26 March 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19:30
On Good Friday the Church stands at the foot of the Cross. The One who entered Jerusalem to the cry of Hosanna is condemned, mocked, scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified outside the city between two criminals. The Holy One is counted among the wicked. The prophet had seen it long before: “He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities… and by his bruises we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
From the Cross Jesus speaks words that the Church treasures. “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” To the repentant thief: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” To his Mother and the beloved disciple: “Woman, here is your son… Here is your mother.” Then the cry of the abandoned: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And at the end: “It is finished”, and “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
“It is finished” is not a cry of defeat but of completion. The work the Father gave him is accomplished: the true Lamb has been sacrificed, the new covenant sealed in his blood. A soldier pierces his side, “and at once blood and water came out” (John 19:34). The Fathers saw in that blood and water the Eucharist and Baptism, the Church born from the side of Christ as Eve from the side of Adam.
On this day there is no Holy Qurbono in our tradition; the altar is bare because the Lamb himself is offered on the Cross. We venerate the Cross, we keep fast and silence, and we stand with Mary, who did not run away. The wood of shame has become the tree of life. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.”
Theme: “It is finished.”
Today we stand at the Cross with Mary and John. We do not only remember a death; we contemplate the love that saved the world. Three words guide us: he bore our sins, he cried out in our abandonment, he is the Lamb God provided.
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
“When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19:30
Apply: Look at the crucifix today and say: “Lord, you did this for me.”
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?” Psalm 22:1
“And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” Matthew 27:46
Apply: Bring to the Cross someone who feels abandoned, and pray for them by name.
“Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”” Genesis 22:8
“Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God's Son!”” Matthew 27:54
Apply: Venerate the Cross with love today, and keep the fast faithfully.
From the pierced side flowed blood and water: the sacraments of the Church.
Let us remain at the Cross with Mary, in silence and gratitude, waiting in hope for the third day.
Take-home resolution: Keep silence and avoid entertainment from noon to three o'clock today.
Dear brothers and sisters, today we stand at the foot of the Cross. The One who was welcomed with Hosanna on Sunday is today mocked, scourged, crowned with thorns and nailed to a cross between two criminals. Isaiah had seen it: “He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; by his bruises we are healed.”
Listen to his words from the Cross. “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” He forgives those who are killing him. To the thief who asks to be remembered, he promises: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” To his Mother and the beloved disciple he says: “Here is your son; here is your mother.” He gives us his own Mother.
And then: “It is finished.” Not “I am finished”, but “It is accomplished.” The work of salvation is complete. The soldier's spear opens his side, and blood and water flow: the Fathers saw there the Eucharist and Baptism, the Church born from the heart of Christ.
Today there is no Qurbono; the altar is bare. We kneel before the Cross, we fast, we keep silence, and we stand with Mary who did not run away. Let each of us forgive someone today, as he forgave. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world. Amen.
Children, today is Good Friday. Jesus died on the cross. He let it happen because he loves us so much and wanted to take away our sins.
On the cross Jesus forgave the people who hurt him. He told a thief who was sorry: “Today you will be with me in heaven.”
Today let's be quiet, pray, and say sorry to anyone we have hurt. Let's say: “Thank you, Jesus, for loving me so much!”
Lord Jesus Christ, crucified for us, we adore you and we bless you, because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world. Forgive us, remember us in your kingdom, give us your Mother as our mother, and let us die with you to sin, that we may rise with you to life. Amen.
Today our Church reads through the hours of the day from the Hasha Week service book, whose readings are not listed in the Sacred Lectionary, and so they are not studied here. Around those hours stands one great reading: the Passion, told four times. Matthew shows the Son who fulfils the Scriptures while innocent blood is argued over. Mark shows him stripped of every friend, and at that moment a Roman soldier says who he is. Luke shows mercy going on to the last breath. John shows a King who is enthroned on the Cross and says, “It is finished.”
We take the four together, as one reading in four voices. The key words are cup, king and finished.
Setting.
