Good Friday comes with a lot of different connotations, pre conceived notions, religious activity and mystery even to me when I was younger.
Why do I say that?
I was an outsider to what Good Friday is to Catholics, explaining to a child it’s not just the last day you have to eat Fish for dinner, but the day Jesus was killed, crucified put on a cross, and died on purpose, for a purpose.
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I did not understand the relationship between eating Fish and Jesus dying, it was so much of a religious activity for generations in my family, that it was not explained, it was just done. I didn’t even know to ask why? I knew we gave up eating meat on Fridays, that was all. My Grandmother was Catholic, but not in the normal fashion, she did not go to every Mass, or even on Sunday most times. I am not really sure why she stopped going. My Mother was definitely not going to go, my Dad’s side still practiced going. I knew more about the Pink Sisters in downtown St.Louis Mt. Grace Convent, and the cemetary. We visited there weekly, and sometimes daily. I knew to light a candle for the past family members and pray to Mary, then kneel and pray. The Pink Sisters sang songs in Latin, and we were not allowed to talk to them, they were behind an iron gated fence, daily Mass.
Funny the things we observe as children, I can still smell the melted wax, and incense when I think of it. But since I was not brought up Catholic in the normal way, I did not go to school or have a first communion, so it was a mystery to me what it was all about, I did appreciate the beauty of the church the windows, the statues etc. I did always think it was sad that Jesus was hanging there, bloody and had died. I did not know why? I knew that we revered that, it was a Holy thing. I guess my Grandma thought I just knew, but really he was just like the family members we visited every week at their graves. I thought we visited Jesus the same way in that convent, because he was dead. My thoughts were Christmas he was born, and Easter he had died, the whole risen thing to me, was that he rose to go to heaven like all our family members had? I was not sure where they went, but was told they were in heaven, because when I saw them last they were being lowered in the ground. It’s funny, my stepson when he was small, his grandfather had passed, and we stood at the graveside, and he asked “where is grampy ‘? We said, he went to heaven, and he looked at us with this adamant look, and said NO he isn’t, he’s in there, pointing to the casket. That was a logical answer, and he thought we were crazy. That’s how kids think though. It really is our responsibility to teach this story very early on, so the pieces make sense. Very sad that the revelation of any of it were a mystery to me, until I was 7 years old that is. I will tell that story another time, but that was when I realized that Jesus was indeed ALIVE!
I am happy to say my journey with Jesus did not end up with him being dead to me, he is very much alive in my Heart. I know he is alive all around too! It is hard to explain faith, but once you just make that first step you are on quite a ride.
Well in my years of studies about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and his people, I have gained so much, not just knowledge, but a real, true relationship with our Creator> God , Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. If you havent gone to see the movie “The Shack”, it can clear up some things for you about walking with God, or blaming him, or judgement we think is from him. I really recommend it. The story line is traumatizing, but a very real depiction of feelings and the way we relate to God, when we don’t understand, when we are going through storms we think are created, or not stopped by him.
People tend to want to figure it all out, with their brains, and not know, it starts in the heart> soul, spirit. We are a physical glob of tissue, blood, bones and water. Really our MOST important part of us, is weightless, it is of spirit. When we don’t realize that, we search, we care more about the glob, instead of nurturing, feeding, feeling with our spirit, we do that to our physical bodies instead. We care more about the appearance of, the feeding of, clothing, the learning of, etc.
Once you have traveled in spirit, with the Holy Spirit, and have prayed in the spirit, you finally understand, and that searching takes on a new path, a new path to spirit seeking, learning. It is very freeing, and it only is because of TODAY, Good Friday!
I celebrate this day with that revelation, had TODAY not happened we would not have been sent the spirit, that free’s us! It free’s us from MUCH! What does is free us from? Hmm something like, the gates of Hell, from the final judgement of our Sin! This day is not just a day to eat Fish, but to celebrate a joyous praise of his Glory, that God chose to send his son JESUS in OUR place. I would say that makes it a “GOOD” Friday! I hope this inspires you to seek out the rest of the story, if you don’t know it! There is more to share, but for another time, maybe in a couple of days! The story will not leave you ……………………. EMPTY!
