Daily Lenten Reflections

Friday, April 18, 2014

Good Friday

Reflection

When I celebrated Holy Week in the U.S. for the first time, I was puzzled because the Friday during Holy Week was called “Good Friday.” In Venezuela, we plainly call it, as we do with the other days during Holy Week, “Holy Friday.” So, what was good about it? Or, what makes it holy? That day, Jesus was betrayed, imprisoned, judged, sentenced, tortured, crucified, and pierced with a lance. Jesus’s death was the result of various sins: the arrogance of the Pharisees, the greed of Judas, and the indifference of Pilate. So, I ask myself again. What was good about it? What makes it holy?

After reflecting on the Scripture readings for this day, I found an answer to why these two adjectives are used. In this moment of darkness, there are some rays of light on Jesus’s path. Jesus, even though He is abandoned by His disciples and faces crucifixion, is acting in the same way He has acted throughout his life. He, instead of caring about His own suffering, cares for those around Him. The Gospel tells us that Jesus promised salvation to the one being crucified next to Him. Jesus, while hanging on the cross, asks one of His disciples to care for Mary, His mother. Jesus is also the recipient of compassionate gestures from other people such as Joseph of Arimathea who got permission to arrange for Jesus’s burial. And ultimately, the act of suffering and crucifixion, was not for Jesus’s sake, but for the sake of all humanity in an act of great love and sacrifice.

So, this Friday is “good” or “holy” because, as in Jesus’s story, we can be certain that in the darkest moments of our lives, God will be there to give some rays of light in the darkness and love that will never abandon us.

Prayer

Merciful God, help us to be able to see the light in the darkness of our difficulties and help us to be light for those who are going through a dark path in their lives.

Deacon Lino Oropeza, Society of Saint Edmund

Scripture

First Reading: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-17, 25

Second Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9

Gospel: John 18:1-19:42

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

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Mission of Edmundite Campus Ministry

The Mission of Edmundite Campus Ministry at Saint Michael’s College is to share the Good News of the Gospel with the College community by facilitating encounter with Jesus Christ. We do this through the celebration of the Church’s Liturgy, in programs promoting knowledge of the Catholic faith, by developing ecumenical and interreligious relationships, and providing retreats and other opportunities for personal spiritual growth.

The Catholic and Edmundite tradition upon which the College was founded is grounded in the conviction that all women and men are created in the image and likeness of God providing a special dignity unique to each person. Such dignity requires human life to be respected in all of its stages recognizing that we are all children of God.

Therefore, in its pursuit of furthering the Reign of God, the Edmundite Campus Ministry staff seeks to interact with and support every member of the College community in their search for Truth, contributing to the “enhancement of the human person and to the advancement of human culture in light of the Catholic faith.”