Good Friday
Undoubtedly the most solemn and quiet day of the year in the church. Since last night, there are no organs, no bells, no pianos, no choir of angels. All the hosts for Mass were consecrated last night, none will be today. Today is a day we remember that suffering, most especially from noon to 3pm…the hours Jesus hung on the cross. We contemplated letting Will watch The Passion of the Christ with us today, but opted out. Still too young, still too innocent. Another time. Another Good Friday.
Instead, today we’ll join parishioners at our church for outdoor Stations of the Cross. The kids aren’t required to be extraordinarily quiet (thank goodness) and the weather is beautiful here today. Win-win. And, if we have to jet out, we don’t stumble over anyone in the pews 🙂
We might even attempt to make hot cross buns. That would be a new tradition and it sounds intriguing. It’s one of those tangible lessons that make it easy for a child to grasp what these three holiest days of the year are all about.
I’m signing off until tomorrow. But before I do, I’d like to offer up some serious prayers of thanksgiving on behalf of my MIL and her family. North Texas was hit with some ravaging fires yesterday. So many people lost their homes, their cattle and their farmland. Thanks be to God that Carla is ok, as is her family and their homes. Amazingly the Catholic church down the street suffered no damage. Or, maybe not so amazingly. It was Holy Thursday, after all…
Kathryn, have you researched hot cross buns? My dear husband, who was a cradle Catholic, used to say they were told they were a Pagan thing. (He did have a lot of hangups from his early “religious” training).
Why yes I have. As with most things, they begin as a pagan ritual, but have since been adopted by many parishes as a way to celebrate and reflect on Good Friday. In fact, many churches offer these for sale following Mass, knowing that the day was one of fast and abstinence. Thanks for asking!