Good Friday Sermon – April 3, 2026, Year A

Today we celebrate Good Friday. Today and tomorrow the Church does not celebrate any Sacraments. These are the only days of the year when the Holy Mass is not celebrated, because today we celebrate the sacrifice of Jesus' death on the Cross. The blessings of Bread and Wine are not recited. On this day, we also do not have the opportunity to worship Jesus in the Eucharist, because we worship in the presence of Jesus on the Holy Cross. The churches remain empty, more somber, darker. Everything takes on a funeral atmosphere because our Savior is dead. Or rather, we have killed our Savior with our sins. How ungrateful we are to God.

Today's service will include the following parts: - First, the Readings and the Universal Prayer were read. Today we pray especially for the whole world, because the power of Jesus' Cross signifies salvation for the whole world. - In the second part of the service, we will worship the Holy Cross. Since there is no Eucharist today, we worship the Holy Cross and kneel before it as a sign of worship. - The third part is Communion. There is no Mass today, but Communion will be distributed.

Today I want to talk a little about Jesus' suffering on the cross. It's sometimes very difficult to contemplate deeply on suffering and death, especially when we only see the external, displayed aspect of it.

What we don't see, and what's truly important, is the love hidden behind this pain.

Great love can even lead one to suffer for the sake of the beloved. An infinite love, like God's love for us, can go so far as to sacrifice oneself for us.

And we have no doubt that Jesus loves us. He proved it to us through his words and example. “No one shows more love than one who lays down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) “I have come not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17) “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) “So God loved the world that he gave his only Son…” (John 3:16) “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” (John 10:11) “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; remain in my love.” (John 15:9)

So what is love? This word is used so often today. It's very easy to say we love someone. But what does it mean? For a Christian, love is everything in life. Love is the essence of Christian morality.

Love is a virtue that God has placed in our souls. Along with faith and hope, love is a necessary virtue for our salvation. Faith, hope, and love.

In Paradise, we will no longer need faith because we will see God. In Paradise, we will no longer need hope because we will attain what we have been waiting for.

But in paradise we will have love because it is love that enables us to unite with God. And in paradise, we will attain perfect union with God.

But we need to start experiencing this love in this world.

Philanthropy is a benevolent love; more precisely, a benevolent love based on friendship. What does this mean?

1 – Charity is love. Love is the union of desire with the beloved. Love draws me to a good deed and makes me want to unite with it.

2 - Love is benevolent love.

This is a rational type of love. Benevolent love, on the other hand, is loving someone for their own sake. One doesn't love for the benefit one hopes to gain, but simply because the object of love is what it is.

3 - Love is the love of friendship.

According to Saint Thomas Aquinas, the first aspect of this friendly love is this: “In friendship, the action of one person is not enough; it requires the combined actions of two people who love each other mutually.”

Reciprocity is essential for friendship, because friendship is an act of love that desires reciprocity: “The most important thing in the intention of love is to be loved in return, because the tendency of love is primarily to draw the loved one into one's own love.”

Finally, friendship exists when it is based on the sharing of possessions. This sharing of possessions forms the basis of a life together. Therefore, friends desire to live together or to be together.

Therefore, charity is a benevolent love; or rather, the benevolent love of friendship.

This love, therefore, must be reciprocal. If Jesus loved us, we must learn to love Him as well.

So how can we love Jesus?

Through our words, our feelings, and our actions.

Words are important, but they can often be empty and insincere. Words are quickly forgotten. Feelings are also important because they help us begin to want or love something. However, feelings can also be deceptive. We don't feel good every day. Feelings change greatly depending on life events and hormones in the body. Therefore, for love to be real, it needs to manifest itself through tangible and lasting actions. Only in this way can we say that love is genuine.

So, what was Jesus' love for us like? He set an example for us, he came into the world, he lived like us, he suffered, and he died to wipe away our sins. Jesus didn't just speak kind words and show compassion. He suffered and died for us so that we could attain eternal life.

So, how can suffering be love? Suffering proves the greatness of love. Because love is so great that it is capable of suffering for the well-being of the beloved. This is benevolent love, desiring the well-being of the beloved, not one's own. And I am capable of not giving up, and even suffering, for the sake of the well-being of the one I love. Suffering is a consequence and manifestation of the greatness of the love we possess. Furthermore, as we have seen, love is the love of friendship. The love of friendship must be reciprocal. Just as I am loved, I too must know how to love.

What is the extent of God's love for us? Let's look at the crucifixion. He loved us as much as Jesus suffered for us. God's love for us is infinite and extends to the last drop of his blood. Let's look at Jesus' suffering.

Despite his divine status, Jesus, as a human being, accepted all suffering and humiliation.

First, he humbled himself by assuming the limitations of a small nature and became human. And furthermore, he willingly accepted the worst punishment, dying as the worst man, in order to save those to whom he had given everything.

Jesus endured different kinds of suffering during the Passion of Christ:

- A delicate pain caused by something that harmed the body: he was arrested; struck; whipped with several different kinds of lashes; he was hungry and thirsty and had eaten nothing from his arrest until he died on the Cross; he was crowned with thorns; after being whipped he had to carry the heavy cross alone; and when he arrived his hands and feet were pierced with sharp nails.

- Internally and morally: the sadness of being alone and wronged; the shame of being accused by everyone of being the worst of thieves; the fear of the immense suffering to come, which leaves him drenched in sweat; the pain of seeing his mother suffering and unable to do anything.

- Finally, he felt the pain of all the sins of humanity.

If Jesus is our friend, we must reciprocate that love. How can we reciprocate such great love?

Friendship and affection should be reciprocal.

And this love should be expressed through actions rather than words.

This love must always be based on the resolve to fulfill God's will. Every day we must resolve to stay away from sin and evil and to seek holiness.

Furthermore, by loving our brothers and sisters—the people God has placed in our lives—we should also resolve to love God every day.

Thus, God's love is manifested in a more tangible way. When we love our neighbor, our love for God becomes real.

Even though he suffered, Jesus did not rebel; He continued to love. From the top of the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Let us follow Jesus on this path, all the way to the cross, and ask God to grant us the grace to love as Jesus loved us.

Let our love for God and our brothers and sisters be demonstrated through concrete actions.

May the Virgin Mary help us learn that the cross is a sign of God's boundless love for humanity. May she teach us to love like Jesus.