‘He loved us to the very end’
CHARLOTTE — Parishioners were once again allowed the opportunity to solemnly venerate the cross inside St. Patrick Cathedral April 2 during a Good Friday liturgy celebrated by Bishop Peter Jugis.
COVID-19 pandemic restrictions last year during Holy Week prevented the faithful from indoor worship, forcing liturgies to be livestreamed, and on Good Friday, meant outdoor veneration of the cross in front of the main doors of the cathedral.
During the liturgy – held at 3 p.m., the hour Jesus Christ died on the cross – a limited-capacity number of people gathered to recall the sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son for the salvation of souls. It included the reading of the Passion narrative, thus taking the faithful on the tortuous journey Christ suffered from the Garden of Gethsemane through His crucifixion on Golgotha.
“He loved us to the very end,” Bishop Jugis said in his homily. "During Jesus’ entire life – everything that He said, everything that He did – was an expression of His love for humanity (and) our salvation.
“And here He is approaching the end of His life, the supreme moment of His life, still an expression of His love for us."
Due to health concerns with the ongoing pandemic, the faithful were permitted to venerate the cross by bowing or genuflecting momentarily, instead of a customary kiss of the cross.
The liturgy also included two Solemn Intercessions for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, prayers that were introduced on Good Friday last year by Pope Francis.
— Catholic News Herald. Photos by SueAnn Howell, senior reporter.
