Friday, April 2, 2021
On Good Friday, Catholics remember the death by crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This is a solemn day of fast and abstinence. Traditionally mass is not celebrated on Good Friday. Instead a service with a reading of the passion of Jesus Christ, veneration of the cross, and distribution of communion (consecrated on Holy Thursday) is held.
Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday. No Mass is held on Good Friday, but instead there is an evening service with the reading of the passion narrative.
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion Readings
The readings for Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion are the same for years A, B, and C:
- First Reading: Isaiah 52:13—53:12: “We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all.”
- Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 31: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
- Second Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 : “he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him”
- Gospel: John 18:1—19:42: “So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha.”
Resources and Ideas for Good Friday
Lenten Activities: Attend Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross are a lovely Lenten tradition. It the devotion, we make the journey to Calvary with our Lord Jesus Christ, focusing on how he suffered for us and his interactions with those he met on the way. #Lent #prayer #StationsOfTheCross
Lent and Triduum Cryptogram Puzzle
This printable cryptogram is a fun way to introduce youth to the vocabulary for Lent and Triduum. Each word is encrypted and definitions are given. Youth must consider the definition and then decrypt the word.
Why Have You Forsaken Me?
In this article from LifeTeen, Carrie Miller explains how alone she felt after the death of her father. Then she expresses how encountering Jesus in adoration helped her heal. And how she came to a deeper understanding of what the death of Jesus Christ means for us.
Lenten Activities: Attend Good Friday Services
Good Friday is the Friday before Easter. On Good Friday, Catholics commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, who died to redeem us. There is no mass on Good Friday, but your local parish will hold a liturgy to remember this tremendous act of love. Attend them with your family. #GoodFriday
Broken (so that we could be made whole)
This video from LifeTeen shows how Jesus Christ is waiting for us in all of our messy sinfulness. Jesus was broken so that we could be made whole. It focuses on the Pascal Mystery.
Mark Hart on Jesus Christ’s Crucifixion and Death
What does the cross mean? In this video, Mark Hart describes the physical process of crucifixion. Jesus chose to be beaten, humiliated, and killed for us. When you wear that cross on your neck or make the sign of the cross, really think about what that means.
Anyone who turns away from the Cross, turns away from the Resurrection.
“Anyone who turns away from the Cross, turns away from the Resurrection.” – Pope Francis
The Daily Way of the Cross
The call to discipleship requires us to do more than study and pray. We are also called to act. The corporal works of mercy are a good way to think about concrete ways to help those around us. Practicing the works of mercy help us understand the needs of others.
Lenten Activities: Visit a Garden and Pray
Christ went to pray at the Garden of Gethsemane. It is a prayer of total surrender to the Father’s will. So as a Lenten activity, go to a garden and think about the Garden of Gethsemane. Take your children and teenagers and teach them how to pray as Jesus did.
Lenten Activities: Make Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns are traditionally served during Lent, particularly on Good Friday in some parts of the world. The cross on them reminds us of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. The spices used in them are reminders of the fragrant spices used during burial at the time. #Lent #HotCrossBuns
First Person Stations of the Cross
This mediation will take youth through the way of the cross. They will see each station as if they were there. The prayers are meant to relate to their own lives. This is appropriate during Lent or even if you will be offering youth an opportunity for reconciliation soon.
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish…
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.
The Cross Is the Tree of Life
The cross expresses love, service, unreserved self-giving: it truly is the “tree of life”, of overabundant life. – Pope Francis
Lenten Activities: Prayerfully Read the Passion of Our Lord
We are all familiar with the Passion story. We hear it every year on Palm Sunday and on Good Friday. But when we read it at Mass, we read it at the same pace as the whole congregation. So try reading it prayerfully on your own.
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