Good morning. Today is Good Friday, and a very solemn day but we faithful are hopeful and look forward to the Resurrection of our Lord on Easter!
I love starting off with books from the Old Testament as we do here with Isaiah. In addition to the message of the scripture itself, I am reminded these were prophecies fulfilled by Jesus. How else but by God and the Holy Spirit would all this be documented so long before then accomplished precisely by Jesus? I am reminded of my luxury of faith growing up hearing, seeing, and believing in Jesus’s conquering death and His glorious resurrection, yet Isaiah and so many others had only their faith and to believe without seeing.
Isaiah tells of a savior who looks ordinary yet kings are speechless in His midst. Nothing stately to attract us to Him, someone spurned or avoided, and people would hide their faces from Him. All this description of the Son of God who is many years from coming into this world. Then He is born completely blameless and without sin, was made to suffer greatly for our sins and conquer death to accomplishing the will of our Lord. My strongest thoughts are that He suffered for all the sins I have committed or will commit because He loves me. How does this passage speak to you? What do you think of when reading these prophesies?
Our responsorial psalm reminds us of some of the last words of Jesus on the cross. I am reminded of the suffering He went through, and He asks us to pick up our own cross of suffering and follow Him. I often struggle in the path set before me. I get discouraged and find comfort in knowing Jesus is next to me no matter how bleak or alone I might feel momentarily. Do you find comfort in Jesus during your challenges and struggles? What are some struggles you might offer up to God?
In our second reading today, we hear how Jesus through His suffering was made perfect. Something that is important to me here is to be reminded that Jesus is our High Priest, and he sympathizes with our weaknesses. He completely understands us because He was tested in every way, yet where we sin, He never sinned. While with us, Jesus prayed so fervently to God that he cried and even sweated blood. In His sufferings He learned obedience. I am reminded that I must learn things, especially obedience and I often stumble with that. I realize how much more fervently I need to pray to God. How does this reading speak to you? Are you like me, resisting something God is trying to teach? I reflect on whether I would be obedient to the point of death, and I hope I am never tested.
Today’s Gospel is the full passion of Jesus, and I am always deeply moved when I hear or see the stations of the cross or the full passion proclaimed. After all these years it is still difficult for me to understand the love of Jesus for me. I often struggle with asking for anything as I am in awe of His love. How does the passion of Jesus Christ speak to you? Take a moment and identify those things you may be struggling with and ask Jesus for help with them. He understands how we are tested, the challenges we face, and our struggles. Let us prepare for His glorious resurrection by allowing Jesus to carry our burdens and worries and freeing ourselves though Him.