Good Friday. . .
le vendredi Saint
The betrayal ,
the mockery of a trial,
the crowd yelling "crucify him!",
the ensuing torture,
the scourging, the spitting,
the belittling, the vilifying,
the carrying of the cross,
the nailing to the cross,
the last 7 words of Jesus,
the death of God,
the veil of the Temple ripped apart,
the earthquake,
the darkness,
the burial,
the tomb,
the silence.
Communion & Liberation
has been organizing and leading an urban Way of the Cross in North Beach
for 5 years.
I was there this morning and it was a very moving and reflective way of
witnessing and sharing our faith in the midst of an extremely popular
neighborhood. North Beach in San Francisco has many great Italian Restaurants
and Cafes, it is imbued with a certain nostalgia of the bohemian and beatnick
days, it is nestled in between China Town and Fisherman Warf and it is
very popular with both the local people and with tourists too! It is also
the home of our New and beautiful Porziuncola Chapel,
next to the National Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron Saint
of our City.
"The Way of the Cross in the heart of a city
where millions of people carry their daily cross, most of the time dreadfully
alone.
We need the presence of "God with us", Jesus every day".
We walked and stopped and prayed and chanted, we listened to Scriptures
and meditations and then walked again.
It was great and it lasted from 9 am to 11 am. The time went by too fast...
Afterwards, I went to Notre Dame des Victoires (my parish!) for their
Good Friday service (which is about noon to 3),
with the chanting of Psalms, the reading of the Passion narrative (from
the Gospel of John),
the Adoration of the Cross, and Meditations on the
last Seven Words of Jesus,
and the Stations of the Cross.
For the NDV web site: see
www.ndvsf.org
For more information on Communion and Liberation, see their web site:
here
and for the Way of the Cross site: www.wocsanfrancisco.com.
Here are some pictures of Today's Way of the Cross:
The Sorrowful Mysteries (with
Scripture quotes and with my own meditations).
The Agony in the Garden.
He prayed, saying: "Father, if you will, take this cup away from me; still,
not my will but yours be done." And to strengthen him, an angel from heaven
appeared to him. He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat
became like drops of blood falling on the ground. Luke 22:42.
Meditation: Suffering and Acceptance. In our
own dark hours of temptation and weakness, when we feel abandoned and
hopeless, when suffering brings confusion, may we gain strength by turning
to prayers, our own prayers and asking others to pray for us too. When
giving up our own plans and submitting to God's plan takes every ounce
of patience and humility in us, may we find courage in how you endured
your own suffering, O Lord.
The Scourging.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. John 19:1.
Meditation: The Horror of Physical Suffering.
Remembering the injustice done to you, may we learn to refrain from lashing
out and hitting. May we transform our own violence and anger, impatience
and short temper into true compassion and fortitude.
The Crown of Thorns.
They clothed him in purple and weaving a crown of thorns placed it on him. They
begun to salute him with "Hail, King of the Jews!" and kept striking his head
with a reed and spitting upon him. Mark 15:17
Meditation: Courage and Dignity. Mocking and
ridiculing is a common reaction to what we don't understand. May we offer
silence instead. May we accept with humility the trials and misunderstandings
we encounter. May your courage under brutality and mockery, O Lord, inspires
us to uphold the dignity of all who are battered.
The Carrying of the Cross.
So they took Jesus and carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called
the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. John 19:17.
Meditation: Endurance. To have the courage to
get up after falling, to try again after each failing. May we accept the
help of others. May we always attempt to relieve the suffering of others
around us, in small daily gestures of help and support and comfort. May
we find the will to bear our own suffering without complaining and to
endure our own trials as much as we can.
The crucifixion. "
When they came to the place called The
Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there too, one on his right, the
other on his left. Then Jesus said: "Father, forgive them, they know not what
they do". Luke 23:33
Meditation: Salvation and Redemption. The Son
offered his suffering and death for us, for the redemption of our sins
and, in the process, he opened up a way for us. For us, Christians, (which
means: "little Christ"), we choose every year to relive his Passion to
deepen our love and to renew our commitment. And in our own way, in our
feeble and fumbling efforts, we can imitate him. Let us offer our love
and devotion in return for his sacrifice. Daily, we can seek opportunity
to offer the "death" of our egos as a personal sacrifice. May we always
remember that when we forgive, we participate in the plan of Redemption,
when we love our neighbor, we are loving him who loved us first.
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