Jeremiah,
Chapter 41, Verse 18
They were afraid
of the Chaldeans, because Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, had slain Gedaliah, son of
Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had set over the land.
We fear violent people just as the Jews
did in Jeremiah because they remind us of our frailty and of our eventual
death.
God
is stronger than the Devil and his entire posse. God is stronger than all the
communists, atheists, politicians, and propaganda ministers of our age. Our
Lady tells us to not fear them, but fear God and pray.
The wrath of God is indeed being
revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress
the truth by their wickedness. For what can be known about God is evident to
them, because God made it evident to them. Ever since the creation of the
world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to
be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no
excuse; for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give
him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless
minds were darkened. While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged
the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of
birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.
Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their
hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies. They exchanged the truth of
God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator,
who is blessed forever. Amen. (Rom. 1:18-25)
WHAT does the Church commemorate on this
day?
The death of Jesus Christ, the
only-begotten Son of the Father, and the Savior of the world, who on this day
was scourged, crowned with thorns, and most cruelly crucified between two thieves;
through which bitter and ignominious passion and death He accomplished the redemption
of mankind.[2]
Forty Hours' Devotion: It is traditionally believed that the duration of time from Christ's death until His Resurrection is forty hours, from 3 p.m. on Good Friday until 7 a.m. Easter Sunday. As early as the 100's it was customary for some of the faithful to fast and keep vigil during this entire period.
Other Good Friday Customs.
If a devotion of forty hours could not be done, many Catholics observed Good
Friday as a day of austerity as best they could. Fasting more than was required
was common. Attending the Three Hours' Devotion, or Seven Last Words
of Christ, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. (the hours our Lord hung upon the cross),
has also been popular. Liturgically speaking, this is a relatively new observance,
begun in Peru in the early 1700's, but it is a very effective one. An older
tradition that has lamentably been forgotten, on the other hand, is that of the
Holy Sepulchre, a special shrine set up to house either the Blessed
Sacrament or a crucifix which the faithful could visit on Good Friday and Holy
Saturday.
The most basic Christian gesture in
prayer is and always will be the Sign of the Cross.
(Pope Benedict XVI) “…by which the world
has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Gal 6:14) Martyrs made the
Sign as they were taken to their deaths.
The Sign of the cross is used in every single liturgy of
the Church: sacraments, exorcisms, consecrations, and blessings[4]
·
"The sign of the cross is a symbolic
expression of the principal mysteries of Christianity, a confession of the
Catholic faith. It reminds us of the Crucified, of the price of our redemption,
and of the value of our soul; it enkindles love of God, strengthens hope, and
animates us to follow Christ on the way of the Cross. It indicates that in the
cross we are to find our honor, our salvation, and our life; that we should
prefer the folly and weakness of the cross to all the wisdom and power of the
world, that, as disciples of the Crucified, we should combat under the banner
of the cross and by this sign triumph over all our enemies."
·
St. Francis de Sales: "We raise the hand
first to the forehead, saying, 'In the name of the Father,' to signify that the
Father is the First Person of the Most Holy Trinity, of whom the Son is
begotten and from whom the Holy Ghost proceeds. Then saying, 'and the Son,' the
hand is lowered to the breast, to express that the Son proceeds from the
Father, who sent Him down to the womb of the Virgin. Then the hand is moved
from the left shoulder or side to the right, while saying, 'and of the Holy
Ghost,' thereby signifying that the Holy Ghost, as the Third Person of the Holy
Trinity, proceeds from the Father and the Son, that He is the Love that unites
both, and that we, through His grace, partake of the fruits of the passion.
Accordingly the sign of the cross is a brief declaration of our faith in the
three great mysteries: of our faith in the Blessed Trinity, in the passion of
Christ, and in the forgiveness of sin, by which we pass from the left side of
curse to the right of blessing."
·
The Sign of the Cross is likened by the Fathers
to the true cross of Christ.
·
The Sign of the Cross is source of all blessings
and graces, the weapon and armor of our defense against the evil spirit... as
sign of Christ's victory over sin, death, and hell.
·
God has imparted to the sign of the cross an
efficacy, because of honors and merits of the Crucified.
·
Efficacy greater if sign of cross made with
devout and believing disposition, recollection of mind, devotion of heart, love
towards the Crucified.
As this is Good Friday
try to see our Lord weighted down with our sins which he carried with him on
the way of the cross; that beam was indeed heavy for it was our sins and it
tore a great unrecorded wound in his shoulder. I wonder, “What are the five
most hateful sins that our Lord bore in that cross?” In an article by Zac Poonen, he proposed that the five most hated sins by our Lord are:
·
Hypocrisy: To be a hypocrite is to give
others the impression that we are holier than we actually are. It is the same
as being false, or telling a lie. Jesus pronounced a curse on hypocrites seven
times in Mt. 23:13-29. Jesus told the Pharisees that their inner life was
""full of self-indulgence"" (Mt. 23:25) - which meant that
they lived only to please themselves. God looks at our hearts.
·
Spiritual Pride: We all know the parable
of the self-righteous Pharisee who despised others even in his prayer (Lk.
18:9-14)! Jesus hated the pride with which he thought of his spiritual
activities and with which he despised makes believers constantly judge other
believers. Jesus taught that the greatest person in heaven would be the
humblest (Mt. 18:4). The greatest virtue found in heaven is humility. This is
why it is the first of the seven virtues (Humility, Generosity, Chastity,
Patience, Temperance, Understanding and Wisdom) of Mary Christ’s mother.
·
Impurity: Impurity enters into our hearts
mainly through our eyes and our ears. Anyone who seeks to be pure must
therefore be especially careful about what he sees and what he hears. Jesus
hated impurity so much that He told His disciples that they should be willing
to pluck out their right eye and cut off their right hand rather than sin with
those members (Mt. 5:27-29). When do doctors recommend the amputation of the
right hand or the surgical removal of an eye? Only when things have become so
bad that without the removal of these organs, the whole body would die. This is
what we need to understand in relation to sin as well. Sin is so serious that
it can imperil our very life. Most believers have not realized this and that is
why they are careless in the way they use their tongues and their eyes.
·
Indifference To Human Need: Jesus was
angry when the leaders of the synagogue did not want Him to heal a man, just
because it was the Sabbath day ""He was deeply disturbed by their
indifference to human need"" (Mk. 3:5 - Living). We are commanded to
do good to all men, especially to the children of God (Gal. 6: 10). Jesus
taught that those who did nothing to help their brothers who were in need of
the basic necessities of life, would be cast out of His presence in the final
day (Mt. 25:41-46). Those who do not help their brothers in need cannot
possibly have the love of God dwelling in their hearts (1Jn. 3:17). Jesus spoke
out strongly on such matters because He hated the attitude that many religious
people had who were concerned only with religious activities but not with
helping their needy brothers.
·
Unbelief: Bible speaks of an unbelieving
heart as an EVIL heart (He. 3: 12) Jesus rebuked His disciples seven times for
unbelief. (See Mt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:17-20; Mk.16:14; Lk.24:25). It
seems that He almost never rebuked His disciples for anything else!! Unbelief
is an insult to God, because it implies that God does not care or provide for
His children even as much as evil fathers on earth care and provide for their
children.
[2]
Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896.
[3]
Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic Customs and their biblical roots. Chap.
2. The Sign of the Cross.
[4]
http://www.stjosephstoledo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=96:october-18-2009-homily-the-sign-of-the-cross&catid=14:homilies&Itemid=13
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