The Good Friday celebration of the Passion of the Lord is a liturgical service that is quite different from the usual liturgical celebrations.
First, it begins with the scripture readings and with a long gospel passage about the suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross.
Next comes the Solemn Intercessions in which we join our prayers with the prayer of Jesus as He hangs on the cross.
The prayers are for the Church, for the world, for every need and tribulation. It is the Church at prayer in union with Jesus on the Cross.
Following that is the Adoration of the Holy Cross, in which the crucified Jesus is shown and adored. It is a solemn moment as we see our salvation in Jesus crucified on the cross.
We then come forward to venerate the cross as a sign that we accept the salvation that Jesus is offering us, and that we will now want to carry our cross and follow Jesus in His work of salvation.
We then receive Holy Communion so as to unite ourselves with Jesus in His death, and to be raised up with Him to new life.
So the Good Friday service is a solemn and sober service as we acknowledge the crucified Jesus as our Saviour, and that through the Cross we are saved, we are forgiven and healed, and that the power of evil over us is broken.
Indeed, by the Blood of Jesus, we are saved, by His wounds we are healed, by His death, we are given new life.
So let us meditate on the Cross, let us give thanks and let us take up our cross and follow Jesus as His faithful disciples.