Good Friday of the Lord's Passion

Readings of the Day

As I meditate on the readings for this Good Friday, I am awakened to the urgency of the moment. The prophet Isaiah in today’s first reading talks about those who are marred, speechless, startled, spurned, crushed and held in no esteem.  How are we to embrace this reality?

In these pandemic days, who among us has not felt startled?  Who has not been made speechless by the enormity of the situation?  Who has not been crushed by the mounting statistics?  

Yet in the second reading for Good Friday, we find these words in the letter to the Hebrews: “So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.”  

Perhaps this is the answer for our speechless, startled, spurned selves: “to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.” As followers of Jesus, we know that this current reality, this pandemic, is not the end.  The letter to the Hebrews tells us that even in the midst of his suffering, Christ became “the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”

In our time, in this unique time of suffering, isolation, and death, it seems that the clues to obeying him, to following him, can be found in today’s Gospel.  

When confronted, Jesus spoke the truth. When the impetuous Peter resorted to violence, Jesus healed the victim. When the women wept, Jesus consoled them. When his mother was left alone, he reached out for a companion for her.  

The invitation is clear for those of us who claim to be Jesus’ followers: Will we speak the truth, even when it is uncomfortable? How can we respond to victims of violence? How will we console those who are in pain? How will we companion those who are alone?

In my ministry with the Catholic Mobilizing Network, to end the death penalty, those invitations take on a very specific nature. Speaking the truth, even when it is uncomfortable, can mean courageous conversations with death penalty supporters and advocates. Responding to victims of violence has come to mean reaching out to murder victims’ family members, as well as to those on death row. Consolation for those in pain can mean responding to a family after their loved one has been executed. And companioning those are alone can mean a visit to someone isolated on death row.  

How are you called to speak the truth, respond to violence, console those in pain, and companion those who are alone in your life circumstances on this Good Friday - and beyond?

Sister Eileen Reilly, SSND is a School Sister of Notre Dame. She was a teacher and a parish minister before becoming her congregational Peace and Justice Coordinator and the NGO representative to the United Nations. Most recently she joined the staff of the Catholic Mobilizing Network.

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