17 Mar GOOD FRIDAY

3:00 PM – 5:00 PM Liturgy of the Passion of the Lord
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6:00 PM – 6:45 PM Stations of the Cross, Pope Leo XVI reflection
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Good Friday is a mandatory day of fasting and abstinence.

This is the day of the crucifixion, the day Jesus died for the sins of the world. The parish altar looks very different on Good Friday: it is plain and bare. There is no consecrated Host in the tabernacle at the main altar of the church; it was carried away on Holy Thursday night to the “altar of repose” to signify Jesus’ death. The candle by the tabernacle is blown out, and the tabernacle doors are left open to show that it is empty. Jesus is gone. This is quite dramatic, reminding us that Good Friday is a solemn day of mourning and prayer. The ceremony on Good Friday is not a Mass —it is a communion service using the
consecrated hosts from Holy Thursday. Good Friday is the only day of the year on which no Masses are offered. These Good Friday services often take place at 3 p.m., the hour that Jesus breathed his last on the cross. Often the priest will begin the service by prostrating himself in front of the altar. Veneration of the Cross usually takes place at this service, in which the priest and the faithful kneel before a cross and kiss it.