Daily Gospel for Friday,
18 April 2014
“Simon Peter answered
him, ‘Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.’”—John 6:68
Good Friday of the
Lord's Passion
On Good Friday, the
entire Church fixes her gaze on the Cross at Calvary. Each member of the Church
tries to understand at what cost Christ has won our redemption. In the solemn
ceremonies of Good Friday, in the Adoration of the Cross, in the chanting of
the 'Reproaches', in the reading of the Passion, and in receiving the
pre-consecrated Host, we unite ourselves to our Savior, and we contemplate our
own death to sin in the Death of our Lord.
The Church -- stripped
of its ornaments, the altar bare, and with the door of the empty tabernacle
standing open -- is as if in mourning. In the fourth century the Apostolic
Constitutions described this day as a "day of mourning, not a day of
festive joy", and this day was called the "Pasch (passage) of the
Crucifixion".
The liturgical
observance of this day of Christ's suffering, crucifixion and death evidently
has been in existence from the earliest days of the Church. No Mass is
celebrated on this day, but the service of Good Friday is called the Mass of
the Presanctified because Communion (in the species of bread), which had
already been consecrated on Holy Thursday, is given to the people .
Traditionally, the organ
is silent from Holy Thursday until the Alleluia at the Easter Vigil, as are all
bells or other instruments, the only music during this period being
unaccompanied chant. The omission of the
prayer of consecration deepens our sense of loss because Mass throughout the
year reminds us of the Lord's triumph over death, the source of our joy and
blessing.
The desolate quality of
the rites of this day reminds us of Christ's humiliation and suffering during
his Passion.
We can see that the
parts of the Good Friday service correspond to the divisions of Mass:
1. the Liturgy of the
Word -- reading of the Passion.
2. the intercessory
prayers for the Church and the entire world, Christian and non-Christian.
3. Veneration of the
Cross
4. Communion, or the
'Mass of the Pre-Sanctified.'
Father,
look with love upon your people,
the love which our Lord Jesus Christ showed us
when he delivered himself to evil men and suffered the agony of the cross,
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever
Women for Faith and Family
Good Friday of the
Lord's Passion
Saints of the Day:
SAINT APOLLONIUS
Martyr
(+ c. 186)
Marcus Aurelius had
persecuted the Christians, but his son Commodus, who in 180 succeeded him,
showed himself favorable to them out of regard to his Empress Marcia, who was
an admirer of the Faith.
During this calm the
number of the faithful was exceedingly increased, and many persons of the first
rank, among them Apollonius, a Roman senator, enlisted themselves under the
banner of the cross. He was a person very well versed both in philosophy and
the Holy Scripture.
In the midst of the
peace which the Church enjoyed, he was publicly accused of Christianity by one
of his own slaves. The slave was immediately condemned to have his legs broken,
and to be put to death, in consequence of an edict of Marcus Aurelius, who,
without repealing the former laws against convicted Christians, ordered by it
that their accusers should be put to death.
The slave being
executed, the same judge sent an order to St. Apollonius to renounce his
religion as he valued his life and fortune. The Saint courageously rejected
such ignominious terms of safety, wherefore Perennis referred him to the
judgment of the Roman senate, to give an account of his faith to that body.
Persisting in his
refusal to comply with the condition, the Saint was condemned by a decree of
the Senate, and beheaded about the year 186.
Lives of the Saints, by
Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
Saint Laserian
Feastday: April 18
Death: 639
Bishop and papal legate,
brother of St. Goban, also listed as Molaisse. Laserian was born in Ireland and
was a monk on lona, Scotland. He went to Rome and was ordained by Pope St.
Gregory I the Great. Returning to Ireland, Laserian supported Roman liturgical
images, and he went back to Rome with a group to have Pope Honorius I settle
the dispute. Laserian was made a bishop and papal legate to Ireland. In 637, he
succeeded his brother, St. Goban, as abbot of Leighlin.
