Big Daddy

I might want to commend the globe’s most outstanding young lady today. Thank you for being remarkable in previous years, I wish you a lot of birthday favours today.

Cheers to an additional year. You have shown your strength in your former years. I’m sure this year would not be an exception. Strength for the new year.

A big shout out to the onset of another twelve months. Happy birthday to you my sister and friend🙏❤️

Since the day you were born, you've always had a special light. Keep shining, little brother,
You embody what it means to be a loving sibling. For that, I'm forever grateful,
There's nothing in the world that could ever stop me from loving you. I'll always be your biggest supporter. Happy birthday to my lovely Brother. I love you much ❤️❤️❤️

Good morning......

As we celebrate your birthday, I give thanks to God for placing you in your family. May your day be filled with joy, reflection, and hope for the year ahead, and may He continue to bless you and watch over you all the days of your life.

Birthday Blessings To Briamah Binta.

May your next year be filled with His joy and love.
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
May God be with you in this next year of your life.
May God bless you today and forever.
May your journey continue to be blessed every day.
May you look back with joy on the years of your life and with hope for those to come.

Happy Birthday Briamah Binta.

This happened yesterday.
And it claim the whole family of four as they returned from burial and the vehicle took them unaware from behind as they were on their motor bike.

But the driver and his girlfriend survived the incident because of car airbag, though they ran away and left their car immediately after the incident.

The shop owner wasn't in, because yesterday was the big market day so she went out to buy goods coming back she discovered that her shop was badly damage.

The petty trader that was selling fried potatoes, yam and some fishes should have been crushed alongside with her children but few minutes before the incident her children were fighting with each other as she send them to fesh some water for her and immediately she jumped out of her shop to separate them on her way back all her goods were scattered but their lives were spared. To God be glorified Amen.

Tell God you and your family shall not die in road accident in Jesus name. 🙏🙏🙏

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I'm not worthy to be called "Catholic" if I cannot defend my faith.

I've received 200 reactions to my posts in the past 30 days. Thanks for your support. 🙏🤗🎉
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Good morning to all my friends. Just be Cautioned!

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Easter Sunday
John 20:1-9

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, you are the source of all life because you are life itself. Your resurrection gives me the hope of being raised from the dead to rejoice with you forever in heaven. Thank you for your presence in my life. I love you, and I want to follow after you with all my heart. Be with me now and inspire my prayer.

Petition: Lord Jesus, grant me the joy of seeing my hopes constantly kindled by your power over sin and death. May the strength of your resurrection overcome the weaknesses of my human nature.

Confusing Signs: Without faith, realities that should inspire hope and expectation only cause confusion. Jesus’ empty tomb is the sign of the most complete victory, the most extreme love and the most powerful presence. Mary Magdalene, Peter and John all see the empty tomb. But their limited faith needs time to grow and completely accept the great gift that is offered to them. In approaching the mystery of God, I must stoke up my faith. Otherwise, what should cause hope and courage will only wind up becoming a stumbling block for me. Only a sincere and generous faith in Christ enables me to take the circumstances of life in hope, confidence and security.

Running to the Experience of Faith: Running is an integral part of this Gospel. Mary Magdalene runs. Peter runs, and John outruns Peter. Love for the Lord creates a sense of urgency. What they saw at the tomb could have been seen without running at all. But promptness is a sign of love for the Lord. If I wish to experience Christ and the power of his resurrection, I need to have a sense of urgency in my relationship with the Lord. I must strive to meet him and give myself to him in my here and now. I can’t wait for the “ideal” moment. If I don’t give myself to Christ now, under the present conditions, there is no reason to think I ever will.

Faith Begins with the Experience of the Senses But Does Not End There: John, Peter and Mary Magdalene will eventually have an unshakeable conviction in the Resurrection and become messengers of the Resurrection. But they first need to see the empty tomb and pick up the wrappings. They would also need to see and touch the risen Christ. All this would cause wonderment, reflection, and eventually a growing realization that would induce faith. God works in the same way in my life. First there are the lived experiences of my life: people I meet, circumstances I face, events that occur… then my wonderment and reflection on what it all means; then the slow dawning of faith.