All four Gospels slow down here. Weeks of ministry have passed in a few lines, and now the story moves hour by hour. Many scholars think that this was the first part of the Gospel story to be told as a continuous account, since the first Christians had to explain from the Scriptures why the Messiah had been crucified. Crucifixion was a Roman punishment, used for slaves and rebels and carried out in public as a warning. Only the Roman governor could order it, and Pontius Pilate held that office in Judea from about AD 26 to 36.
Matthew writes for readers who know the Scriptures, and he keeps saying that they are being fulfilled (26:54, 56; 27:9). Jesus is in command of what happens: he could call on more than twelve legions of angels, and does not (26:53). Matthew alone tells of Judas's end, Pilate's wife, and Pilate washing his hands, and he circles the question of “innocent blood” (27:4, 19, 24).
Mark is the starkest. Everyone leaves: “All of them deserted him and fled” (14:50). Jesus hardly speaks, and from the Cross Mark gives us only one saying, the cry of Psalm 22. Yet it is at this lowest point that the centurion speaks the title with which the Gospel opened (1:1; 15:39).
Luke's Passion is a Gospel of mercy to the end. Jesus heals the ear of the high priest's slave (22:51), looks at Peter (22:61), speaks to the women on the road (23:28), prays for those crucifying him (23:34), and receives a dying criminal. Pilate says three times that he finds no guilt in him (23:4, 14, 22), and the centurion sums it up: “Certainly this man was innocent” (23:47).
John begins after the Supper, in a garden, and shows a Jesus who goes forward to meet those who have come for him. There is no scene of Simon of Cyrene: he carries the Cross “by himself” (19:17). The long trial before Pilate turns on one word, “king”, and the Cross bears the title in three languages. When John says “the Jews” in these chapters, he mostly means the authorities in Jerusalem who pressed the case: Jesus, his Mother and the beloved disciple were all Jews themselves.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” (Mark 14:36)
The whole Passion is here in one sentence. He asks, as any human being would, and he consents. The Catechism sees in this prayer the human will of the Son in its full reality, making the Father's will its own (CCC 612).
“Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52)
The first thing he does when he is seized is to protect his attackers from his friends. The way of his Kingdom cannot be defended by the means that killed him.
“In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.” (Luke 22:44)
A note on the text: vv. 43–44 are missing from some very old manuscripts and present in others, and the NRSV prints them in double brackets. The Fathers knew them from early on, and the Church reads them as Scripture.
“Jesus said, “I am; and ‘you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,’ and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’”” (Mark 14:62)
After a Gospel of silence about his identity, the answer comes at the moment when it can only cost him his life. He combines Psalm 110 and Daniel 7.
“The Lord turned and looked at Peter.” (Luke 22:61)
Only Luke has it. No word is said. Peter goes out and weeps, and this look, and not his own courage, will make him the man who strengthens the others (22:32).
“They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replied, “I am he.”” (John 18:5)
In Greek it is egō eimi, “I am”, the words he has used of himself through this Gospel (8:58). John says that those who came to arrest him stepped back and fell to the ground (18:6). They take him only because he allows it (10:18).
“My kingdom is not from this world.” (John 18:36)
It does not mean that his Kingdom has nothing to do with this world. It means that its source and its way of ruling do not come from here: his followers do not fight. Pilate goes on to ask, “What is truth?” (18:38), with the Truth standing in front of him.
“Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”” (Luke 23:34)
A note on the text: this saying too is missing from some early manuscripts and is present in many others, and the NRSV brackets it. It is thoroughly in Luke's spirit, and Stephen echoes it (Acts 7:60). The Church has treasured it from early times.
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42)
He sees a king where everyone else sees a condemned man. He asks to be remembered, and he is given much more: “today you will be with me in Paradise” (23:43).
“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (Mark 15:34)
The opening of Psalm 22, in Aramaic. This is real desolation prayed in the words of Israel. The psalm moves toward the God who “did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him” (22:24). See the question below.
“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” (Matthew 27:51)
“From top to bottom” suggests God's own act. Hebrews speaks of a new and living way opened for us through the curtain (10:19–20). Matthew alone goes on to say that the tombs were opened (27:52), so this death already has the Resurrection inside it.
