Great Friday ~ Deacon Brendan Brides

We are rapidly closing in on Good Friday. What's so good about Good Friday? Jesus was beaten and brutalized by the Roman soldiers. In mockery he had a weaved crown of thorns pushed viciously into this head. He was forced to pick up his one hundred and fifty pound cross and carry it half a mile. Upon reaching his destination at Calvary, he was nailed to that cross and hoisted aloft for all to see then allowed to die. All this happened on a Friday and we remember that Friday as Good Friday. Why?

Good Friday is good because without it we could never have Easter Sunday - the day of the resurrection of our Lord, the day that offers hope of eternal life for all.

Good Friday is good because "God who so loved the world gave his only begotten son so that who ever believes in him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Good Friday is good because from the pierced side of  the crucified Christ flowed the Church as we know it today, battered and bruised but alive with the heart beat of hope.

"Tre Ore" or three hours of agony is a devotion in the Catholic Church which is prayed from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm on Good Friday. It represents the time Our Lord spent on the cross before his death. As Good Friday approaches, we all can prepare a time of prayer and reflection somewhere between 12:00 noon and 3:00pm. A time to reflect not on the goodness but on the greatness of this Friday and on the greatness of this very special day in the lives of all christians.