​Easter Triduum 2023

Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

On this Good Friday, we purposefully slow down as we relive the events leading up to Jesus' death and Resurrection. 
Today we will hear proclaimed the Passion narrative from John.  These are incredibly difficult passages to read, let alone to have been alive to witness these events.  So why would we call Good Friday “good” when Jesus experienced such horrible pain and agony?
According to Christianity.com, some Christians do call Good Friday "Sorrowful Friday" as a somber reminder of the events.  But what about the rest of the church?

BibleStudyTools.com teaches us that we call Good Friday good for a number of reasons.  First, we remember that Good Friday did not end on that Friday.  We had Resurrection Sunday a few days later to look forward to.  It is good in the sense that we anticipate what would come to pass days later.
Secondly, we call Good Friday good because we cannot have the Good News of the Gospel without the bad news of sin first.  Good Friday helps us to realize the gravity of our sinful nature and how much we need a Saviour.  People don’t need good news unless they’ve endured something bad before.

Slow down.  Bishop Robert Barron notes that this day is "Good" because Jesus completes his mission, atoning for the sin of the world and, in doing so, reforming our capacity for relationship with the Father. 

The earth sits in silence on Saturday for Jesus is dead.  There is a coldness, and emptiness in the church.  "He descended into hell," we recite in the Creed.  It is a day of mystery and fascination and unnerving stillness, for God, the second person of the trinity, is dead.

But, we know the end of the story.
Let us share in the story together as we gather this day as a parish family and community of believers.
Fr. Greg