GOOD FRIDAY

Easter Triduum

The keynote of the Easter Triduum is our passing, with Jesus Christ, through death to full life. Even on Good Friday, the presider’s first prayer speaks of the death of Jesus leading to his triumph and ours.

Before the fourth Christian century, the Lord’s passion and resurrection were commemorated on the same Easter day. In the fourth century, the church in Jerusalem commemorated the crucifixion on the Friday before Easter Sunday. Pilgrims carried this practice to their own countries.

Liturgy of the Hours

Throughout the Easter Triduum, the cycle of morning, noon and evening prayer contributes to our experience of a single liturgy over a three-day period. Each day celebrates the one mystery of Christ’s passing over through death to life under the images of: table service and fellowship on Holy Thursday, the wood of the cross on Good Friday, the vigil at the tomb on Holy Saturday and the end-time meal on Easter Sunday. The Liturgy of the Hours therefore contributes greatly to a single perspective throughout the Triduum.

Those who attend the solemn liturgy do not say Evening Prayer on Holy Thursday or Good Friday.

“Good” Friday

In the Good Friday liturgy, we participate in the salvation of the human race through the victory of Jesus Christ. It is a day for celebrating the Lord’s Passover under the image of his self-giving on the cross. Its theme is expressed in the first anthem for the veneration of the cross: “We worship you, Lord, we venerate your cross, we praise your resurrection. Through the cross you brought joy to the world.”

We fast and abstain on this day, because we unite with all creation in hungering for the redemption promised in the life-giving death of Jesus. Barren simplicity and dramatic starkness set the atmosphere, but it is not a day of depressing ritual. It is not a funeral for Jesus. Black vestments are no longer worn, since they reinforced the funeral idea. We wear red for Christ the King of Martyrs.

Liturgy of the Word

The Liturgy of the Word on Good Friday is the ancient form of liturgy that was celebrated on fast days and other days on which the Eucharist was not celebrated. Good Friday is still such a day. It lacks an entrance rite and begins immediately with a collect and readings.

Isaiah 52:13-53:12

This is the fourth Song of the Servant of God (we avoid saying “Yahweh”, which the Jews never pronounced, out of profound respect). The four songs (Is 42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:1-9; 52:13-53:12) are worth reading, one after the other, to get the full picture of the suffering Servant.

The Servant is a collective personality and represents Israel at its best. Israel had sinned greatly, but the Servant bore the guilt. Israel is exhorted to imitate the Servant.

The songs of the Servant offered a way of understanding the resurrection in relation to the cross. They contributed three features to the understanding of the crucifixion: (1) Christ’s suffering was innocent, undergone for others, and redemptive. (2) It was for “many” (all). (3) The sufferer will be vindicated.

Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9

This passage affirms the divinity of Jesus Christ but also stresses his human weakness.

His priesthood is characterized in three ways: (1) his sympathy with human weakness as a result of his having shared our earthly experiences; (2) God’s answer to the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane; (3) his learning obedience through suffering.

God undertook to do for all of us what we could not do for ourselves: offer the sacrifice of perfect obedience to God, with love. But we are not relieved of our obligations. We can be taken up in Christ’s own sacrifice and offer our self in union with his sacrifice. The imperfection of our sacrifice is transformed by the perfection of Christ’s sacrifice.

Jn 18:1-19:42

John, in his narrative of the Passion, stresses the Kingship of Jesus, not his suffering. Jesus is not passive but supremely active. He is not the victim of circumstances. He is in control, completely in charge of the proceedings, from his arrest in Gethsemane till his dying breath. He is King, who rules from the cross, victoriously. He gave the greatest demonstration of love: he laid down his own life to give life to others. His total giving of himself was done with full freedom.

John adds two points not covered by the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark and Luke): (1) the presence and function of Mary and John at the cross; (2) the flow of blood and water.

In the reading of the gospel, the presider takes the part of Christ. As many different readers as possible should take the other parts.

The General Intercessions

These ten solemn collects are the old Roman form of Prayers of the Faithful. The deacon calls the people to silent prayer. The people pray in silence. The presiding priest collects the prayers offered by the people into one prayer that he says aloud.

These prayers for the whole world recognize Christ’s victory through their reliance on his powerful intercession. They express our deepest need: the realization of God’s plan for our human family. We gain the vision of human solidarity that Jesus died for.

Veneration of the Cross

The adoration of the cross originated in Jerusalem, where the True Cross was displayed on the site of the crucifixion. Pilgrims brought the practice back to their countries, together with a relic of the True Cross. The popularity of the ceremony and the scarcity of relics of the cross caused a shift from the use of a relic to the use of any wooden cross available.

The central icon (image) of Good Friday is the wood of the cross. Some hold that it should be a simple wooden cross, not a crucifix, since adoration of the cross is not a funeral memento of the dead Christ, but a proclamation of the victory of Christ. The priest holds up the cross triumphantly, as if at a victory parade. We combine the first and second form of showing the cross. Communal veneration during the liturgy should be stressed. After the liturgy, ample time should be allowed for individual veneration of the cross.

Holy Communion

Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstinence. The festive nature of the Eucharist is inconsistent with the observance of Good Friday as a day of penance. The celebration of the Eucharist was already forbidden in 416. So, we do not celebrate Mass on Good Friday.

The liturgical reform of 1955 reintroduced the reception of Holy Communion on Good Friday. Communion is distributed to the people from the sacrament reserved since Holy Thursday. Some would still prefer the practice of fasting from the Eucharistic species as the most appropriate practice on Good Friday.

The Way of the Cross

The Way of the Cross is an appropriate service for Good Friday morning.