First Reading: Isaiah 52:13–53:12 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 31: 2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25 Second Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 Gospel Acclamation: Philippians 2:8-9 Gospel: John 18:1–19: 42

Good Friday Reflection is by SHAYO WILLIAM, SJ., Radio Kwizera, Tanzania.

When we enter these days of contemplating the mysteries of our faith, we are invited to reflect more deeply on the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ and on the price He paid for our sins. Today, perhaps, we can begin from the perspective of the disciples—those who left everything behind: their families, their work, and their possessions—to follow the Messiah. They followed Him in the hope of a triumphant fulfilment, imagining a new kingdom to be established and that they would reign with Him. It is possible that some of their relatives and friends discouraged them, insisting that there was no hope in following this man, that he would end like other revolutionaries before him and that nothing good would come of it. And now, on this day, the disciples are forced to return to their ordinary lives and face those very people. One can imagine the first question they encountered: “Where is your Messiah?”

For me, this sense of abandonment becomes the dominant feeling of Good Friday. It is the feeling the disciples must have experienced, but also the feeling expressed by Jesus Himself, who cried out, asking why God had abandoned Him. The Passion of Christ invites us to echo that same cry. Each of us has known moments of abandonment: the loss of a loved one, wars and conflicts, divisions within families and friendships, the daily struggles of life, mockery and contempt from those we once respected who now look down on us. In such moments, we too have asked, “Where are you, God?”

Today, this is our cry before Him. It is not a cry born of weak faith, but a sincere acknowledgment of our fragility in the face of suffering. When we look at our world marked by wars, increasing corruption, inhuman actions by leaders, and growing hardship, we may again ask: “Why have you abandoned us? Where are you, our God?” Yet this honest recognition of our fragility does not diminish our faith. On the contrary, it becomes a path that leads us towards the glory of the Resurrection and towards Pentecost, where the faith planted in us at baptism is renewed and rekindled.

May this cry, and even this feeling of abandonment, draw us closer to God and deeper into the mysteries of our faith. Amen.