The skeptics among us continue to ask, What is “good” about Good Friday? St. John’s Gospel says that it is “good” because of the love and mercy God promises to pour upon us when we gaze upon Him whom we have pierced. St. John’s statement is a quotation from Zechariah 12. When a New Testament author quotes from the Old Testament, they are begging us to go back and read the original!
In the Zechariah text, Jerusalem is being besieged and, for some unknown reason, they execute a young man by piercing him through. Immediately the people realize their mistake and mourn the man’s death. When this happens, the Lord says through Zechariah that, as they gaze upon him whom they have pierced, God will pour out upon them a spirit of mercy and intercession. This is St. John’s point. When we who have pierced Jesus – and who among us has not, in some way or other – God will give us a spirit of mercy and intercession. He will pour that spirit upon us. So, as we gaze upon the Cross today, God promises to bless us with His kindness, healing, and mercy.
Let us pray. “Almighty ever-living God, who have restored us to life by the blessed life, death, and Resurrection of your Son, preserve in us the work of your mercy, so that, by our devotion today, we may have a life unceasingly dedicated to you. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
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The Way of the Cross, led by His Holiness Pope Francis (Rome, 15 April, 2022):