“It is clearly evident that Christ’s resurrection is the greatest Event in the history of salvation, and indeed, we can say in the history of humanity, since it gives definitive meaning to the world. The entire world revolves around the Cross, but only in the resurrection does the Cross reach its full significance of a salvific Event. The Cross and Resurrection constitute the one paschal mystery in which the history of the world is centered. Therefore, Easter is the Church’s greatest Solemnity. Every year she celebrates and renews this Event, fraught with all the prophecies of the Old Testament, beginning with the “Protoevangelium” of the Redemption, and of all the eschatological hopes and expectations projected towards the “fullness of time”, which was realized when the Kingdom of God definitively entered human history and the universal order of salvation” (Saint John Paul II, General Audience, March 1, 1989).

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, you know how to prepare your disciples to experience your presence deeply and know you intimately. I ask today for a deepening in my faith in your resurrection. Let all the events of my life point me to the truth that you are alive.

Meditation.

Do you receive the news of Jesus' resurrection with skepticism and doubt or with faith and joyful wonderment? On Sunday morning the women who had witnessed Jesus death on the cross went to the tomb to pay their last tribute to a dead body. The disciples thought that everything had finished in tragedy. Neither were ready to see an empty tomb and hear the angel's message, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise." (Luke 24:5-76). The angel urged them to believe that Jesus had indeed risen just as he had promised. In joy then went to share the good news with the other disciples.

Is it any small wonder that it was the women, rather than the apostles, who first witnessed the empty tomb and the resurrected Lord? Isidore of Seville, a 7th century church father comments on this: "As a woman (Eve) was first to taste death, so a woman (Mary Magdalene) was first to taste life. As a woman was prescient in the fall, so a woman was prescient in beholding the dawning of redemption, thus reversing the curse upon Eve." The first to testify to the risen Lord was a woman from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons.

What is the significance of the stone being rolled away? It would have taken several people to move such a stone. And besides, the sealed tomb had been guarded by soldiers! This is clearly the first sign of the resurrection. Bede, a church father from the 8th century, comments:

"[The angel] rolled back the stone not to throw open a way for our Lord to come forth, but to provide evidence to people that he had already come forth. As the virgin's womb was closed, so the sepulcher was closed, yet he entered the world through her closed womb, and so he left the world through the closed sepulcher." (From Homilies on the Gospels 2,7,24)
Another church father remarked: "To behold the resurrection, the stone must first be rolled away from our hearts" (Peter Chrysologus, 5th century). Do you know the joy of the resurrection?

It is significant that the disciples had to first deal with the empty tomb before they could come to grips with the fact that scripture had foretold that Jesus would die for our sins and then rise triumphant. They disbelieved until they saw the empty tomb. Bede explains why the Risen Lord revealed himself gradually to the disciples:

"Our Lord and redeemer revealed the glory of his resurrection to his disciples gradually and over a period of time, undoubtedly because so great was the virtue of the miracle that the weak hearts of mortals could not grasp [the significance of] this all at once. Thus, he had regard for the frailty of those seeking him. To those who came first to the tomb, both the women who were aflame with love for him and the men, he showed the stone rolled back. Since his body had been carried away, he showed them the linen cloths in which it had been wrapped lying there alone. Then, to the women who were searching eagerly, who were confused in their minds about what they had found out about him, he showed a vision of angels who disclosed evidences of the fact that he had risen again. Thus, with the report of his resurrection already accomplished, going ahead of him, the Lord of hosts and the king of glory himself at length appeared and made clear with what great might he had overcome the death he had temporarily tasted." (From Homilies on the Gospels 2,9,25)
One thing is certain, if Jesus had not risen from the dead and appeared to his disciples, we would never have heard of him. Nothing else could have changed sad and despairing men and women into people radiant with joy and courage. The reality of the resurrection is the central fact of the Christian faith. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Lord gives us "eyes of faith" to know him and the power of his resurrection. The greatest joy we can have is to encounter the living Lord and to know him personally. Do you celebrate the feast of Easter with joy and thanksgiving for the victory which Jesus has won for you over sin and death?

"Lord Jesus Christ, you have triumphed over the grave and you have won new life for us. Give me the eyes of faith to see you in your glory. Help me to draw near to you and to grow in the knowledge of your great love and power."

