Good Friday: Reflections
The following message byÊSister ÊAngele Lewis, SNDdeNÊwas provided by the Congregational Mission Office:
Read: John 18: 1-19, 42
Reflect: Good Friday draws us into a different rhythmÑone marked by stillness, reverence, and truth. We gather to contemplate the mystery of the cross. From the opening silence, the Church leads us slowly into prayer, inviting us to listen, to pause, and to stand at the foot of the cross without rushing toward Easter. Here, at the most vulnerable moment of the Gospel, we glimpse a God who does not turn away from human pain but enters it fully.
In the proclamation of the Passion, the story unfolds not as distant history but as living reality. Betrayal, fear, injustice, and silence are not foreign to our own lives or to the world we carry in prayer today. As the Gospel is readÑoften by many voicesÑwe recognize ourselves within it: sometimes faithful, sometimes fearful, sometimes unsure. Listening itself becomes an act of prayer.
As the cross is brought forward for veneration, we are invited into encounter. The cross is not presented as an object to be admired, but as a place where love remains faithful. In touching, bowing, or standing before it, we acknowledge that GodÕs love does not overcome suffering by force, but by stayingÑby trusting even when all seems lost.
In the solemn intercessions, the prayer of the Church widens to include the whole world: the Church, leaders of nations, those who suffer, those who doubt, and those too often forgotten. On this day, nothing and no one is excluded from GodÕs mercy.
Finally, in Holy Communion, received quietly from what was already given, we are reminded that GodÕs life is never withdrawnÑeven in death, even in silence. Good Friday meets us where we are weary or grieving and assures us that presence itself is holy.
The Glimpse of GodÕs Goodness today is not resolution, but love that remainsÑsteadfast, faithful, and nearÑholding the world in hope until light returns.
Read: John 18: 1-19, 42
Reflect: Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered. Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, ÒWhom are you looking for?Ó They answered him, ÒJesus the Nazorean.Ó He said to them, ÒI AM.Ó
Judas, his betrayer, was also with them. When he said to them, ÒI AM,Ó they turned away and fell to the ground. So, he again asked them, ÒWhom are you looking for?Ó They said, ÒJesus the Nazorean.Ó Jesus answered, ÒI told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.Ó This was to fulfill what he had said, ÒI have not lost any of those you gave me.Ó
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priestÕs slave, and cut off his right ear. The slaveÕs name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, ÒPut your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?Ó So, the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus, bound him, and brought him to Annas first. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.
Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Now the other disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus. But Peter stood at the gate outside. So, the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest, went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in. Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, ÒYou are not one of this manÕs disciples, are you?Ó He said, ÒI am not.Ó Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping warm.
The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his doctrine. Jesus answered him, ÒI have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather, and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me? Ask those who heard me what I said to them. They know what I said.Ó When he had said this, one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said, ÒIs this the way you answer the high priest?Ó Jesus answered him, ÒIf I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?Ó Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him, ÒYou are not one of his disciples, are you?Ó He denied it and said, ÒI am not.Ó One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, ÒDidnÕt I see you in the garden with him?Ó Again, Peter denied it. And immediately the cock crowed.
Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium. It was morning. And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and said, ÒWhat charge do you bring against this man?Ó They answered and said to him, ÒIf he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.Ó At this, Pilate said to them, ÒTake him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.Ó The Jews answered him, ÒWe do not have the right to execute anyone,Ó in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.
So, Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, ÒAre you the King of the Jews?Ó Jesus answered, ÒDo you say this on your own or have others told you about me?Ó Pilate answered, ÒI am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?Ó Jesus answered, ÒMy kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.Ó So Pilate said to him, ÒThen you are a king?Ó Jesus answered, ÒYou say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.Ó Pilate said to him, ÒWhat is truth?Ó
When he had said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, ÒI find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?Ó They cried out again, ÒNot this one but Barabbas!Ó Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said, ÒHail, King of the Jews!Ó And they struck him repeatedly. Once more Pilate went out and said to them, ÒLook, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.Ó So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, ÒBehold, the man!Ó When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, ÒCrucify him, crucify him!Ó Pilate said to them, ÒTake him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.Ó
The Jews answered, ÒWe have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.Ó Now, when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, ÒWhere are you from?Ó Jesus did not answer him. So Pilate said to him, ÒDo you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?Ó Jesus answered him, ÒYou would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason, the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.Ó Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, ÒIf you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.Ó
When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judgeÕs bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, ÒBehold, your king!Ó They cried out, ÒTake him away, take him away! Crucify him!Ó Pilate said to them, ÒShall I crucify your king?Ó The chief priests answered, ÒWe have no king but Caesar.Ó Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.
So, they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, ÒJesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.Ó Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, ÒDo not write ÔThe King of the Jews,Õ but that he said, ÔI am the King of the JewsÕ.Ó Pilate answered, ÒWhat I have written, I have written.Ó
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down. So they said to one another, ÒLetÕs not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be,Ó in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says: They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots. This is what the soldiers did.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his motherÕs sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, ÒWoman, behold, your son.Ó Then he said to the disciple, ÒBehold, your mother.Ó And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, ÒI thirst.Ó There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, ÒIt is finished.Ó And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and that they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe. For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled: Not a bone of it will be broken. And again another passage says: They will look upon him whom they have pierced.
After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
This reflectionÊis also on theÊSNDdeN International website.Ê 
Meet Sister Angele Lewis, SNDdeN
Sr. Angele Lewis has been a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur for 53 years. She entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur on the West Coast in 1972 and professed her vows in the College Chapel at the College of Notre Dame, Belmont (now Notre Dame de Namur University). A teacher at heart, she taught for more than 25 years in Notre Dame elementary and high schools and in parish education programs on both the West and East Coasts of the United States. For over 30 years, she has ministered in communications, providing graphic design, publishing, and digital communications support for nonprofit organizations and for the International Communications Office of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.