Good Friday Reflection - The Message of the Cross

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)

Jesus Died So We Can Live. Today, we reflect on the ultimate sacrifice made for us—Jesus' death on the cross. His love, grace, and sacrifice give us the gift of eternal life and hope. On this solemn day, we remember how His selfless act of love transformed the world and continues to guide us.

On Good Friday, we commemorate the ultimate sacrifice. The Stations of the Cross allow us to journey with Christ the last hours of his life on earth. Even if you are unable to physically move from station to station, it is a wonderful opportunity to mediate on all that Jesus was willing to undergo for our sake. 

The First Station: Jesus is condemned to death.

The Second Station: Jesus carries His cross.

The Third Station: Jesus falls the first time.

The Fourth Station: Jesus meets His mother. 

The Fifth Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry His cross.

The Sixth Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.

The Seventh Station: Jesus falls the second time.

The Eighth Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem. 

The Ninth Station: Jesus falls the third time.

The Tenth Station: Jesus is stripped of His clothes.

The Eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross.

The Twelfth Station: Jesus dies on the cross.

The Thirteenth Station: Jesus is taken down from the cross.

The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb.

Imagine how Mary must have felt when she met her Son on the way to Golgotha. Her heart must have been breaking watching Him struggle to carry the cross. Her tears must have hurt Jesus’ own heart.

After Jesus fell for the third time, He got back up and continued on. He didn’t grumble or complain. It would have been easy to decide that it was too hard and to just stop. When we carry our own cross, however small that burden, it is incredibly easy to complain to God and to say that we cannot do it. We might not be able to on our own, but with God’s help, all things are possible.

In His last moments on the cross before He died, Jesus was thinking of us. “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) God stands ready to give us His unconditional love and forgiveness. He has already done the hard part. Through His suffering and death, He threw open the gates to Heaven. He is ready to give us the graces to get there. All we need to do is ask Him for it.  

On Good Friday, the words of Apostle Paul become real to me, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Crucifixion was an exceedingly common in antiquity. The Romans conventionalized it as a form of state punishment. For many the death of Jesus on the cross is a mystery; for others madness. For me, the cross expresses the power of an amazing love.

We know from history that in Jesus’ time there were many claiming to be the Messiah but only one wasn’t forgotten…. the One who changed the course of history. On Good Friday the cross of shame, defeat and failure was transformed into a symbol of victory.

What could compel Jesus to give his life, be tortured and humiliated on the cross? Love.

In the Bible, we read the words of Jesus in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” He thought of us above all else, so that we would experience the power of love through forgiveness, the abundant life and external life. The cross of death became the gift of life!

What could compel Jesus to give his life, be tortured and humiliated on the cross? Love.

Lord, thank you for your amazing love expressed through Christ on the cross. May we experience the power of Your love in our lives.