Good Friday

Good Friday (C) – April 15, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

On Good Friday, the world stumbles once again over the dead body of the Convict of Golgotha. Stretched on the cross 2000 years ago, and yet almost a billion people stand by Him every day – celebrating the holy drama. The cross shows that Jesus’ agony, His suffering and death cannot be removed, talked about and forgotten. Jesus is crucified! He sees TOMORROW from the cross, although this tomorrow is stripped of Him today. God is in helplessness and suffering. He cannot be separated from the cross.

“The paradox of the cross consists in this – as the Polish priest, Father Janusz Pasierb writes – that what was supposed to kill, gives life. The Middle Ages created a mystical cross – a green tree full of leaves, bearing the fruit of life – the body of Jesus. It is not only a universal lesson in understanding of the human fate, constantly passing through death to life, but also a practical teaching that a man is not doomed to crawl, but that he can do something even out of the dark layers of his suffering. Mahatma Ghandi, not elsewhere but from the Gospel took his basic idea that the suffering accepted voluntarily can be a method of liberation. The cross teaches us not to suffer, but to WIN”.

Jesus immersed in fear, darkness and uncertainty „throws himself into the embrace of God. He is afraid of death, but also expects a new birth from it.” At the bottom of the fear, He sees the future. He sees eternity as an extensive green landscape.

Good Friday (C) – April 15, 2022 Read More »

Good Friday – April 10, 2020

Frackville, From the Pastor, PNCC /

We have listened to the story of Jesus giving His life for us. St. John tells us that the reason for this was love: love of the Father and love of His disciples. In St. John’s Gospel Jesus has no need of help: there is no Simon of Cyrene to assist Him with carrying the cross. He takes up His own cross and marches to Calvary which is the scene of His fulfilling His mission and revealing God to the world. His last words are not a cry for reproach, accusing God of abandoning Him, but a shout of triumph: It is accomplished. In the final scene of today’s passion reading, we meet once more the character called Nicodemus: he is no longer the shadowy figure who comes to Jesus under the cover of darkness. Now he appears boldly in broad daylight to assist in the solemn burial of Jesus, which involves a royal and extravagant amount of spices and oils. The mention of Nicodemus might remind us that he was the one to whom Jesus summed up the message of the Fourth Gospel, which reaches its climax in the paschal event which are celebrating today. Jesus told Nicodemus: God loved the world so much that He have His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not be lost but may have eternal life.

Is it too good to be true? Could someone love us enough to give their life so that we might live? Jesus’ mission was to reveal God’s love for human beings and invite us into a relationship with God is best described as friendship. Throughout St. John’s version of the Gospel story we are given examples of people coming to believe in Jesus, growing in their appreciation of who He is and what He means to them. Today we are invited to consider that the cross is more about love than it is about justice.

Good Friday – April 10, 2020 Read More »

Schedule for Holy Week and Easter

Frackville, PNCC /

HOLY TUESDAY, April 15th

10:00AM – Central Diocese Clergy Conference in Scranton.
4:00PM – Holy Mass of Chrism in St. Stanislaus Cathedral, Scranton, PA.

HOLY WEDNESDAY, April 16th

6:00PM – Bitter Lamentations (2)

HOLY THURSDAY, April 17th

6:00PM – Holy Mass of the Lord’s Supper

GOOD FRIDAY, April 18th – The Lord’s Passion

12:00 (at Noon) – The Liturgy of the Good Friday with adoration of the Cross and Holy Communion. Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament will be held until 7:00PM.
2:00PM – Frackville Lenten Ecumenical Service (Trinity Evangelical Congregational Church).
7:15PM – Stations of the Cross

HOLY SATURDAY, April 19th

3:00PM – The Liturgy of the Blessing of Fire, Water and Paschal Candle. After the Liturgy – blessing of Easter food (baskets)

RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD, April 20th

7:00AM – Easter procession. After Procession – Holy Mass – intention: for All Parishioners.
10:00AM – Easter Sunday Holy Mass.

Schedule for Holy Week and Easter Read More »