Blessed Savina Petrilli
Birth: 1851
Death: 1923
Beatified By: Pope John Paul II
At the age of ten,
Savina Petrilli, of Siena, Italy, read a biography of Saint Catherine of Siena
that instilled in her a lasting devotion to this saint. Savina thereafter
aspired to imitate Catherine’s devotion to the Eucharist, the Passion of
Christ, and the Church. Following her First Holy Communion at the age of
twelve, Savina became a frequent communicant. As a teenager, she was a very
active member of a Marian sodality, the Children of Mary. At the age of
eighteen, she had the opportunity to meet (Blessed) Pope Pius IX, who, upon
learning that she was a native of Siena, commented that she should walk in
Saint Catherine’s footsteps. Savina saw in this remark a sign from heaven that
inspired her to found a new religious congregation. She confided her plan to
her dying sister Emilia, who in turn promised to assist in its accomplishment
by her prayers in heaven. Savina’s congregation received papal approbation in
1877 with the title, the Sisters of the Poor, devoted to the care of the needy.
Mother Savina died of cancer on April 18, 1923.
Good Friday of the
Lord's Passion
Isaiah 52: 13 Behold, my servant will deal wisely.
He will be exalted and lifted up,
and will be very high.
14 Just as many were
astonished at you
(his appearance was marred more than any
man, and his form more than the sons of men),
15 so he will cleanse[a]
many nations.
Kings will shut their mouths at him:
for they will see that which had not been
told them;
and they will understand that which they
had not heard.
53 Who has believed our
message?
To whom has the arm of Yahweh been
revealed?
2 For he grew up before
him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of dry ground.
He has no good looks or
majesty.
When we see him, there is no beauty that we
should desire him.
3 He was despised,
and rejected by men;
a man of suffering,
and acquainted with disease.
He was despised as one
from whom men hide their face;
and we didn’t respect him.
4 Surely he has borne
our sickness,
and carried our suffering;
yet we considered him
plagued,
struck by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for
our transgressions.
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that
brought our peace was on him;
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have
gone astray.
Everyone has turned to his own way;
and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of
us all.
7 He was oppressed,
yet when he was afflicted he didn’t open
his mouth.
As a lamb that is led to
the slaughter,
and as a sheep that before its shearers is
silent,
so he didn’t open his mouth.
8 He was taken away by
oppression and judgment;
and as for his generation,
who considered that he was cut off out of
the land of the living
and stricken for the disobedience of my
people?
9 They made his grave
with the wicked,
and with a rich man in his death;
although he had done no
violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased Yahweh
to bruise him.
He has caused him to suffer.
When you make his soul
an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring.[b]
He will prolong his
days,
and Yahweh’s pleasure will prosper in his
hand.
11 After the suffering
of his soul,
he will see the light[c] and be satisfied.
My righteous servant
will justify many by the knowledge of himself;
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I give
him a portion with the great,
and he will divide the plunder with the
strong;
because he poured out
his soul to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of
many,
and made intercession for the
transgressors.
Footnotes:
a. Isaiah 52:15 or,
sprinkle
b. Isaiah 53:10 or, seed
c. Isaiah 53:11 So read
the Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint. Masoretic Text omits “the light”.
Psalm 31:2 Bow down your
ear to me.
Deliver me speedily.
Be to me a strong rock,
a house of defense to save me.
6 I hate those who
regard lying vanities,
but I trust in Yahweh.
12 I am forgotten from
their hearts like a dead man.
I am like broken pottery.
13 For I have heard the
slander of many, terror on every side,
while they conspire together against me,
they plot to take away my life.
15 My times are in your
hand.
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and
from those who persecute me.
16 Make your face to
shine on your servant.
Save me in your loving kindness.
17 Let me not be
disappointed, Yahweh, for I have called on you.
Let the wicked be disappointed.
Let them be silent in Sheol.[a]
Footnotes:
a. Psalm 31:17 Sheol is
the place of the dead.
Hebrews 4:14 Having then
a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold tightly to our confession. 15 For we don’t have a high priest who
can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in
all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore draw near
with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find
grace for help in time of need.
5:7 He, in the days of
his flesh, having offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears
to him who was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his godly
fear, 8 though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered.
9 Having been made perfect, he became to all of those who obey him the author
of eternal salvation,
The Holy Gospel of Jesus
Christ according to Saint John 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went
out with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, into
which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew
the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 Judas then, having
taken a detachment of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and the
Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore,
knowing all the things that were happening to him, went out, and said to them,
“Who are you looking for?”
5 They answered him,
“Jesus of Nazareth.”
Jesus said to them, “I
am he.”
Judas also, who betrayed
him, was standing with them. 6 When therefore he said to them, “I am he,” they
went backward, and fell to the ground.
