Good Friday Stations of the Cross and the Lord's Passion
Article and photos by Fr R Cross
PASSION OF THE LORD
Around 1300 people packed St Mary's Cathedral for the Solemn Celebration of the Lord's Passion.
Archbishop Costelloe was accompanied by the Cathedral and visiting clergy.
In his homily, Archbishop Costelloe recalled how St Paul said to the Corinthians that Christians ". . . preach a crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness, but to those who have been called, whether they are jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God." (1Cor 1:23,24).
His Grace said that as Christians we are called to enter deeply into the death of Christ and not just jump over it to the resurrection. In humility to his Father, Christ did not cling to his divinity and eqality with God, but humbly assumed the conditon of a slave, even to accepting death, death on a cross (Ph2:6-11).
Christ, said the Archbishop, totally entered into the desolation of death, because in his life, he had daily lived in loving trust of his Father. Nothing got in the way of his relationship with God his Father. Similarly, we too are called to grow daily in our trust of the Father, to die to ourselves, our angers and hurts and entrust them to God and so discover new life in Jesus Christ.
After the reading of the Passion from St John's Gospel, everybody had an opportunity to venerate the wood of the Cross and receive Christ in the Eucharist.
At the conclusion of the Passion, the Cathedral fell silent in expectant hope of the celebration of the Resurrection at the Easter Vigil, whch will commence at 7.30pm Saturday evening, 7 April.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
The Stations of the Cross at St Mary's Cathedral Perth on Good Friday morning were conducted by Fr George James and Fr Jean-Noel Marie with hundreds of people in attendnace.
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