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Good Friday Reflection on the Logic of the Cross

Pope Francis said something during his first general audience that inspired me to reflect on the suffering Jesus endured during his Passion for the sake of our redemption. He said, "Living Holy Week means increasingly entering into God's logic, the logic of the Cross.

The Many Reasons Why We Call it Good Friday

On Good Friday we are reminded that death is no longer the final word. For those filled with hope of the Resurrection, it is no longer an enemy but a friend, the passageway to life eternal. We are also promised that the suffering we are invited to bear, when joined to Jesus Christ, can become a vehicle for love and mercy. It can also become material out of which we are changed, by grace, into a reflection of Mercy Incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ, for others.

Good Friday: The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Church and the Sacraments

We will soon commemorate Good Friday. This is the day when the whole world stands still. We will recall the great Sacrifice offered on the second tree on Golgotha's Hill. There, the one St. Paul calls the New Adam (1 Cor.15), in the perfect obedience of love, did for us what we could not do on our own. There, Heaven was wed to earth. There, we were freed from the power of sin and death.

Prayer for the Sick: Prayer of the Day for Friday, March 29, 2024

Dear Jesus, Divine Physician and Healer of the sick, we turn to you in this time of illness. O dearest comforter of the troubled, alleviate our worry and sorrow with your gentle love, and grant us the grace and strength to accept this burden. Dear God, we place our worries in your hands. We place our sick under your care and humbly ask that you restore your servant to health again. Above all, grant us the grace to acknowledge your will and know that whatever you do, you do for the love of us. Amen.

Daily Readings for Friday, March 29, 2024

Reading 1: Isaiah 53:1-12, Reading 1: Isaiah 52:13-15, Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 31:6, Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 31:25, Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 31:12-13, Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 31:2, Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 31:15-17, Gospel: John 18:1-40, Gospel: John 19:1-42, Reading 2: Hebrews 4:14-16, Reading 2: Hebrews 5:7-9

Saint John Damascene

Icon of Saint John Damaskinos
Image: Saint John Damaskinos | unknown

Saint of the Day for December 4

(c. 676 -749)
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Saint John Damascene’s Story

John spent most of his life in the Monastery of Saint Sabas near Jerusalem, and all of his life under Muslim rule, indeed protected by it.

He was born in Damascus, received a classical and theological education, and followed his father in a government position under the Arabs. After a few years, he resigned and went to the Monastery of Saint Sabas.

He is famous in three areas:

First, he is known for his writings against the iconoclasts, who opposed the veneration of images. Paradoxically, it was the Eastern Christian emperor Leo who forbade the practice, and it was because John lived in Muslim territory that his enemies could not silence him.

Second, he is famous for his treatise, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, a summary of the Greek Fathers, of which he became the last. It is said that this book is for Eastern schools what the Summa of Aquinas became for the West.

Third, he is known as a poet, one of the two greatest of the Eastern Church, the other being Romanus the Melodist. His devotion to the Blessed Mother and his sermons on her feasts are well known.

Saint John Damascene's liturgical feast is celebrated on April 30.


Reflection

John defended the Church’s understanding of the veneration of images and explained the faith of the Church in several other controversies. For over 30 years, he combined a life of prayer with these defenses and his other writings. His holiness expressed itself in putting his literary and preaching talents at the service of the Lord.


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Holy Thursday: He Loves to the End

Jesus Christ has loved us to the very end. There is great spiritual profit to be found in meditating on those words. They might give the impression that Christ has loved us, and now that he has done that, it is over. But it is not over. It is not simply that Christ has loved; it is that he continually, constantly and permanently loves. He also loves in us and through us. Jesus loves because He Is Love. Jesus heals, because he is the Love Who Heals. He gives himself to us because ...

Footwashing, the Holy Thursday Mandatum: God is Love and Love is a Verb

As we enter into these three days, the one day, we make this mystery our own. No mere spectators in this Act of Love we become participants. We who bear the name "Christian" are to pick up that basin and towel, to climb upon that Cross and learn to live the Way of Love in service. Our faith and love are to be active and incarnate. Jesus washes his disciples feet, using our hands. We make the mystery real in a world that awaits the fullness of redemption. God is Love and Love is a Verb.

Daily Readings for Thursday, March 28, 2024

Reading 1: Isaiah 61:8-9, Reading 1: Isaiah 61:1-3, Reading 1: Isaiah 61:6, Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 89:27, Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 89:21-22, Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 89:25, Gospel: Luke 4:16-21, Reading 2: Revelation 1:5-8

HOLY THURSDAY: What is the foot washing ceremony and why does it matter?

Why did Jesus wash the Disciples' feet? It seems like such a humiliating task, yet it's also personal, almost intimate. That Jesus performed this task as one of His last acts on Earth delivers an important message of how we are supposed to be as Christians. Are we willing to wash the feet of our neighbors?