The Triduum Day #2 - What's So Good About Friday

The Cross - our focus - Today - Good Friday - our attention drawn to the Cross - an instrument of torture - pain - death. It was upon a cross that criminals were placed naked - to suffer pain - public ridicule. Having the fact that you were an accused thief - sinner - put on display for all your neighbors - friends - family - more an embarrassment than anything - if one survived. Everyone makes mistakes - commits minor sins - nobody knows because it is kept private. On the cross - nothing hidden - everything exposed. Not everyone placed on a cross - died - most endured terrible pain - anguish - humiliation. There are records of a few who survived crucifixion - most left on the cross for many days - until death finally relieved them of the pain.

In Christianity - the Cross - adopted by the majority of Christian faiths - a symbol - reminding all of us of the crucifixion of Jesus -  His ultimate sacrifice - revealing God's love for all.  A piece of wood - cut from a tree - the tree itself a symbol of life - through Jesus's death - transformed in a symbol of New Life in Christ.  Many wear a cross around their neck - for Catholics a Cross with the Body of Christ - a reminder that a person - the Son of God - Jesus the Christ - made a personal sacrifice for each of us - not as a group - as a personal commitment to each - as an individual - He alone - out of Love - took our sins to the Cross - for us.

Deacon Dale