Top caption: Bishop O’Connell kisses the Crucifix during a Good Friday service in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral. Holding the Crucifix is Msgr. Joseph Roldan. Mike Ehrmann photo
By Mary Stadnyk | Associate Editor
The Cross serves as a symbol of both agony and hope, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., said to the congregation who gathered for the noon Good Friday service April 3 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton.
PHOTO GALLERY: Good Friday at St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton
“Let us remember: Jesus chose the Cross. He accepted betrayal, condemnation and immense pain for the sake of a broken and sinful world,” Bishop O’Connell said in his homily. “It’s almost incomprehensible – this act of pure grace, this willingness to give up everything so that we might find redemption.”
Bishop O’Connell presided over the service, which was a Liturgy of the Word with Communion. The Cathedral clergy, including Msgr. Joseph Roldán, rector, joined the Bishop in the sanctuary.
Reflecting on the Passion that was recounted in St. John’s Gospel, Bishop O’Connell said that Jesus’ final words, “It is finished,” resonated deeply with him.
“These are not words of defeat, the Bishop said. “These are words of victory. In that moment, the power of sin and death was conquered. The great chasm between humanity and God was bridged. And it was not achieved with armies or political might, but with humility and love.”
“The irony is breathtaking,” the Bishop continued. “The Savior of the World – mocked, beaten, humiliated – was enacting the greatest triumph in history the world had ever known.”
Bishop O’Connell asked the congregation to ponder questions such as “How should we respond to such extraordinary love?” and “Do we truly allow that love to transform us?”
He added that “Christ’s sacrifice is not just an historical event; it is a living invitation. An invitation to us to love as he loved, to forgiven as he forgave and to serve as he served.”
“The Cross teaches us that the path to life often requires us to walk through the valleys of sacrifice,” Bishop O’Connell continued. “It calls us to confront our own selfishness, pride and indifference.”
“But take heart in knowing that Jesus carried his Cross before us,” the Bishop said. “He shows us the way and gives us the strength to follow him.”
Crystal Gallego, an active parishioner who is a reader and president of the Cathedral’s newly formed young adult group for 18-33-year-olds, was heartened to participate in this year’s Reading of the Passion, an experience she found to be “very impactful.”
“Holy Week is a time of preparation, a time of conversion, of change and reflection,” she said. “I think it’s important to take this week and this time to really immerse yourself in the significance of the Passion of Christ and the sacrifice that was made for us.”
Traditional Good Friday processions in Trenton were cancelled due to fears expressed in the communities who usually participate. One of the processions, the popular “Via Crucis” (“Way of the Cross”) for which participants walked the three miles from St. Joseph Church to St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, was moved instead and conducted inside the Cathedral following the afternoon liturgy.
Check back on TrentonMonitor.com for daily updates on the Triduum and Easter week, and look for a special Holy Week and Easter section in The Monitor Magazine’s next issue, due to reach homes on or around April 13.
