(continued from parts 1 and 2)
Just to clarify, I'm not really Catholic again. You know how churches across America fill up on December 25 and Easter Sunday every year? You've heard many of these folks referenced as Christmas and Easter Christians? Well, call me a Good Friday Catholic.
(Disclaimer: Neither I nor my wife took communion. We attempted to abide by the rules. Although, could I partake? I was baptized, had my first communion, and was confirmed into the Catholic church... has my new direction negated that? Not that it matters... just curious...)
I don't know if other Christian churches do this on Good Friday or not, but the Catholics do an awful lot right on this day. The reading was Isaiah, the prophecy of the Savior. The "re-enactment" of Luke 22 and 23, when the congregation speaks, as one, "You are the Christ" only to later speak, again as one, "Crucify Him!" How freaking true is that?! I tried to hold it together... Thankfully, the wife had a tissue that promptly dried the tears streaming down my face.
The veneration of the cross is tough. "Behold the wood of the cross on which hung the Savior of the world..." Just wow. And then all come forward to kiss the cross?! I was unable to do so. I bowed before the cross, but felt entirely unworthy to kiss it or even touch it. Maybe God would be glorified if I was able to love the cross enough to kiss it, but the circumstances of it all are just too somber and painful. Maybe I'll kiss the cross on Easter after the conquering of death. But right now, the King is dead, and I could not bring my lips to touch the means of punishment that I alone deserve.
Just call me a Good Friday Catholic. This might need to become an annual day off for me.
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