Daily Reflection for Friday, April 10, 2020
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
We encourage you to reflect on Good Friday’s readings at this link:
http://usccb.org/bible/readings/041020.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Isaiah 52: 13- 53: 12
Responsorial: Psalm 31: 2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17 and 25
Second Reading: Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-8
Gospel: John 18: 1- 19: 42
Our reflection on Good Friday’s readings:
Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit. You will redeem me, Lord, God of truth. Psalm 31: 6.
“It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. John 19: 30.
Good Friday. We’re not physically together in sanctuaries. We’ll not be together Saturday evening for Easter Vigil or Easter Sunday.
And yet, our spirits can be together. All of us, worldwide, can be together and we can commend our spirits to the Lord. And what will happen then? We are told in Psalm 31 that the Lord, the God of truth, will redeem us—God will save us. We are saved by the God of Truth, the God of Love and Peace, to live and follow God’s will and to do our part to make God’s will be done here on earth.
Like Jesus, I too should commend my Spirit to the Father. The Spirit, made known to us through the sinless life of Jesus, is alive all around us. The Spirit is alive in the work of health care professionals, care givers, first responders, delivery persons, truckers, shelf stockers, people who keep open the lines of communication and information, clergy, teachers, public servants. The list goes on and on. They, consciously or unconsciously, have commended their Spirits to the Lord, and allow life and the world to go on.
The prophet Isaiah tells us: [T]here was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. He was spurned and avoided by people, a man of suffering…spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Isaiah 52: 2-3. Jesus was spurned, rejected, and executed. The high priests and maybe Pilate, thought that would be the end of it. “We dealt with that rabble rouser and salvaged the status quo.” Little did they know.
And probably during this worldwide crisis…during this most holy time…little do we know.
Lord Jesus, please teach us your love and your peace. Into your hands let us commend our spirits.
Peace and blessings,
Al Mytty