“You know it’s not for nothing we speak of Good Friday,” the archbishop said, because what is really being revealed “especially in Holy Week is God’s self-giving love. It’s the Lord Jesus who gave himself to us in the Eucharist in anticipation of giving himself to us and to the Father on the cross.
“It’s the revelation of a love that for sure exposes our sins for what they are, but then applies to our sins and the sins of all the world a love that is stronger than sin and more powerful than death,” he said.
“And so, even as we mourn our sins, even as we feel sadness over the price of our salvation, nonetheless what should overtake us in Holy Week are joy, gratitude and thanksgiving, and even when we are contrite for our sins as always we must be, at the end of the day it’s always the horizon of hope.
“We’re always able to be contrite because God is loving, merciful and that his love and mercy not only makes us feel better, it actually conquers our sins. Wow! What a gift. God has given himself to us and we get to share in his death to sin so that we might be free and joyful and begin even now to share in his risen life.”
What a gift indeed. As you ponder the readings and prayers of Holy Week, keep in mind that we know the end of the story – and it includes Christ’s resurrection and our salvation.