RISEN LIFE IN JESUS
“Since you have been raised up in company with Christ, set your heart on what pertains to higher realms where Christ is seated at God’s right hand. Be intent on things above rather than on things of earth.” —Colossians 3:1-2
Alleluia! Jesus is risen! His tomb is empty! “Death has no more power over Him” (Rm 6:9). Alleluia!

Because we’ve been baptized into Christ, we have died with Him (Rm 6:4). “If we have been united with Him through likeness to His death, so shall we be through a like resurrection” (Rm 6:5). This very day we have already “been raised up” with Jesus to share in His glorious, heavenly, risen life (Col 3:1).

For many in the United States, the joy of Easter means returning to the things we gave up for Lent. It’s back to chocolate, sweets, soft drinks, ice cream, etc. Yes, we do have to “celebrate and rejoice” on Easter (Lk 15:32), and these treats help us to celebrate. However, if we find our joy simply in returning to the old life we lived before Lent, we will have missed Easter.

Jesus is the Reason for the season! He is risen! We are invited to a risen life with Him so new, powerful, and exciting that we can’t sufficiently celebrate it with the “old yeast,” that is, our old joys and lifestyle (1 Cor 5:7). Let us “be intent on things above rather than on things of earth” (Col 3:2). Let’s celebrate the fifty-day Easter season by immersing ourselves in God’s Word, which is sweeter than the tastiest candy (Ps 119:103), and in the Eucharist, the “bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor 5:8).

Prayer: Father, give me fresh, risen ways to celebrate “this new life” (Acts 5:20). Praise and glory to You, risen Jesus! Alleluia 🕊️🕊️🕊️🙏🙏🙏

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Happy birthday to someone smart, talented, pretty, creative, and fabulous. I love that we’re so much alike,
It is scientifically proven that people who have more birthdays live longer. Congrats on your success

Happy Successfully Birth you Pretty Twinkle Peace Sarah
God bless you continuously Amen🙏🙏🙏❤️

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Meditation.

Do you receive the news of Jesus' resurrection with skepticism and doubt or with faith and joyful wonderment? On Sunday morning the women who had witnessed Jesus death on the cross went to the tomb to pay their last tribute to a dead body. The disciples thought that everything had finished in tragedy. Neither were ready to see an empty tomb and hear the angel's message, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise." (Luke 24:5-76). The angel urged them to believe that Jesus had indeed risen just as he had promised. In joy then went to share the good news with the other disciples.

Is it any small wonder that it was the women, rather than the apostles, who first witnessed the empty tomb and the resurrected Lord? Isidore of Seville, a 7th century church father comments on this: "As a woman (Eve) was first to taste death, so a woman (Mary Magdalene) was first to taste life. As a woman was prescient in the fall, so a woman was prescient in beholding the dawning of redemption, thus reversing the curse upon Eve." The first to testify to the risen Lord was a woman from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons.

What is the significance of the stone being rolled away? It would have taken several people to move such a stone. And besides, the sealed tomb had been guarded by soldiers! This is clearly the first sign of the resurrection. Bede, a church father from the 8th century, comments:

"[The angel] rolled back the stone not to throw open a way for our Lord to come forth, but to provide evidence to people that he had already come forth. As the virgin's womb was closed, so the sepulcher was closed, yet he entered the world through her closed womb, and so he left the world through the closed sepulcher." (From Homilies on the Gospels 2,7,24)
Another church father remarked: "To behold the resurrection, the stone must first be rolled away from our hearts" (Peter Chrysologus, 5th century). Do you know the joy of the resurrection?

