GOOD FRIDAY – Gospel & Reflection
So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down. So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be,” in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:
They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots.
This is what the soldiers did. Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
Reflection
Friends, Clare Crokett, was a Derry girl, born and raised. A typical young person in so many ways, by her own admission, she was during her teenage years, a “wild child”. She had her dreams and aspirations, and for a while they were focused on fame and fame was on the horizon for her.
She dabbled in acting and TV presenting, even turning down an offer to work on the well-known children’s ‘Nickelodeon’ channel.
However, in the year 2000, she was a given a free Easter trip to Spain for what was meant to be a retreat for young people. She accepted the trip more for the sun and fun, rather than the prayers. However, on the Good Friday of that Spanish Retreat, she attended the same liturgy that we are celebrating right now. She stayed at the back of the Church and lined up with the other people in the congregation as they came forward to reverence the Cross. She did so passively; it was the thing to do. But when she kissed the feet of the Lord, it was a changing moment in her life. She realised “He died for me. He loves me!”.
One year later, Clare joined the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, who have members in our Diocese, eventually taking her religious vows. For fifteen years, she worked in Spain, America and Ecuador. In her written words, she described her faith in God and following Him, as “All or nothing”.
In April of 2016, while in Ecuador, Sr. Clare Crockett gave her all when she was tragically killed along with fellow Sisters protecting children in their care, during an earthquake. She was thirty-three years old – the age of Christ at His death.
A few weeks ago, the Church recognised her remarkable faith declaring Sr. Clare, a ‘Servant of God’ – the first step on the road to Sainthood.
What a beautiful faith, what a beautiful witness, what a beautiful transformation – from wanting fame in the shallow meaning of the word, to the exquisite meaning of it – the universal identification given to her as a saintly person.
But friends, such is the power and the influence of the Cross. Only the emptiest of hearts can look past it and not be moved, inspired, or drawn to it. Like Sr. Clare on that Good Friday of her awakening, today too, we know its meaning and what it stands for. Like her, we are drawn to the cross and we pray always for the courage never to turn from it, deny it or try to avoid it.
The Cross shines out to us at every stage of our lives, reminding us to give unto God our all because He gives us His all, to strengthen and support us always.
Father, into your hands we commit our spirit.
Fr Richard
