Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion- The Cross by Fr. Anthony Kadavil
Reading 1, Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25
Gospel, John 18:1-19:42
Reading 2, Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
Fr. Anthony Kadavil's summarized homily
- The cross and the crucifix are meaningful symbols
- The Cross always means pain.
Life messages:
(1)We should carry our crosses with the right motives: We should carry our crosses in the same spirit as a loving wife does when she nurses her paralyzed husband or sick child, with sacrificial love and dedicated commitment. The carrying of our crosses becomes easier when we compare our light crosses with the heavy crosses of terminally ill patients or patients in emergency wards. We need to draw strength and inspiration from Jesus Who walks ahead of us carrying his heavier cross while supporting us in carrying our crosses.
(2) We should plant the cross of Christ in our daily lives: We need to begin every day with a sign of the cross, asking the blessing and protection of the crucified Lord in our lives that day. A loving, prayerful touch on the cross we wear on our body will encourage us to serve others selflessly with real commitment. Such prayer will also open our hearts to receive immunity from a lot of temptations and an increase of Divine strength to fight and defeat stronger temptations.
(3)We should heal our inner wounds through the cross of Christ: An area where it is very important for us to apply the cross of Christ in our life concerns the area of inner healing.