It is significant that the disciples had to first deal with the empty tomb before they could come to grips with the fact that scripture had foretold that Jesus would die for our sins and then rise triumphant. They disbelieved until they saw the empty tomb. Bede explains why the Risen Lord revealed himself gradually to the disciples:

"Our Lord and redeemer revealed the glory of his resurrection to his disciples gradually and over a period of time, undoubtedly because so great was the virtue of the miracle that the weak hearts of mortals could not grasp [the significance of] this all at once. Thus, he had regard for the frailty of those seeking him. To those who came first to the tomb, both the women who were aflame with love for him and the men, he showed the stone rolled back. Since his body had been carried away, he showed them the linen cloths in which it had been wrapped lying there alone. Then, to the women who were searching eagerly, who were confused in their minds about what they had found out about him, he showed a vision of angels who disclosed evidences of the fact that he had risen again. Thus, with the report of his resurrection already accomplished, going ahead of him, the Lord of hosts and the king of glory himself at length appeared and made clear with what great might he had overcome the death he had temporarily tasted." (From Homilies on the Gospels 2,9,25)
One thing is certain, if Jesus had not risen from the dead and appeared to his disciples, we would never have heard of him. Nothing else could have changed sad and despairing men and women into people radiant with joy and courage. The reality of the resurrection is the central fact of the Christian faith. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Lord gives us "eyes of faith" to know him and the power of his resurrection. The greatest joy we can have is to encounter the living Lord and to know him personally. Do you celebrate the feast of Easter with joy and thanksgiving for the victory which Jesus has won for you over sin and death?

Lord Jesus Christ, you have triumphed over the grave and you have won new life for us. Give me the eyes of faith to see you in your glory. Help me to draw near to you and to grow in the knowledge of your great love and power.

RISEN LIFE IN JESUS

“Since you have been raised up in company with Christ, set your heart on what pertains to higher realms where Christ is seated at God’s right hand. Be intent on things above rather than on things of earth.” —Colossians 3:1-2
Alleluia! Jesus is risen! His tomb is empty! “Death has no more power over Him” (Rm 6:9). Alleluia!

Because we’ve been baptized into Christ, we have died with Him (Rm 6:4). “If we have been united with Him through likeness to His death, so shall we be through a like resurrection” (Rm 6:5). This very day we have already “been raised up” with Jesus to share in His glorious, heavenly, risen life (Col 3:1).

For many in the United States, the joy of Easter means returning to the things we gave up for Lent. It’s back to chocolate, sweets, soft drinks, ice cream, etc. Yes, we do have to “celebrate and rejoice” on Easter (Lk 15:32), and these treats help us to celebrate. However, if we find our joy simply in returning to the old life we lived before Lent, we will have missed Easter.

Jesus is the Reason for the season! He is risen! We are invited to a risen life with Him so new, powerful, and exciting that we can’t sufficiently celebrate it with the “old yeast,” that is, our old joys and lifestyle (1 Cor 5:7). Let us “be intent on things above rather than on things of earth” (Col 3:2). Let’s celebrate the fifty-day Easter season by immersing ourselves in God’s Word, which is sweeter than the tastiest candy (Ps 119:103), and in the Eucharist, the “bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor 5:8).

Prayer: Father, give me fresh, risen ways to celebrate “this new life” (Acts 5:20). Praise and glory to You, risen Jesus!

Promise: “He saw and believed.” Jn 20:8

Praise: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it” (Ps 118:24). Jesus is risen! Alleluia 🙏🙏🙏!

Happy Easter! May this beautiful day be a testimony to God's love and glory. May God shower you with blessings, love, and peace this Easter and forever, Amen🙏🙏🙏🕊️🕊️🕊️

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Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
John 18:1-27

Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered. Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?” They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.” He said to them, “I AM.” Judas his betrayer was also with them. When he said to them, “I AM,” they turned away and fell to the ground. So he again asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill what he had said, “I have not lost any of those you gave me.” Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?” So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus, bound him, and brought him to Annas first. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than the people. Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Now the other disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus. But Peter stood at the gate outside. So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest, went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in. Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, “You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping warm. The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his doctrine. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather, and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me? Ask those who heard me what I said to them. They know what I said.” When he had said this, one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” Again Peter denied it. And immediately the c**k crowed.

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, Good Friday is the day when you conquered sin by your death on the cross. You showed your mercy to be indestructible. The more the offenses thrown against you, the greater the forgiveness that came from your Sacred Heart. Thank you, Lord, for your humble, generous gift of yourself amidst such terrible suffering. I wish to accompany you closely today in your Passion. I wish to know you and to follow you more closely all the days of my life.

Petition: Lord, convince my heart that you truly died out of personal love for me.

