Lord Have Mercy

On any other day of the year, I am excited to share my faith, my devotion to God, my love of Jesus. Every year, I struggle with what to say on Good Friday. I share the teachings and disciplines of the Church. I’ve even shared our traditions as a family.

What is hard to do is to share the emotional aspect of Good Friday. How humbling I feel when I come before the Lord, head bowed lo, and dare to speak.

Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.
But only say the Word and my soul shall be healed.

Speak. Now that the gates of Heaven are open, all God needs to do is to speak. We desperately need to know that our transgressions, however great or small, have been forgiven. Just five little words is all we need to hear.

Your sins have been forgiven.

If that truly is all that it takes, then why is it that Good Friday needed to exist at all? God spoke – let there be light – and there was light. He spoke us into existence. Say the word and I am healed. The reality is a price needed to be paid, a sacrifice made, for the forgiveness of sin. Original Sin slammed the gates of Heaven closed. So great is the nature of sin that only God Himself could make the sacrifice necessary to wash away the stain and restore us to a state of grace in His presence. As we wandered in the darkness of our sinful state of existence Christ allowed himself to be nailed to the tree. His sacrifice was beyond anything we could have done. It was pure. It was perfect. At the moment of His earthly death, His radiance washed out across all time and space. He alone paid the randsom necessary. He alone broke the chains to set us free. It’s not enough to simply ask for His forgiveness. We must lay down our lives for Him just as He has done for us. Surrender completely as we seek Him in all things.

To ask for forgiveness is so powerful. It is why on Good Friday, be it in a church, or a quiet corner of our homes, Catholics venerate the Cross. The Crucifix is placed in a prominent place, making it possible to spend time in prayer and reflection. Many are moved to reach out and touch or kiss the Cross. Believe me when I tell you that simple act of kissing the cross will touch the very fiber of your soul in ways you cannot imagine. It is why so often you will see Catholics begin and end the Rosary by kissing the cross.

The Novena of Divine Mercy begins on Good Friday. This Novena typically begins at 3 o’clock, the hour many believe Christ died on the cross, and is recited each day for nine days. The words, in addition to the opening and closing prayers, are repeated on the Rosary Beads. When spoken in earnest, they can be life-changing.

Eternal Father, I offer you the body and blood
Soul and divinity of Your dearly beloved Son
Our Lord, Jesus Christ
In atonement for our sins
And those of the whole world

For the sake of His sorrowful passion
Have mercy on us
And on the whole world

These simple acts of faith put into perspective the humbling nature of Good Friday. It is a day of weeping in sorrow, and yet we are blessed with the knowledge that our pleas for mercy will not go unanswered. For each of us has been forgiven. As God the Father forgives, let us reach out to one another with forgiveness. As Christ loves us, let us fill our hearts with love for one another. Let kindness and compassion be our guiding light.

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Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit