~~GOOD FRIDAY of Holy Week~~

From the earliest times the Christians kept every Friday as a feast day; and the obvious reasons for those usages explain why Easter is the Sunday par excellence, and why the Friday which marks the anniversary of Christ's death came to be called the Great or the Holy or the Good Friday. The origin of the term Good is not clear. Some say it is from "God's Friday" (Gottes Freitag); others maintain that it is from the German Gute Freitag, and not specially English. Sometimes, too, the day was called Long Friday by the Anglo-Saxons; so today in Denmark.

On Good Friday, the entire Church fixes her gaze on the Cross at Calvary. Each member of the Church tries to understand at what cost Christ has won our redemption. In the solemn ceremonies of Good Friday, in the Adoration of the Cross, in the chanting of the 'Reproaches', in the reading of the Passion, and in receiving the pre-consecrated Host, we unite ourselves to our Savior, and we contemplate our own death to sin in the Death of our Lord.
The Church -- stripped of its ornaments, the altar bare, and with the door of the empty tabernacle standing open -- is as if in mourning. In the fourth century the Apostolic Constitutions described this day as a "day of mourning, not a day of festive joy", and this day was called the "Pasch (passage) of the Crucifixion."

The liturgical observance of this day of Christ's suffering, crucifixion and death evidently has been in existence from the earliest days of the Church. No Mass is celebrated on this day, but the service of Good Friday is called the Mass of the Presanctified because Communion (in the species of bread), which had already been consecrated on Holy Thursday, is given to the people .
Traditionally, the organ is silent from Holy Thursday until the Alleluia at the Easter Vigil, as are all bells or other instruments, the only music during this period being unaccompanied chant.

"From noon onward, there was darkness over the whole land...." Matt 27:45

This is truly a very awe inspiring and sad day...it never fails to make me cry. Two years ago I watched The Passion of Christ for the first time. Michael (and others) warned me that it was VERY intense and that I might be upset or cry. Well, guess what? The movie barely started and I was crying. Throughout the movie, it was a matter of degree from then on...light crying to really "heavy duty" weeping! How can God love me/us soooooooooooooooooooooo much?????



One of the many things that have impacted me so deeply was what His mother felt during all of this. I am a mother and small things that affect my children affect me as well. How many times she must have wished she could suffer instead of Him or held Him one more time or comforted Him one more time, so this song is so perfect now....... see the video above "Mary did you know?"

"Near the cross of Jesus there stood his mother...."John 19:25

"One of the criminals hanging in crucifixion blasphemed him: "Aren't you the Messiah? then save yourself and us." But the other one rebuked him: "Have you no fear of God, seeing you are under the same sentence? We deserve it , after all. We are only paying the price for what we've done, but this man has done nothing wrong." He then said, "Jesus, remember me when you enter upon your reign." And Jesus replied, "I assure you: this day you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:39-44

From "A Gift for God" Mother Teresa of Calcutta:



"In Calcutta our Sisters and Brothers work for the poorest of the poor, who aren't wanted, aren't loved, are sick and die, for the lepers and the little children, but I can tell you that I have never yet in these twenty-five years heard a poor person grumble or curse or feel miserable. I remember I picked up a person from the street who was nearly eaten up with maggots, and he said: 'I have lived like an animal in the street but I am going to die like an angel, loved and cared for.' And he did die like an angel - a very beautiful death."

Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34

~~How can a thank you be enough for this immense blessing, like a piece of sand on the beach? BUT enough pieces of sand (THANK YOU, LORDS) make a beautiful beach!