Good Friday - God loves you

Today, as we commemorate Good Friday, we are reminded by the readings how much God loves us!

In the second reading, we see Jesus as a man, just like us:

For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.

He was tempted just like us! He felt the emotions we feel. He must have been afraid to die and to suffer. He perspired blood. He must have been sad when his disciples fell asleep, and when Peter denied him three times. Still, he submitted to the will of God – because he loves God and he loves us so much! “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”

The gospel recounts his passion. Yes, Christ died for you. He died because he loves you. He died to save you from your sins.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed

Do I honestly feel that Jesus loves me so much? Do I know that he really died for me, to save me from my sins? Do I know that every time I sin, I crucify him again?  Do I look down on myself and feel insecure that nobody loves me, and forget what Christ, the son of God, did for me? Do I try to repay Jesus’ love for me?

Amidst the distractions of the world, may we never forget the essence of this day.  Let us not forget that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died to save me from my sins, because he loves me so much, because he loves God so much! May I remember this fact, especially when I feel alone and insecure of my worth. May we always remember this and live our lives submitting to God’s will – praising and glorifying him all the time like Jesus did.

God bless!