The Passion According to John

3/29/2013

Below is the Passion Narrative to be read during the Good Friday celebration. Remember, this is not a Mass, but more like a prototype to the formal Mass. This celebration comes very close to what the first Christians did when they gathered to share stories and a meal and to go back out into the world filled with the Spirit.
Pay attention to the sparseness of the celebration, how it begins and ends, and how the preparation and celebration of Communion is different.

The Passion for Good Friday
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5 Comments

Patti

4/1/2013 09:38:20 am

Why wasn't the main cross displayed in its normal spot during this celebration? Was it only because it wasn't a mass? I also noticed that there was the body of christ but no wine? I enjoyed the veneration of the cross. It feels good to be able to give respect and love to something tangible. Also, when Father Patrick kneeled in the beginning of the service was that just his way of showing respect to the cross?.

Jay

4/2/2013 10:05:16 am

Fr. Patrick prostrated himself at the altar at the beginning of the Good Friday celebration. He not only knelt down, but lay completely facedown on the ground. This is the most profound "bowing down" and it is something that we only see priests do on Good Friday because of its degree of solemnity.
In general, yes the cross was absent because the Good Friday service is as sparse as possible. Similarly there was no consecrated wine, because that had all been consumed the night before. On Good Friday, there is no Liturgy of the Eucharist, no new bread (or wine) that is consecrated at this service. So all we had what what remained of the consecrated sacrament from the night before. Hence why we reverently brought it to the chapel and many stayed and kept watch with it throughout the night.

Carla

4/9/2013 04:53:52 am

Did people really stay all night at the Chapel? My grandma told me that in her church in Peru, they form groups that take turns watching the cross throughout the night because (her explanation) just as Jesus' disciples never left Him alone, they don't either. I think there were less songs to sing too.

Jay

4/9/2013 06:14:35 am

It's really up to the Pastor/Parish to decide. We have stayed open until midnight. Lately, we stay open until about 10 PM. The main reason we don't stay open all night is for security reasons.
As your mom mentioned, if we lived in a parish where certain groups would be willing to watch through the night, that would be an option. Though again, if something were to happen to those folks during the night, that wouldn't be good for anyone.
It is true, the general idea is to stay awake, watch and pray, with the Lord. For, as we know, this is the last time to "be with him" before he is arrested and taken away.
Of course that is all in the past. But this does put us in connection with the story. And we are not keeping company with the cross, but with the consecrated hosts that are also the real presence of Jesus Christ.
So by the time you come to Good Friday--you come to church, but the tabernacle is empty and the Perpetual Candle is not lit. The altar is bare--and the effect is--I'm here, but where is are the signs of God's/Christ's presence that I'm used to. And then we have that simple Good Friday service and the consecrated hosts from the night before are brought forward--notice, no Liturgy of the Eucharist--no new bread and wine are consecrated until the Easter Vigil.

Carla

4/9/2013 05:03:54 am

Whoops, I was thinking about Holy Thursday!

The Passion According to John

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