Passion Week (Holy Week): Good Friday

Good Friday Homily: I Thirst

by Fr. Andrew

We adore you O Christ and we praise you, for by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!

As we listened to the Passion of our Lord according to John, we might have missed it. We might have missed two simple and beautiful words. Right before He died, right before Jesus breathed His last, He said; "I thirst," two simple words.

We would be mistaken if we think that these words only refer to a physical thirst, that His mouth was dry. We would be mistaken if we think that these words simply meant "I love you," they go much deeper than that.

I thirst, Jesus says. These are not words from the past but living words, spoken here and now to our hearts! Do we hear your name? Is He thirsting for us? Until we begin to understand these two simple words, we won’t know who He desires to be for us. When we begin to live our life hearing, feeling, and answering the thirst of Jesus with all our hearts. We could spend our whole lives asking our Lord to show us what He means by, "I thirst."

All through Lent we examined our hearts, our consciences. Lent was a time for us to go to confession. Lent was time for us to focus on our sins and our need for salvation. Today is a day to wonder at the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Today is a day to marvel at the mercy of God on the cross. Today is a day to pray about the thirst of Jesus Christ.

And if we do not understand, let us ask our Blessed Mother to pray for us. She was at the foot of the cross and she heard Jesus say, "I thirst." Let this be our prayer as we wait for Easter, as we wait for the Resurrection.

We adore You O Christ and we praise You, for by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world!

See Also:

Passion Week Supplement in Malankara World
Sermons and Commentaries for the Palm Sunday

Sermons for Passion Week

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