ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Dear People of God,

Back in the fourth century the great Doctor of the Church Saint Cyril of Jerusalem stated that the Church is proud of all the actions of Jesus, but that her greatest boast is the Cross. Today, Good Friday, we celebrate the Cross and above all the One who hangs on the Cross.

In the Old Testament, at Passover, the Jewish people sacrificed a lamb - called the paschal lamb. On Good Friday we look to the Cross; we look to the Cross to see the One who has become the Lamb of God. At Communion time we receive this Lamb of God and before doing so we proclaim: "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." Today all our attention is concentrated on Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who is immolated on the Cross and becomes our sacrifice. The victim on Calvary takes away our sins and the sins of the whole world.

In our First Reading, the Prophet Isaiah tells us: ".he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed." And then Isaiah explicitly compares Him to the paschal lamb saying: ".the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all.. like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth."

In his prophecy, Isaiah attests to the redemption that is accomplished by Christ, the Lamb of God: ".he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses."

All this, dear friends, takes place on the Cross. Today we look to the Cross to find salvation and to profess our faith in the power of Christ's Sacrifice. By His death on the Cross, Jesus destroys death. He conquers the cause of death, which is sin. The humiliation of His death on the Cross is transformed into triumph and victory, as Saint Paul tells us: "Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a Cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him.."

For all the Church, the death that Christ dies becomes the cause of life and immortality. How beautiful is the ancient chant of Good Friday that the Church sings today! At the moment that Christ dies, the Church attests that death has no power over Him: at that moment He is proclaimed as holy, strong and immortal! By dying He overcomes death. He can die no more and those associated with His Death are immune from death and will share His Resurrection.

Today, as we see Jesus the Paschal Lamb die upon the Cross, we proclaim His triumph and victory. And just as He, with absolute freedom, entrusted His life to His Father, we entrust ourselves freely to Him and to His mercy. In the words of today's Psalm we pray: ".my trust is in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God. In your hands is my destiny; rescue me..'"

All of this means that God's mercy is available to each of us. Today is the day that mercy becomes real. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews exhorts us: ".let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help."

Friends in Christ: our greatest boast is the Cross! The Cross is the throne of grace; it is the source of mercy. The One who hangs on the Cross is our Redeemer and our King. He helps us to overcome sin in our lives and to live for God in holiness of life.

As He bends down to lift us up, let us reach out to Him and say: Jesus I trust in you! Amen.