The Longest Lent--Good Friday

It is most surreal to be going through the Sacred Triduum without a visit to church. Yesterday, when our choir director called to check up on us, I burst into sobs. The poor man--this is not what he expected. But I cannot hold back the grief. O, Lord, when?

This meditation from Transformed by God's Word by Stephen Binz and iconography by Ruta and Kaspars Poikan is so beautiful. I hope it is a blessing for you too.

My thoughts often go to the Spanish flu, how deadly it was, how it took the two little saints from Fatima--Francesco and Jacinta--to heaven. I ask them to pray for us, for our leaders--both secular and religious. I don't like the direction our country is going in, how easily we accept measures that will harm us in the long run. I don't understand why people are allowed to go get groceries but not go to church, why abortion is considered an essential service when we are trying our hardest to save people from the Coronavirus, why we don't take these same measures every flu season. I fear that all these mandates from the government might have us seeing a lull in the infections, only to have a resurgence in the fall. This virus isn't going anywhere--it's amongst us and we must build up herd immunity, like we do with other viruses. In a couple of years, it will no longer be "novel." But to cripple the economy in the meantime, I don't know how many will lose hope, their homes, their very livelihood. Parce Domine!

Enough kvetching. I'm not in control. 

Today (and every day really) is a day to offer up everything, uniting it to Christ's death. Our pastor gave a beautiful homily (~32 min mark) about the Cross and our gifts. His point was that often our very gifts can be our crosses. Think about family; our spouses are a gift, yet they can also be our biggest cross. But the reverse is also true. Our crosses are also our gifts. They help us grow. For me, it's been the migraines. I often meditate on the Crown of Thorns our Lord wore. And my favorite meditation is from Luisa Piccaretta's Hours of the Passion. I always pray that our crosses will lead us closer to Christ.

I love Good Friday because I come closest to understanding how much God loves me. He suffered and died for me. It makes me want to live and die for Him. I love these timeless prayers, wherein we pray not just for ourselves but the whole world. May God bless you.