Good Friday and Easter Saturday

Going into the Church on Good Friday always feels very strange. The night before we followed Jesus into the Garden of Gethsemane. The Church is empty and silent you know that something is missing. The Tabernacle is empty the presence of Jesus in the Blessed sacrament is no longer there. For me it always feels empty. The Good Friday service reminds us of the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus did for us. he died on the cross. We gather at the foot of the cross and we watch the Lord's final agony. We venerate the cross creeping to the feet to kiss with love the feet of Jesus. We arrive in silence and leave in silence the Church then remains empty again our act of commemoration our act of love is over.

My reflection of this Friday is one of thanks to God for such great love and sacrifice. If we ever feel that God does not love us then we just have to look at the cross to know that he does love us all very dearly. We should leave the Church knowing this love because we have witnessed it we have seen it.

Then the Church falls into silence. We are waiting. The morning on Saturday is one of waiting and silence. But, in most churches there is frantic preparation for the Easter Vigil. The Church has life in it again. It awaits the author of life to come into the Church. Holy Saturday is a day of silent prayer and waiting. For me it takes me a bit of time to get my head around the day before so I am quite pleased to have this movement of pausing and waiting. Let us wait together for the coming of our Lord this Easter and so we will await the great joy of the Risen lord in our lives.

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