Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P.
Two years ago, I said a funeral mass for a man who died of heart attack. After communion, the wife asked if she could deliver a short eulogy about her husband. I willingly obliged.
I remember her eulogy very well because it did not sound like one. Filled with self-pity, she said something like this: “I do not know how my children and I will manage now that my husband is dead. I am so devastated because he loved me and our children very much. I was the apple of his eye. He used to tell me that I am the best thing that ever happened to him. I loved cooking his favorite food, but now that he is gone, who will appreciate the meals I prepare? I feel so all alone.”
If only her husband could speak, perhaps he would say: "Honey, you were supposed to deliver a eulogy for me. But your speech is all about you."
I think that is also what Jesus feels when we are extremely busy with our Good Friday ritual observances. Today is supposed to be all about Him but we cram into it many activities to appease our consciences, to obtain forgiveness for our sins, and to fulfill our Holy Week panata or vow.
It is not what we do, but what God did for us that earns us forgiveness and salvation. Instead of relying on God’s redeeming grace which is made available to us through the death of Jesus, we seem to work hard to merit it. Good Friday becomes an orgy of penance and self-inflicted pain. We wrongly think that mortifying our wayward self will make us deserving of God’s mercy.
I once read this story: A woman who begged the president to pardon her son who was convicted of a grievous crime. With tears in her eyes, she pleaded: ""Please have mercy on my son." The president answered: "He does not deserve mercy." But the mother insisted: "Mr. President, mercy that is deserved is no longer mercy."
Indeed, no matter what we do, we cannot deserve God’s mercy. But during Good Friday, we become like the Pharisees who pile up one good work after another to get a favorable judgment from God. In effect, our focus is not on God, but on ourselves. Christianity has become for us a "Do-it-yourself" or "Self-help" religion. We want to be saved, but on our own terms.
Last Sunday, we saw the full moon in its resplendent brightness. The moon is nothing more than a pitch black and rocky satellite in the solar system, but it becomes a source of inspiration and romance when it shines in the dark sky. The moon does not need to tumble or dance in the sky. It simply has to reflect the light that comes from the sun.
In the same manner, Good Friday is the time when we shine brightest, not by indulging in a series of rituals that call attention to ourselves, but by simply reflecting the image of Jesus within us, through sincere prayer and repentance, obedience to God's commands, and a life lived in imitation of Him.
Although there is no celebration of the Holy Eucharist today, let us remember that in every Mass, the priest consecrates the bread and wine to become the body and blood of Jesus. When he does this, he repeats what Jesus said during the Last Supper: "Do this, in memory of me."
That is what Jesus is telling us today: "Please remember ME."