As Sybil Schroeder venerated the crucifix, she experienced a feeling that was “indescribable.”
“It’s a special moment — a gratefulness for all the sacrifices he made for us. It’s a special day,” said Schroeder, a parishioner of the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington.
Schroeder was one of many who attended the Service of the Passion of the Lord at the cathedral April 18. The liturgy began in silence, as Bishop Michael F. Burbidge processed into the sanctuary with Deacons Malcolm D’Souza and Raymond Goins; all three men then prostrated themselves before the altar.
Worshipers participated in a reading of the Passion narrative before a homily delivered by Bishop Burbidge.
Throughout Holy Week, he said, his homilies were focused on the theme of the Holy Year 2025: hope. The sorrow of Good Friday might appear to quench that hope, but, “Only by the faith that unites us can we use the same theme today even upon hearing the Passion of the Lord just proclaimed and of the suffering Jesus endured out of love for us,” he said.
Rather than despair, “The liturgy of this day, Pope Benedict says, proclaims: ‘O cross, our only hope!’ ” Bishop Burbidge said.
“I am sure that all of us in church today, without exception, have crosses we are carrying,” he added. However, “no cross is more powerful than his love and mercy,” and when we unite our crosses with Christ’s, we may have “certain hope that all who do so will share in his glory,” Bishop Burbidge said.
Uniting personal crosses with Christ’s may begin right now, Bishop Burbidge said. “In just a few moments, the church invites you to come forward and reverence the cross … So, as you make your way down the aisle, tell the Lord, in the silence of your heart, the specific grace and help you need at this time in your life as you entrust to him the particular cross you are carrying, the physical and emotional suffering you are enduring, and the burden, maybe even a very heavy one, you are shouldering at this time.”
Pondering Bishop Burbidge’s words, Massgoers one-by-one bowed before the Jubilee Year crucifix. They reverenced the crucifix with a gentle touch or a kiss.
Veneration of the cross on Good Friday is a longstanding tradition dating back to the seventh century, when the pope and others walked from the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran to Holy Cross Church in Rome and venerated wood from the True Cross without a head covering or shoes.
Following veneration of the cross, Bishop Burbidge and assisting priests and deacons distributed Communion consecrated prior to the liturgy.
For worshipers like Schroeder, reminders of hope are much needed. “Repetition gives us a … remembrance, and it becomes more meaningful when it’s repeated over and over again,” she said. “We’re grateful for that.”