“Truly this man was God’s Son!” (Mark 15:39)
Mark says that the centurion “saw that in this way he breathed his last”. It is the manner of the death, not any miracle, that opens the eyes of this Gentile.
“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.”” (John 19:26)
Mary stands at the Cross. The title “Woman” recalls Cana (2:4), where his hour had not yet come. With “Here is your mother” (19:27) the Lord gives her to the disciple, and the Church has heard in this that she is given to all disciples (CCC 964, 2618; Lumen Gentium 58).
“When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19:30)
He bows his head and then gives up his spirit. In John even this is an act, and he does it himself. The work the Father gave him is done (17:4).
“Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.” (John 19:34)
John swears to it (19:35) and points to the Passover lamb, none of whose bones were to be broken (19:36; Exodus 12:46). See how the Church reads it below.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism teaches that Christ's death is both the Paschal sacrifice which accomplishes the definitive redemption of mankind, and the sacrifice of the New Covenant (CCC 613). He went to it out of love for the Father and for us: he knew and loved each of us during his Passion, and gave himself up for each one of us (CCC 478, 616). The Church also says who bears the guilt: sinners were the authors of Christ's Passion, and she does not hesitate to give Christians the gravest responsibility for it (CCC 598). As Paul writes, “who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
St John Chrysostom teaches his newly baptized that the water and the blood from Jesus' side are the symbols of Baptism and the Mysteries, and that from these two the Church is born, as Eve from the side of Adam (Baptismal Catecheses 3, in substance). The Catechism says the same: the Church was born from the side of Christ asleep on the Cross (CCC 766; Sacrosanctum Concilium 5). St Augustine observes that John does not say “struck” or “wounded” but “opened”, so that the door of life is thrown wide (Tractates on John 120, in substance; the Latin Bible he read has “opened”). Mar Aprem sings that the spear which pierced Christ's side removed the sword that had barred the way to Paradise (in substance).
The Passion must always be read as the Church asks: without hatred. The Second Vatican Council teaches that what happened in the Passion cannot be charged against all the Jews then living, nor against the Jews of today, and that they are not to be presented as rejected or accursed (Nostra Aetate 4; CCC 597).
What about “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25)?
Terrible things have been done with this verse, and the Church has clearly rejected them. It is the shout of one crowd at one moment, in a scene that Matthew shapes as Pilate's attempt to shift his own guilt. Many scholars think that Matthew's own painful situation, when his community was at odds with other Jewish teachers, colours how the scene is told. It does not lay any curse on a people (Nostra Aetate 4; CCC 597–598). Pope Benedict XVI recalled that for Christians the blood of Jesus is not a curse but a redemption: it speaks “a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24), and all of us stand in need of it (Jesus of Nazareth, Part II, in substance).
Did the Father really abandon Jesus on the Cross?
Jesus truly prays this, and we must not soften it. In the love that always united him to the Father, he took on himself our state of being far from God, so that he could cry out in our name. He was never rejected by the Father as if he himself had sinned (CCC 603). The words are the opening of a psalm, a prayer of faith that addresses the very God it feels far from: “My God, my God.” In the psalm the lament turns to praise. Luke gives us another psalm on his lips at the end, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (23:46; Psalm 31:5).
Why are the four accounts different? Which one is right?
The Evangelists do not give us four police reports. Each writes from the memory of the Church and draws out a truth of the same event, and differences of detail are what one expects from several witnesses. The Church has refused to reduce them to one: she received four Gospels, and teaches that they tell “the honest truth about Jesus” while selecting and arranging according to the needs of their hearers (Dei Verbum 19). The traditional seven last words come from gathering what the Gospels preserve. Mark and Matthew give one, Luke three, John three.
On this day there is no Holy Qurbono in our tradition. The altar is bare, because the one Sacrifice is contemplated on the Cross, and every Qurbono we celebrate makes this same sacrifice present. We read the hours from the Hasha Week book, venerate the Cross, keep fast and silence, and stand with Mary. The collection of the day goes to the Holy Land, as the Holy Father directs: we pray for all who live in that land, and for all who suffer in many lands.