Udupi/M’Belle: Good Friday commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus observed with devo

By Eugene DSouza
Bellevision Media Network

Moodubelle, 14 Apr 2017: Good Friday commemorating the passion and crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary was observed with great devotion by Christians throughout the world. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday. Good Friday is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Black Friday, or Easter Friday.

 

The Good Friday Service was held in St. Lawrence Church, Moodubelle from 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm. Prior to the main liturgy, the Way of the Cross was conducted inside the church. The Covered Cross was carried through all the fourteen Stations of the Cross by Vincent Fernandes, Vice President of the Parish pastoral Council flanked by two altar servers holding candles. The narration, meditation and prayers for each of the fourteen stations were read by fourteen representatives from different wards of the parish.

 

The Good Friday service and liturgy is divided into four parts. The first part comprised of the reading from the scriptures including the Passion of the Lord according to the Gospel of St. John(18:1-19:42), Prayers for the Intentions of the Church, Veneration of the Cross and the Holy Communion.

 

At the outset, Fr. Clement Mascarenhas along with Fr. Lawrence Cutinha, Fr. William Andrade (OFM Cap) and Fr. Johnson (OFM Cap) came in procession and prostrated in front of the bare altar for a minute. Following the initial scripture readings, the passion of the Christ was animated from the Gospel of St. John by Fr. Clement Mascarenhas as the narrator, Fr. William Andrade as Jesus, Joy Fernandes as other characters in the Gospel and the Choir as the crowd.

 

Following the Gospel reading, the choir sang the famous seven sentences that Christ has spoken from the Cross.

 

Fr. Clement Mascarenhas in his homily pointed out the significance of those seven sentences spoken by Christ from the Cross stressing on the need of forgiveness and reconciliation.

 

Soon after the homily Fr. Clement Mascarenhas recited prayers for the various intentions of the Church.

 

As the third part of the Good Friday Service, Fr. Lawrence Cutinha brought the shrouded Crucifix to the main altar where Fr. Clement Mascarenhas unveiled it in three phases and paid respect through kneeling and kissing the Crucifix. This was followed by paying respect to the Crucifix by the priests and the faithful.

 

Holy Communion was distributed as the last part of the Good Friday Service. Thereafter, all the parishioners left the church in silence and proceeded to their homes.

 

Good Friday is the day when Christians commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. This is an important event in Christianity, as it represents the sacrifices and suffering in Jesus’ life. The crucifixion was the culmination of a number of events in Holy Week, including: Jesus’ triumphal return to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday; Jesus washing his disciples’ feet; and Jesus’ last supper on Maundy Thursday.