Good Friday of the Lord's Passion 2022

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
April 15, 2022

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

Today, we stand at the foot of the cross and meditate on the mystery of God’s suffering, the mystery of his love, which has no limits.

The prophet Isaiah tells us today: “It was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured. … He was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins.”

This is also what we see in the Gospel: Our Lord is alone, abandoned, he is mocked and humiliated; his hands and feet are pierced, his body beaten; soldiers gamble for his clothes.

And all of this is for you, and for me.

On the cross, Jesus bears every burden for us — every evil and every sin, every sickness and suffering, every heartache. He becomes weak, so we can overcome our weakness. He is crushed for our sins, so we can overcome our own sinfulness.

When we remember his sacrifice on the cross, when we meditate on what Jesus suffered by his passion and death, we realize how important we are to God.

Brothers and sisters, we are infinitely loved. Each and every one of us. This is the mystery we contemplate in his holy cross.

Today, we need to allow this mystery to penetrate deeply into our hearts.

Jesus dies so that we can live, so that we can have life abundant — a life of love and joy, the glorious freedom of the children of God. A life that becomes a pathway that leads to heaven.

That is the beautiful reality today. Today it is “Good” Friday because, although Christ must die, we know that in three days he will rise. It is “Good” Friday because in his death, our death is conquered, and we can know the hope of the Resurrection.

We hear those beautiful words in the second reading: “So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.”

Words that are, I can share with you, that are very special for me. Most of you must know why.

The cross is the throne of grace, the seat of mercy.

As we heard, when his earthly life had ended on the cross, his body was broken open, his heart was pierced by the soldier’s spear, and blood and water gushed forth as a fountain of mercy for us.

Jesus promised that “out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.”² This is the living water, the water of salvation, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

So Jesus longs to give that Spirit to us, to each one of us. As we just heard, among final words, which we hear today: “I thirst.”

And brothers and sisters, we need to come back to the heart of Jesus, we need to drink again from his fountain of living water.

Jesus is not thirsting for water for himself. He is thirsting for our faith, for our hearts, for our conversion. Jesus thirsts for us, for you and for me. He thirsts to give us his mercy, his life, the waters of salvation.

So, let us turn our hearts to Jesus today. Let us look at the cross and reflect — this is how precious I am to God, each one of us. Let us look at the cross and say, “Thank you, Lord. Thank you.” 

So in these next three day, let us stay close to Mary, who is our Mother. May she intercede for us, that we be made worthy of the promises of the cross, and that we may know the joy of his Resurrection.