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from Robert Tyrała

Good Friday – the day of the unity of the Church

2009-04-10

Brave professing faith like St. Paul did
Good Friday – the day of the unity of the Church
The 6th Letter before the 35th International Congress in Stockholm
Kraków-Rome, 10 April 2009

On Friday, on this special day when the whole Church holds its breath for no music of organ playing can be heard, on this day of Christ’s death on the cross, we unite in even more love than ever with our brothers in Christian faith. May this day, in the context of our ecumenical prayer to be held in Stockholm, which we are now preparing for, develop into one common calling: that they may all be one (Jn 17:21), may our courage never falter in this dialogue, so as to bravely profess faith in You, the Only and True God! Make us the instruments of Thy peace! Good Friday is the only day in the year when in the Catholic Church the Eucharist is not served. It is the day of conspicuous silence! The day of reflection and finding the sense of our lives for each of us. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16) so that he would SAVE the world. Good Friday is also observed as a feast by Protestant Churches and Communities. On this day ceremonial services are held, during which church songs are sung, excerpts from the Bible are read and the martyr’s death of Christ on the cross is commemorated. Good Friday is the most important day in the Evangelical religion. During the Good Friday liturgy confession and communion become the significant elements, and after the homily so called Improperia are sung by a congregation together with a clergyman. For Lutherans Good Friday is the quintessence of the mystery of life and death, and of the theology of the cross (theologia crucis) principal for this Church, which is always pondered upon in connection with the ensuing joyful event of the Easter Morning. In the tradition of the Orthodox Church Good Friday is a very special day in the entire Holy Week. According to the canons of the Typicon (the book of the canonical order to be observed in Orthodox churches) Good Friday begins already on Thursday evening with solemn matins during which 12 excerpts from the Gospel are read to commemorate the events starting with the Last Supper and finishing with Jesus’ burial. During this service the faithful hold in their hands burning blessed candles, facing the Gospel and Via Dolorosa – a huge cross with crucified Jesus and Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist at His both sides. On Good Friday no Holy Liturgy (The Eucharist) is served for it is a day when God makes a sacrifice of Himself. The following morning the Royal Hours composed by St. Cyril of Alexandria are celebrated (the first, the third, the sixth, the ninth and typica) when the crucifixion and death of Christ are specially pondered upon. The excerpts from the Old Testament are also read. On Good Friday evening or during Friday night and Saturday morning the Holy Saturday matins are held, accompanied with the solemn procession with Epitaphios (plashchanitza) which is to symbolize the laying of Christ in the tomb. This day – of Jesus Christ’s martyrdom and death – is for all Christians the exceptional feast. May this day be our special day of praying and fasting in all our Pueri Cantores family for the unity of all Christians. For this day is a special day of unity, special day of our prayers for it. In the presence of the crucified Christ all differences disappear and we are all addressed with His Testament uttered from the Cross: Behold your Son, … behold your mother (Jn 19:27). This prayer for peace takes on a new dimension during this time when St. Paul – the apostle of nations has been chosen to be the St. Patron. May he also become our special guide and emissary in the prayer for unity of all Christians. Known as Saul before the conversion, he was ravaging the Church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison – as we read in the Acts (Acts 8:3). On his way to Damascus where he was going to continue his persecution of Christ’s followers, the resurrected Lord stood before him and introduced himself saying: I am Jesus whom you are persecuting (Acts 9:5). After this event Saul believed in Jesus and was baptized (Acts 9:18). Having received the grace of conversion and apostolic vocation, he changed his life – from the persecutor he transformed into an ardent preacher of Gospel and Christ’s cross the word of which is folly for those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (I Cor 1:18). The encounter with the Risen Christ was a turning point in his life. The consequence of this meeting was obtaining baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit in the community of the Church. The received gifts became his spiritual strength which made him set off at once to preach Holy Gospel about Jesus, the only savior of man (cf. Ga 1:15n). He answered bravely Jesus’ appeal directed to apostles: go into the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation (Mk 16:15). What is more, he thought that what they had experienced they could not keep only for themselves, so he preached: Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel (I Cor 9:16). His conversion became the grace for him, the grace ascribed and assigned also to others so as to build the community of the Church. He knew that whoever had converted should share this received gift of life with others. And he preached that Jesus crucified and raised from the dead is our Lord (cf. Rom 10:9). St. Paul preached the sense of life and he teaches us also today that Jesus is our Lord. On Good Friday during the liturgy of Lord’s Passion we profess it. We adore Thy Cross, O Lord, and we praise and glorify Thy holy Resurrection; for lo, because of the Cross, joy hath appeared unto all the earth! (The Liturgy of the Hours). Therefore may our today’s prayer become preaching, also through music, that Jesus is our Lord, that we believe in Him very deeply! We are sent so as to convey these truths to others. Let us not keep this grace only for ourselves. For it enables us to give the testimony of faith. Thanks to the power of Spirit given to us we are getting stronger and ready for the dialogue of love, also ecumenical. Let us not waste this chance given to us by God today. For He walks among us offering His grace. We are touched by His great love, again in our life. Let us pray vehemently, let us beg on our knees: Lord, that we all be one…

Fr. Robert Tyrała, PhD
Church Assistant of The International Federation of Pueri Cantores

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