Daily Lenten Reflections

Friday, April 3, 2015

Good Friday

Reflection

“We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Heb 4:15)

On December 18, 2014, many of us had the privilege to witness the ordination of Lino Oropeza to the priesthood for the Society of Saint Edmund. This was a privilege granted to us not because of the generous space available in our Chapel. Rather, it lay in the gift of being present to the beauty of the ceremony and to the power of Bishop Terry Lavalley’s message to the community gathered there that day. Bishop Lavalley spoke of the priesthood as a total gift and sacrifice of the person to Christ. Yet it was not without joy that he spoke of the wondrous service foreshadowed in Lino’s ministry.

The Good Friday reading from St. John’s Gospel also makes transparent the noble—even glorious—sacrifice Jesus accomplished even in His Passion. How ironic that the voices of the “high priests” and “chief priests”—which figure so prominently (at least eleven times) before Jesus dies—should go mute once the true priest, Jesus, delivers Himself up as God's ultimate gift of love for humankind!

In St. Paul we read: [T]hough [Jesus] was in the form of God, [He] did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, He emptied Himself…and found human in appearance, He humbled Himself,becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2: 6—8). Meister Eckhart echoes Paul in stating: “To get at the core of God at His greatest, one must get into the core of Himself at his least.” Indeed, in Him we have one who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses.

Prayer

Gracious God, grant us the grace to know You more dearly in Jesus’ sacrifice of love. May the Holy Spirit of our own baptismal priesthood unite us to His sacrifice. We make our prayer in the name of the same Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

Fr. Marcel Rainville, S.S.E. ’67, Edmundite Campus Ministry

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.”