“Live out the Triduum with Christ,” my spiritual advisor counseled. I try to do the best I can to make most of the Triduum services: Holy Thursday, Veneration of the Cross (Good Friday) and Easter. Yesterday I couldn’t make it to the Holy Thursday foot washing, however, as I mentioned I do believe I was humbled and in awe of His servants being Christ as they took care of me with a very delicate situation.
Today I attended the Good Friday service, also known as the Veneration of the Cross. Much to my surprise I was overjoyed to see this:
A FULL parking lot! Praise be to God! Normally the service on Friday isn’t usually known to be as well attended but it seems the spirit is truly moving and people want to live out the Triduum as best as they can.
I was mistaken when I’ve felt my well of tears had run dry until we were in the Gospel reading and during the narrative the break came for the choir to sing:
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh – Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord.
Gets me every time. I imagine myself at the place they called ‘GOLGOTHA’ and the truth of my life through the blood of Christ washes over me and I can’t help but cry with gratitude and thanksgiving.
This portion of the Gospel really hit home with me:
From the Passion according to 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.
There they crucified him, and with him two others,
one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.
It read,
“Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.”
Now many of the Jews read this inscription,
because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city;
and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,
“Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’
but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.”
Pilate answered,
“What I have written, I have written.”
For some reason the fact that Pilate wrote the truth on the inscription of Jesus’ crucifix and then to have the Jews say ‘But wait, we want him crucified because he said I am the King of the Jews”….and for Pilate to simply say ‘What I’ve written, I have written.” struck me bold and true. His will be done, is what it says to me. “Amen!” my heart proclaimed for it gives me comfort in knowing, always His will shall be done. And it is good.
After the homily we said a prayer and brought out the cross, venerating the symbol for which Jesus was crucified and died for our sins. The entire parish walked up to the cross and said a prayer of thanksgiving and praise.
I had already been up when I saw a man out of the corner of my eye get the attention of one of the ushers. He was an older gentleman, probably mid to late 80’s and he mouthed, “I didn’t get my turn! I didn’t get to go to the cross.” However, I’d seen them carry a smaller cross around to the members who were in the handicapped section where he was sitting. I watched him venerate the cross myself. The woman with him (possibly a daughter) said something to the effect of, “Yes you did. It was earlier you just don’t remember.”
His look was grief-stricken. This older gentleman wanting desperately to be a part of the service and yet his affliction got the best of him and he couldn’t remember. There was something about his vulnerability and fragility that caused tears to rush forward without notice. I quickly bent my head in prayer and without warning I thought of my grandfather.
The tears wouldn’t stop flowing. For some reason there is something about someone so close to death that it is hard to want to keep them from redemption. “Lord, I give him to you. I pray for his soul.” And that’s all I could do.
This time that Jesus died on the cross is a mournful one because we don’t like the thought of him not being ‘resurrected’…but thankfully we know our Easter is around the corner. I pray for the souls who are living in this void day in and day out. May one of us be a light of Christ’s light and love so they may know HE IS RISEN.
Blessings
Shannon