Death That Brings Life

𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐘 – 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐃’𝐒 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟓𝟐:𝟏𝟑 – 𝟓𝟑:𝟏𝟐

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟑𝟏: 𝟐, 𝟔, 𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟑, 𝟏𝟓-𝟏𝟔, 𝟏𝟕-𝟐𝟓 “𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭.”

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐: 𝐇𝐞𝐛 𝟒:𝟏𝟒-𝟏𝟔; 𝟓:𝟕-𝟗

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟏𝟖:𝟏-𝟏𝟗, 𝟒𝟐

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟎) 

         Deities generally are honored, respected, esteemed and enthroned. And there was a God who was subjected to torture, and death on a cross that is usually reserved only for criminals than the pain and suffering that Jesus went through.

         The passion and death of Jesus Christ will continue to live in the memory not only in Christendom but throughout the world even among nations who do not share the same faith experiences with Christians. And what will happen three days after will prove why Christianity is true and a perfect religion.

          Death also has two dimensions – physical and spiritual and both can be present among us Catholics especially those involved in the renewal movement and even among non-Catholics who are actively practicing their lived faith.

          We die a physical death when our physical life ends. We die a spiritual death when we give up on our old nature and acquire a new character through an inner transformation referred to as metanoia which oftentimes happens when we experience a second baptism not with water but by the infilling of the Holy Spirit through baptism in the spirit.

          And whenever I hear the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Thursday) I always feel a deep sense of joy not at the remembrance of the final act of humility of Jesus (Washing of the Feet) before his betrayal and arrest that was about to take place but of my being blessed with the realization that I belong to the Catholic Church that is steeped in tradition.

         As the events of the final hours of the life of Jesus was being relived before my eyes, I feel a profound sense of gratitude for the immense wealth of tradition that has been made available for us the lay faithful that helps strengthen my Catholic faith.

         As Jesus goes through with his mocked trial before Pilate, it would help us feel the humiliating and sacrificial character of this event in the life of Jesus by looking back and recall how we have lived our lives and we will find that there is in each of us a personification of the disciples of Jesus.

       Personally, I was like Judas who betrayed Jesus when I wallowed in sin in the past. I sold Jesus each time I accepted bribes when I was still in the media to make right what from the beginning was already wrong.

       I look at myself as one of his disciples who deserted him following his arrest when I turned my back on those who ask me for help. I deserted Jesus when I turned a blind eye at the corruption I was exposed to and not doing my part to stop it even when I could. 

         Like Peter, I too denied him when I turned down numerous invitations for us to attend the Marriage Encounter Weekend and the Life in the Spirit Seminar and when I failed to defend my Catholic faith from those who make a mockery of our Catholic tradition and practices.

         And today as we are reminded of the suffering that Jesus had to endure, we must appreciate the fact that we can find no greater proof of God's love for us than the willing sacrifice of his Son on the cross.

        As Jesus breathed his last and said: “𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝!” (𝐯.𝟑𝟎) this was actually an expression of victory rather than defeat for when Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit he knew that the battle was over and had been won.

         Even on the cross Jesus knew the joy of victory. What the Father sent him into the world to do has now been accomplished. Christ offered himself without blemish to God and he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself “…𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.” (𝐇𝐞𝐛 𝟗:𝟐𝟔)       

         In the words of St. Augustine, he said that those who stood at the cross of Jesus: "𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘗𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥: 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭."        

         It would also help increase our faith if we can see in the cross the triumph of Jesus over his enemies – sin, Satan, and death. "𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭" (𝐆𝐚𝐬 𝟔:𝟏𝟒). 

         Gregory of Nazianzus, a 6th century father of the Church, also said: "𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦: 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮? 𝘠𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘈 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘬: 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.” (𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘩, 𝘖𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 45.1)        

         Abbot Rupert of Deutz, also wrote in the early 12th century: "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮."        

        Indeed, these testimonies will help us acknowledge that the Cross of Christ is 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆. It is also the sign of God's mercy and the proof of forgiveness. By his cross Jesus Christ has pardoned us and set us free from the tyranny of sin.

          He paid a glorious price for us when he atoned for our sins and we are now assured that the Cross is the way to peace, joy, and righteousness in the kingdom of God and the way to victory over sin and corruption, fear and defeat, despair and death.

         This is why we should not, for all intents and purposes, run away from the cross for it is the link that will connect us to heaven. It is the bridge that will allow us to cross over from the world marked in sin and to our glorious redemption.

         On this Good Friday, let us remember that it is paradoxical that we can be drawn to do things that do not really matter in life, but we turn our backs on things that are of supreme importance such as the salvation of our souls.

        We can from hereon make a Good Friday resolution to nail our sinful nature on the Cross of Christ on Calvary so that we may also be with him when he is resurrected and enters His heavenly Kingdom.

         Let the Lenten Season and the Holy Week be a journey of faith with the glory of Easter as the goal, which is Christ’s victory over death, but this victory can only be ours if we will all believe and put all our trust in Him. This again is paradoxical because it is in dying that we can experience life. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 3, 2026)