7 Again therefore he
asked them, “Who are you looking for?”
They said, “Jesus of
Nazareth.”
8 Jesus answered, “I
told you that I am he. If therefore you seek me, let these go their way,” 9
that the word might be fulfilled which he spoke, “Of those whom you have given
me, I have lost none.”[a]
10 Simon Peter
therefore, having a sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut
off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 11 Jesus therefore said to
Peter, “Put the sword into its sheath. The cup which the Father has given me,
shall I not surely drink it?”
12 So the detachment,
the commanding officer, and the officers of the Jews, seized Jesus and bound
him, 13 and led him to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, who
was high priest that year. 14 Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it
was expedient that one man should perish for the people. 15 Simon Peter
followed Jesus, as did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the
high priest, and entered in with Jesus into the court of the high priest; 16
but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was
known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and
brought in Peter. 17 Then the maid who kept the door said to Peter, “Are you
also one of this man’s disciples?”
He said, “I am not.”
18 Now the servants and
the officers were standing there, having made a fire of coals, for it was cold.
They were warming themselves. Peter was with them, standing and warming
himself. 19 The high priest therefore asked Jesus about his disciples, and
about his teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always
taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where the Jews always meet. I said
nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I
said to them. Behold, these know the things which I said.”
22 When he had said
this, one of the officers standing by slapped Jesus with his hand, saying, “Do
you answer the high priest like that?”
23 Jesus answered him,
“If I have spoken evil, testify of the evil; but if well, why do you beat me?”
24 Annas sent him bound
to Caiaphas, the high priest. 25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming
himself. They said therefore to him, “You aren’t also one of his disciples, are
you?”
He denied it, and said,
“I am not.”
26 One of the servants
of the high priest, being a relative of him whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
“Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
27 Peter therefore
denied it again, and immediately the rooster crowed.
28 They led Jesus
therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. It was early, and they themselves
didn’t enter into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat
the Passover. 29 Pilate therefore went out to them, and said, “What accusation
do you bring against this man?”
30 They answered him,
“If this man weren’t an evildoer, we wouldn’t have delivered him up to you.”
31 Pilate therefore said
to them, “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”
Therefore the Jews said
to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” 32 that the word of
Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke, signifying by what kind of death he
should die.
33 Pilate therefore
entered again into the Praetorium, called Jesus, and said to him, “Are you the
King of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered him,
“Do you say this by yourself, or did others tell you about me?”
35 Pilate answered, “I’m
not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered you to me.
What have you done?”
36 Jesus answered, “My
Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my
servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my
Kingdom is not from here.”
37 Pilate therefore said
to him, “Are you a king then?”
Jesus answered, “You say
that I am a king. For this reason I have been born, and for this reason I have
come into the world, that I should testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the
truth listens to my voice.”
38 Pilate said to him,
“What is truth?”
When he had said this,
he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no basis for a charge
against him. 39 But you have a custom, that I should release someone to you at
the Passover. Therefore do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
40 Then they all shouted
again, saying, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
19:1 So Pilate then took
Jesus, and flogged him. 2 The soldiers twisted thorns into a crown, and put it
on his head, and dressed him in a purple garment. 3 They kept saying, “Hail,
King of the Jews!” and they kept slapping him.
4 Then Pilate went out
again, and said to them, “Behold, I bring him out to you, that you may know
that I find no basis for a charge against him.”
5 Jesus therefore came
out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. Pilate said to them,
“Behold, the man!”
6 When therefore the
chief priests and the officers saw him, they shouted, saying, “Crucify!
Crucify!”
Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves, and crucify him, for I find no basis for a charge against
him.”
7 The Jews answered him,
“We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son
of God.”
8 When therefore Pilate
heard this saying, he was more afraid. 9 He entered into the Praetorium again,
and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. 10
Pilate therefore said to him, “Aren’t you speaking to me? Don’t you know that I
have power to release you, and have power to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered, “You
would have no power at all against me, unless it were given to you from above.
Therefore he who delivered me to you has greater sin.”
12 At this, Pilate was
seeking to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you release this
man, you aren’t Caesar’s friend! Everyone who makes himself a king speaks
against Caesar!”
13 When Pilate therefore
heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a
place called “The Pavement”, but in Hebrew, “Gabbatha.” 14 Now it was the
Preparation Day of the Passover, at about the sixth hour.[b] He said to the
Jews, “Behold, your King!”
