Liturgy Alive: Models of Celebrations

April 9, 2004 - Good Friday

It Is Accomplished

Readings:
Is 52:13- 53:12; Ps 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25; Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9; Jn 18:1 - 19:42

Introduction by the Commentator

Just before his death on the cross, Jesus says: "It is accomplished" or "It is fulfilled." What is accomplished? Accomplished and finished is his torture on the cross and his earthly life and task. Accomplished in him is the will of the Father and his work to bring forgiveness and life to people. All is accomplished as far as Jesus' mission on earth is concerned and we are assured that evil will never triumph again: The final victory belongs to God. But… Not yet accomplished is the kingdom of justice and love and compassion on earth. For that task is to be accomplished by us, the disciples of Jesus, who have to let the Spirit of Jesus accomplish that work in us and with us. As long as there are people who suffer from hunger and injustice, they add to what was lacking in the suffering of Jesus and we, the disciples, have to do away with these evils. This celebration of the Lord's Passion reminds us of this task, so that we can help people rise with him.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray to God the Lord
to make us new people
made in the image of his beloved Son
              (PAUSE)
God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
your beloved Son became one of us,
like us in everything but sin,
when he was born from our flesh and blood.
By his suffering you save us
from the death we deserve
for being coresponsible for the evil of sin
in us and in the world.
May his suffering not be in vain,
but fill us with the life and grace
he has won for us on the cross
and help us to become like our risen Lord,
who lives and reigns with you for ever. R/ Amen.

Scripture Reading

First Reading Introduction: Jesus Took Our Ills upon Himself
        Suffering is hard to take and will always remain a mystery. Yet it is through suffering that the Servant of God won his victory over evil and sin. Suffering is a part of life and a source of life, in us as well as in Jesus the Servant.

First Reading: Is 52:13-53:12

See, my servant shall prosper,
he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.
Even as many were amazed at him--
so marred was his look beyond human semblance
and his appearance beyond that of the sons of man--
so shall he startle many nations,
because of him kings shall stand speechless;
for those who have not been told shall see,
those who have not heard shall ponder it.

Who would believe what we have heard?
To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up like a sapling before him,
like a shoot from the parched earth;
there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,
nor appearance that would attract us to him.
He was spurned and avoided by people,
a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
one of those from whom people hide their faces,
spurned, and we held him in no esteem.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But 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.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
each following his own way;
but the LORD laid upon him
the guilt of us all.

Though he was harshly treated, he submitted
and opened not his mouth;
like a lamb led to the slaughter
or a sheep before the shearers,
he was silent and opened not his mouth.
Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away,
and who would have thought any more of his destiny?
When he was cut off from the land of the living,
and smitten for the sin of his people,
a grave was assigned him among the wicked
and a burial place with evildoers,
though he had done no wrong
nor spoken any falsehood.
But the LORD was pleased
to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction
he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear.
Therefore I will give him his portion among the great,
and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
because 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.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25

R. (Lk 23:46) Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

For all my foes I am an object of reproach,
a laughingstock to my neighbors, and a dread to my friends;
they who see me abroad flee from me.
I am forgotten like the unremembered dead;
I am like a dish that is broken.
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God.
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors."
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
Take courage and be stouthearted,
all you who hope in the LORD.
R. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Second Reading Introduction: Jesus Felt Our Weakness and Made Up for It
        Jesus suffered for us to save us. Since his death and resurrection, everyone who suffers can unite one's pains to those of Jesus and share in his victory over evil.

Second Reading: Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9

Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

In the days when Christ was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Passion of Jesus (Jn 18:1-19:42): It Is Accomplished
        John stood at the foot of the cross. He wants the world to know that Jesus is not merely a man who suffered and was put to death but God's own Son who voluntarily offered his life for all, so that we can become God's sons and daughters.

Note. For the passion, the invitation "The Lord be with you" is not said, nor at the end ["This is] the gospel of the Lord."

Celebrant's Introduction to the Intercessions
        Gathered at the foot of the cross, we will pray now for the great needs of the Church and of the world, for we remember today that Jesus gave his life that all might be saved and be gathered in his body, the Church. This is why these prayers cover a wide range of basic needs.

Celebrant's Introduction to the veneration rite
        We shall now venerate the Lord's cross. Strangely enough, to venerate the cross does not mean, even on this Good Friday, to mourn the death of Jesus. It is true, we are sad and sorry that our sins caused his death; yet today we acclaim and kiss the cross as the sign of Jesus' victory over sin and death, and the sign therefore of our liberation. He rose from the dead and he is alive. Therefore we can rise and be alive to forgiveness and joy, to hope and life.

Jn 18:1--19:42

Christ became obedient for us even to death,
dying on the cross,
Therefore God raised him on high
and gave him the name
above all other names.
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

Commentary

LANGUAGE can only deal with a small part of reality; the rest-by far the greater part-is silence. Death is the great silence ultimately imposed on everyone. If we are to hear the words of Jesus, said an early Christian writer, we must hear his silence too. Kneel by his cross, if you will, but it is better to sit, because we are going to have to stay a long time: all our life, in a way. We have to sit with our own pain and sorrow and resist the temptation to "solve" them or avoid them. Only into silence will they pour out their meaning.

Introduction to the Communion Rite

Before us lies the broken body
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He did not live for himself,
he did not die for himself.
He lived and died for us.
He invites us now to take and eat his body
in his memory
to share in his sufferings and death
and to rise with him to a deeper Christian life.
He also invites us to break bread for one another,
that is, like him, to live for one another.
We now pray with Jesus to our Father in heaven: R/ Our Father...

Deliver Us

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and grant us peace in our day.
In your mercy keep us free from sin
and renew with us your covenant
on account of the love
with which your suffering Servant
died for us on the cross today,
in the joyful hope of rising again
as our glorious Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...

Invitation to Communion

Thus says the Lord:
If the grain of wheat
does not fall into the ground
it remains a single grain,
but if it dies it yields fruit aplenty.
(RAISING THE HOST)
This is the body of our Lord
who died on the cross
to become for us the source of life.
Happy are we to be invited
to the supper of forgiveness and life. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...

Prayer after Communion

Lord God, merciful Father,
we thank you for loving us so much
that you gave your only Son Jesus Christ
to restore us to life
by his triumphant death and resurrection.
Continue giving us the strength
to win our struggles against sin and evil
and to bear our crosses in life
together with your Son.
Give us the firm faith
that you want us to live
and to render you always
faithful, dedicated service.
Help us to give ourselves to one another
through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Prayer over the People

Lord God, Father of Jesus Christ,
bless your people gathered here before you.
May your Son not have died for us in vain.
Send us home with the assurance
that our sins are forgiven,
that evil can be overcome
and that death is not the end.
Give us your risen Son
as our companion on the road of life,
to help us grow in your eternal life
and to bear witness to the world
that he lives among us
as our Lord for ever and ever. R/ Amen.

This celebration ends with the Prayer over the People, for there is no blessing.

TOP