Friday

Good Friday

And in the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” 
which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Mark 15:34

Friday Prayer

Forsaken by both God and man, my Savior, you went through hell; you conquered it, Christ Jesus, by obliterating the gates of hell on the cross.  My God, let me know the love that you have for me.  Let me know the price that has been paid on my behalf.  The crosses that I carry are nothing compared to your cross.  Yet I take up my crosses knowing that you, O Lord, have taken up the far greater cross for me.  Amen.

Friday Meditation

How often have I missed the spiritual fruits of the season without being aware of it?  But how can I ever really celebrate Easter without observing Lent?  How can I rejoice fully in your resurrection when I have avoided in participating in your death?

Yes, Lord, I have to die – with you, through you and in you – and thus become ready to recognize you when you appear to me in your resurrection.  There is so much in me that needs to die: false attachments, greed and anger, impatience and stinginess, O Lord, I am self-centered, concerned about my self, my career, my future, my name and fame.  Often I even feel that I use you for my own advantage.  How preposterous, how sacrilegious, how sad!

-          Henri Nouwen