The Affirmation: “I AM.” These are the courageous words of Christ before the cohort of soldiers sent to apprehend him in the garden of Gethsemane. They are the same words that God used to describe himself to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They are the words that have been used in Christian thought to refer to the Creator of all existing things. They are words in which Christ recognizes and proclaims his divinity before the soldiers. For this reason, they turned around and fell to the ground. As we meditate on Christ’s Passion, let us remember his divinity. He is my God and he is my Savior.
The Denial: “I am not.” These words of Peter stand in stark contrast to the words proclaiming Christ’s divinity. We could say that they represent all that is weak and fragile in man, expressed through the mouth of St. Peter. Unlike Christ in the garden, Peter stands by a warm fire and responds to a young servant girl. He denies being a follower of Christ and, in doing so, confirms his own weakness and his need for God’s grace and mercy. We should identify with Peter and recognize our need for Christ’s sacrifice. When “am I not”? When do I let my human fragility get the better of me and pull me down? What do I need to do to avoid the pitfalls in my life and be a more faithful follower of Christ?
Out of Love for Me: This Gospel scene juxtaposes Peter’s denial and Christ’s sentence to death. Even though Christ’s death would have happened without Peter’s denial, what was its effect on Our Lord? Jesus was dying for Peter and all people in order to save us from our sins. Peter’s lack of faith and love did not change that. But when he turned again and believed, he recognized that Jesus had done it all for him, and from then on, he proclaimed it far and wide. May the Lord help us to realize that Christ sees all of our actions and they either console him or add to the pain of so many infidelities. We need to work steadily to build a second nature within ourselves so that in moments of temptation our heart turns first to Jesus, considers the offense we might cause him and then our will kicks in to reject doing wrong and thus please Our Lord and Savior.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, as I contemplate your loving self-giving on Good Friday, I ask you to fill my heart with a deeper knowledge and love of you. All of my infidelities and weaknesses contribute to what you have suffered. You did it out of love for me and for each one of my brothers and sisters. Thank you.

Resolution: I resolve to ask for the personal experience of Christ’s love today, especially when considering his passion and death.

Meditation:

Who can bear to look upon the bloodied cross where Jesus hung without shame or sorrowful grief, disbelief, or reverent awe? The cross brings us face to face with Jesus' suffering. He was alone - all his disciples had deserted him except for his mother and three women along with John, the beloved disciple. And his death was agonizing and humiliating. Normally a crucified man could last for several days on a cross. Jesus had already been scourged, beaten with rods, and a crown of thorns pressed into his skull. It is no wonder that he died mid-afternoon. Pilate publicly heralded Jesus "The King of the Jews" as he died upon the cross, no doubt to irritate and annoy the chief priests and Pharisees (John 19:19).

The King who ransoms us with his own life
Jesus was crucified for his claim to be King. The Jews had understood that the Messiah would come as their king to establish God's reign for them. They wanted a king who would free them from tyranny and foreign domination. Many had high hopes that Jesus would be the Messianic king. Little did they understand what kind of kingship Jesus claimed to have. Jesus came to conquer hearts and souls for an imperishable kingdom, rather than to conquer perishable lands and entitlements.

Jesus' death on the cross defeated sin and death for us
We can find no greater proof of God's love for us than the willing sacrifice of his Son on the cross. Jesus' parting words, "It is finished!" express triumph rather than defeat. Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit knowing that the strife was now over and the battle was won. Even on the cross, Jesus knew the joy of victory. What the Father sent him into the world to do has now been accomplished. Christ offered himself without blemish to God and he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (see Hebrews 9:24-26).