15 They cried out, “Away
with him! Away with him! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,
“Shall I crucify your King?”
The chief priests
answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”
16 So then he delivered
him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led him away. 17 He went
out, bearing his cross, to the place called “The Place of a Skull”, which is
called in Hebrew, “Golgotha”, 18 where they crucified him, and with him two
others, on either side one, and Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate wrote a title
also, and put it on the cross. There was written, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING
OF THE JEWS.” 20 Therefore many of the Jews read this title, for the place
where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in
Latin, and in Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate,
“Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘he said, I am King of the Jews.’”
22 Pilate answered,
“What I have written, I have written.”
23 Then the soldiers,
when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every
soldier a part; and also the coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from
the top throughout. 24 Then they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but
cast lots for it to decide whose it will be,” that the Scripture might be
fulfilled, which says,
“They parted my garments
among them.
For my cloak they cast lots.”[c]
Therefore the soldiers
did these things. 25 But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother,
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26
Therefore when Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing
there, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then he said to the
disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour, the disciple took her to his
own home.
28 After this, Jesus,
seeing[d] that all things were now finished, that the Scripture might be
fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.” 29 Now a vessel full of vinegar was set there;
so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop, and held it at his mouth.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished.” He
bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.
31 Therefore the Jews,
because it was the Preparation Day, so that the bodies wouldn’t remain on the
cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special one), asked of Pilate that
their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Therefore the
soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was
crucified with him; 33 but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was already
dead, they didn’t break his legs. 34 However one of the soldiers pierced his
side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 He who has seen
has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth,
that you may believe. 36 For these things happened, that the Scripture might be
fulfilled, “A bone of him will not be broken.”[e] 37 Again another Scripture
says, “They will look on him whom they pierced.”[f]
38 After these things,
Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the
Jews, asked of Pilate that he might take away Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him
permission. He came therefore and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus, who at
first came to Jesus by night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes,
about a hundred Roman pounds.[g] 40 So they took Jesus’ body, and bound it in
linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now in
the place where he was crucified there was a garden. In the garden was a new
tomb in which no man had ever yet been laid. 42 Then because of the Jews’
Preparation Day (for the tomb was near at hand) they laid Jesus there.
Footnotes:
a. John 18:9 John 6:39
b. John 19:14 “the sixth
hour” would have been 6:00 AM according to the Roman timekeeping system, or
noon for the Jewish timekeeping system in use, then.
c. John 19:24 Psalm
22:18
d. John 19:28 NU, TR
read “knowing” instead of “seeing”
e. John 19:36 Exodus
12:46; Numbers 9:12; Psalm 34:20
f. John 19:37 Zechariah
12:10
g. John 19:39 100 Roman
pounds of 12 ounces each, or about 72 pounds, or 33 Kilograms.
Good Friday of the
Lord's Passion
Commentary of the Day:
Saint Nerses Chnorhali (1102-1173), Armenian
patriarch
Jesus, Only Son of the Father, § 727-736 ; SC 203
« When they came to the place called the Skull, they
crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left”
(Lk 23,33)
In place of the death-dealing tree
That grew in the midst of Paradise (Gn 3,3),
You bore on your shoulders the wood of the cross,
You went up to the site called Golgotha.
Comfort my soul, fallen into sin
And bearing so heavy a load;
Comfort it with the “easy yoke”
And “light burden” of the cross (Mt 11,30).
On Friday noon at the hour of three,
On the day the first man had been tempted,
You were nailed, O Lord, to the wood
Along with the wicked thief.
Those hands of yours that created the earth
You stretched out on the cross
In place of those hands of Adam and Eve
Stretched out to the tree from which they had plucked
death.
Like them in the place from which hope is banished
Forgive me for my guilt:
I who have sinned as they did
And even surpassed them...
You mounted the holy cross,
You took away mankind's transgression;
And you nailed upon it
Our nature's enemy
Strengthen me beneath the protection
Of that holy, all-conquering sign,
And when it arises in the East (Mt 24,30)
Enlighten me with its light.
To the thief on your right hand
You opened the door of Paradise;
Remember me also when you come again
With your Father's Kingship (Lk 23,42).
May I, too, hear spoken
The answer that brings joy:
“Today you will be with me in Eden
In your first homeland!”
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