March 29, 2024: Why the Cross? (Good Friday)

Today, we read the Passion of Christ in the Gospel of John. Father Loomis ask us this question, the same question posed to him by Dr. Kelly Anderson while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land last year: "Why?" "Why does the death of of this man on the cross bring Salvation? Why is this tragedy so necessary?" What is the sacrifice on the cross "doing"? The answer lies in our proper understanding of the word "sacrifice", a word deriving from two Latin words: sacra (something set aside for a sacred purpose) and facere (to make). Or "to make holy" Everything being done on Calvary has sanctification as it's end. How does our sin play a part in this? And how does the blood of the animal on Yom Kippur point to the cross? How is Christ trying to make us holy? Good Friday: First Reading: Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 31:2,6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25 Second Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 Verse Before the Gospel: Philippians 2: 8-9 Gospel: John 18: 1 – 19:42