As we gaze at his wounds - we touch the scars of his resurrection
While the close company of Jesus' disciples - his apostles - had deserted him and hid out of fear from the Jewish authorities, Jesus' mother and some of the women who were close to Jesus stood close to him while he hung upon the cross. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D) in his sermon on John's passion account focuses on the gaze of the women who witnessed the shedding of his blood and the offering of his life as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world.
"As they were looking on, so we too gaze on his wounds as he hangs. We see his blood as he dies. We see the price offered by the redeemer, touch the scars of his resurrection. He bows his head as if to kiss you. His heart is made bare open, as it were, in love with you. His arms are extended so that he may embrace you. His whole body is displayed for your redemption. Ponder how great these things are. Let all this be rightly weighed in your mind: as he was once fixed to the cross in every part of his body for you, so he may now be fixed in every part of your soul." (GMI 248)

Augustine invites us to present ourselves before Jesus crucified who took our sins upon himself and nailed them to the cross. Through the eyes of faith we, too, gaze upon the bloodied body of our Redeemer who paid the price for our sins - and we touch the scars of his resurrection who defeated death for our sake so that we may know the victory of his cross and resurrection and receive the promise of everlasting life and glory with him in his kingdom.

The miracle of my salvation
In the cross of Christ, we see the triumph of Jesus over his enemies - sin, Satan, and death. Many Christians down through the centuries have sung the praises of the Cross of Christ. Paul the Apostle exclaimed, "But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14).

Hear what Gregory Nazianzen (329-389 AD), an early church father and bishop of Constantinople, wrote about the triumph of Christ's exaltation on the cross:

"Many indeed are the wondrous happenings of that time: God hanging from a cross, the sun made dark and again flaming out (Luke 23:44, Mark 15:33); for it was fitting that creation should mourn with its creator. The temple veil rent (Matthew 27:51), blood and water flowing from his side (John 19:34): the one as from a man, the other as from what was above man; the earth shaken, the rocks shattered because of the rock (Matthew 27:51); the dead risen to bear witness to the final and universal resurrection of the dead (Matthew 27:52). The happenings at the sepulcher and after the sepulcher, who can fittingly recount them? Yet no one of them can be compared to the miracle of my salvation. A few drops of blood renew the whole world and do for all men what the rennet does for the milk: joining us and binding us together. (On the Holy Pasch, Oration 45.1)

Rupert of Deutz (1075-1129), a Benedictine abbot and theologian, wrote:

"The cross of Christ is the door to heaven, the key to paradise, the downfall of the devil, the uplifting of mankind, the consolation of our imprisonment, the prize for our freedom."
The throne of love and sign of God's mercy
The Cross of Christ is the safeguard of our faith, the assurance of our hope, and the throne of love. It is also the sign of God's mercy and the proof of forgiveness. By his cross, Jesus Christ has pardoned us and set us free from the tyranny of sin. He paid the price for us when he made atonement for our sins. The way to peace, joy, and righteousness in the kingdom of God and the way to victory over sin and corruption, fear and defeat, despair and death is through the cross of Jesus Christ. Do you follow the Lord Jesus in his way of the cross with joy, hope, and confidence?

"Lord Jesus Christ, by your death on the cross you have won pardon for us and freedom from the tyranny of sin and death. May I live in the joy and freedom of your victory over sin and death?"

OBEY OR BETRAY?

“Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered.” —Hebrews 5:8
Through His suffering and death, Jesus’ appearance was marred beyond that of man (Is 52:14). “He was spurned and avoided by men, a Man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, One of those from Whom men hide their faces” (Is 53:3). Our infirmities He bore; our sufferings He endured (Is 53:4). He was “stricken,” “smitten,” “afflicted,” “pierced,” and “crushed” (Is 53:4-5). Jesus became “an Object of reproach, a Laughingstock,” and “a Dread” (Ps 31:12). Jesus was dreadfully brutalized, tortured, and traumatized for the love of us.

What will we do on this Good Friday? We do not have to accept His love. We have the freedom to make Jesus’ cross meaningless for us (1 Cor 1:17). When we venerate the cross and kiss Jesus’ wounds at the liturgy today, what will it mean? Will it be the kiss of Judas (see Lk 22:48) or the kiss of love? (see 1 Cor 16:20) Will we decide today to obey the first commandment and love Jesus with all our hearts (Mt 22:37-38), or will we betray Him by refusing to let Him be our King (Jn 19:15)?

Jesus “became the Source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him” (Heb 5:9). Obey totally and forever Jesus, Who for the love of You obediently accepted “even death, death on a cross!” (Phil 2:8)

Prayer: “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit” (Lk 23:46).

Promise: “He surrendered Himself to death and was counted among the wicked, and He shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.” —Is 53:12