Good Friday
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040326.cfm
“May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Sorrows of Our Mother Mary be always in our Hearts.”
You may be familiar with those words. They are the motto of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ. This is the order of priests, brothers, and nuns that was founded by Paul Francis Danei, called St. Paul of the Cross in Italy in 1720. The Passionists are, of course, the order that has staffed our parish since 1885.
In this brief homily, I want to connect two of the friezes behind me to the Passionist charism and to our Passion reading. If you look at the frieze directly behind me, you will see an image of St. Paul of the Cross’ life. Paul was a mystic who had occasional visions. In this one, he was praying at his kneeler (depicted in the foreground) when he was transported in prayer to the cross. He had the experience of Jesus reaching down with one arm and embracing him.
I want you to notice one detail from this image. St. Paul is returning Jesus’ embrace with his left arm, but notice what he is doing with his right hand. An angel is holding up a spear, the same spear that pierced Jesus’ side at the Crucifixion. Paul’s right hand is grabbing the spear and using it to stab his own heart. He is literally taking the Passion of Jesus Christ into himself and being pierced by it.
As we enter into the Passion of Christ today, Good Friday, we are called to pierce our own hearts. To let the suffering of all the crucified people of our world in. So often, we are naturally tempted to block out the brokenness and pain of our world, but the Passionist charism reminds us that we are called to compassion. The word compassion literally means “to suffer with.” In the compassion of our Lord, we unite the pain and the sin of the world, and nail it to the cross.
What did Jesus’ awful death mean? Let me point out one other frieze to you. Behind the high altar, there is an image of the Crucifixion. At the foot of the Cross, there is a skull. This is another little detail you might not have noticed, but note it’s position at the very center point of focus in the sanctuary, behind the tabernacle. The symbolism of the skull is this: by Jesus’ Passion and death on the cross, he defeated death itself. Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, called the place of the skull. An old tradition says that “the skull” was, in fact, the skull of Adam, the first man, and that Jesus’ blood dripped down from the cross onto the bones of Adam, and washed away the sins of our first parents and of all the world. That is the victory of the cross and the meaning of the Passion: by his cross and resurrection, Jesus Christ has set us free.
“May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Sorrows of Our Mother Mary be always in our Hearts.”
“May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Sorrows of Our Mother Mary be always in our Hearts.”
You may be familiar with those words. They are the motto of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ. This is the order of priests, brothers, and nuns that was founded by Paul Francis Danei, called St. Paul of the Cross in Italy in 1720. The Passionists are, of course, the order that has staffed our parish since 1885.
In this brief homily, I want to connect two of the friezes behind me to the Passionist charism and to our Passion reading. If you look at the frieze directly behind me, you will see an image of St. Paul of the Cross’ life. Paul was a mystic who had occasional visions. In this one, he was praying at his kneeler (depicted in the foreground) when he was transported in prayer to the cross. He had the experience of Jesus reaching down with one arm and embracing him.
I want you to notice one detail from this image. St. Paul is returning Jesus’ embrace with his left arm, but notice what he is doing with his right hand. An angel is holding up a spear, the same spear that pierced Jesus’ side at the Crucifixion. Paul’s right hand is grabbing the spear and using it to stab his own heart. He is literally taking the Passion of Jesus Christ into himself and being pierced by it.
As we enter into the Passion of Christ today, Good Friday, we are called to pierce our own hearts. To let the suffering of all the crucified people of our world in. So often, we are naturally tempted to block out the brokenness and pain of our world, but the Passionist charism reminds us that we are called to compassion. The word compassion literally means “to suffer with.” In the compassion of our Lord, we unite the pain and the sin of the world, and nail it to the cross.
What did Jesus’ awful death mean? Let me point out one other frieze to you. Behind the high altar, there is an image of the Crucifixion. At the foot of the Cross, there is a skull. This is another little detail you might not have noticed, but note it’s position at the very center point of focus in the sanctuary, behind the tabernacle. The symbolism of the skull is this: by Jesus’ Passion and death on the cross, he defeated death itself. Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, called the place of the skull. An old tradition says that “the skull” was, in fact, the skull of Adam, the first man, and that Jesus’ blood dripped down from the cross onto the bones of Adam, and washed away the sins of our first parents and of all the world. That is the victory of the cross and the meaning of the Passion: by his cross and resurrection, Jesus Christ has set us free.
“May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Sorrows of Our Mother Mary be always in our Hearts.”
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