Today, we would not need to multiply words, so great is the mystery that surrounds us as we contemplate the Lord’s passion and death. Love made service in the washing of the feet is now given on the cross (John 19:1-18, 30). He does it freely, to tell us that we were reconciled and saved by a love without limits. The Crucified One took upon himself our sorrows and tragedies, sufferings, anguishes, and hopes. Nothing stops from being redeemed. Since then, no one can feel abandoned and alone. “… we can be sure that God will grant us the grace to carry our cross constantly, to follow Jesus Christ closely, and to live of His life in time and in eternity (CCD XII, 186). With his death, Christ descended into our solitudes, dissipated our darkness, chased away our fears. This Friday, we place ourselves at the foot of his cross, with Mary, his mother, and with those who remained faithful to the end. When we see him crucified, we become aware of how much we receive and of all that we have yet to do to correspond to such a great love. May we know how to stand beside life’s crucified, with the Cyrenian’s solidarity, with the disciples’ compassion, with the Mother’s serene strength.
Vinícius Augusto Teixeira, C.M
