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Good Friday • The
Passion of the Lord • Year A • Beads of Joy Blog II
✝️ Today's Mass Readings
First Reading: Isaiah 52:13- 53:12
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25
Second Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
Gospel: John 18:1- 19:42
📖 The Gospel
He was arrested.
Tried. Scourged. Crowned with thorns. Condemned. He carried His cross. He was
nailed to it. He said, “I thirst.” He said, "It is finished." He bowed His head
and handed over His spirit.
🙏 Reflection
Jesus died. The Son
of God, the I AM, the Living Water, the Resurrection and the Life, the one who
called Lazarus out of the tomb, was nailed to a cross outside Jerusalem and
died today.
Isaiah had seen it coming seven centuries
earlier: He was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. The punishment
that made us whole fell on him. We had all gone astray. And the Lord laid on
him the guilt of us all.
It is finished. Three words in Greek,
tetelestai, commonly translated as "It is Finished." It is finished, meaning everything that
needed to be done for your salvation has been done. The debt has been paid. The
gap between God and His people has been closed. The veil is torn in two from
top to bottom.
Stand at the foot of that cross today. Don't
rush past it toward Easter. Stand there. Let it cost you something to look at
it. Because it cost Him everything.
🌟 HOLY WEEK CHALLENGE - Three O’clock
At 3:00 PM today, the
hour of mercy, the hour Jesus died: Stop. Wherever you are. Whatever you are
doing.
Stop completely for
five minutes. Read John 19:28-30 slowly. Just those three verses. Then sit in
silence and say nothing except: Thank You, Lord. That's it. No long prayer. No
eloquent words. Just Thank You.
If you are at work, step outside. If you are
in the car, pull over. If you are home, kneel down. Honor the hour. Honor the
cost.
📿 Rosary - The Sorrowful Mysteries
Focus: All Five -
Every Single One
Today, you pray all
five Sorrowful Mysteries slowly. Not rushing. Not distracted. Every bead is a
step on the Via Dolorosa. Walk it with Him today. Walk it with His Mother
beside you.
🌹 Our Lady of Fatima
She stood at the foot
of the cross. Not from a distance. Right there. The sword Simeon promised
pierced her heart as she watched her Son die. At Fatima, she showed the
children her Immaculate Heart surrounded by thorns, the thorns placed there by
sin and by the ingratitude of those for whom He died. Stand with her today at
the foot of that cross. Let her show you what it looks like to stay when
everything in you wants to run.
🕊️ Closing Prayer
It is finished. Paid
in full. For me. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Thank You. Amen.
