are there. Giving your life away you receive it. The grain of wheat
falling to the ground and dying.
I
see the meaning of my life. To love as I have been loved by you. To be your
disciple is to take up my meaning and to follow you. To receive my life only
by giving it away is to bear fruit that will last.
As
I embrace your cross please give me the grace to place my life in your hands
and become day by day a servant of your own mission.
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