HOLY SATURDAY

 

Holy Saturday

Is not a Mass

But a time of

Prayer and fasting

And meditating on Christ’s

Passion and Death

His Descent into Hell

And his Resurrection

EASTER VIGIL

 

The Easter Vigil,

Is the longest and most solemn

It begins after sundown

With the Service of Light

When a new fire is kindled

Symbolising the Light of salvation

Which is used to light

The Paschal candle

Symbolising the Light of Christ

Reminding all that

Christ is Light and life

GLAD SATURDAY

 

Glad Saturday

Better known as

Holy Saturday

Is not a Mass

But a time of

Prayer and fasting

And meditating on Christ’s

Passion and Death

His Descent into Hell

And his Resurrection

GOOD FRIDAY

 

Good Friday

Marks the day

The Temple Guards

Aided by the Judas kiss

Arrested Jesus

At Gethsemane

Also, his interrogation

By High Priest Caiaphas

And the Sanhedrin

Who condemned him to death

Before conveying him before

The Roman governor

Pontius Pilate

Who with reluctance

Ordered his crucifixion

At the place of the Skull

 

ONE OF THE TWELVE - JUDAS ISCARIOT

One of the twelve

Judas Iscariot

The betrayer

The taker of coins

The lost soul

Satan’s pawn

Hanged himself

Replaced as an apostle

By Matthias

IT'S SAD THAT IN DEMOCRATIC AMERICA

 

It's sad that in Democratic America

That Black Friday gives them more of a lift

Than Good Friday, as they are more

Interested in bargains than the greatest gift

FOR A FEW SILVER COINS

 

One of the twelve

Chosen Apostles

Possessed of Evil?

Or pawn of Christ

Judas Iscariot met

High Priest Caiaphas

And left the temple

With the Sanhedrin bribe

“Thirty pieces of silver”

Bought an apostle

And Christ’s fate was sealed

For after the last supper

In the gardens of Gethsemane

Judas Iscariot delivered

His kiss of betrayal

Condemning them both

By that single act

To an untimely death

Judas by his own hand

And Christ on the cross

THE SHADOW OF GOLGOTHA

 

Our lord beaten and bloody

Must die like a criminal

To add insult upon injury

Atop his tousled curls

Was set a thorny crown

Pressed into his scalp

He carried his cross

Upon his bloodied back

Through narrow streets

To the baying of the crowds

Then onto the hill of Calvary

Where the prince of peace

Was nailed to his cross of pain

And dealt the final blow

His side pierced by a spear

His earthly life ebbing away

Through the open wound

He called out to God

But not for vengeance

He asked that they be forgiven

And his cross of pain

Cast a Holy shadow

Across the world

That reached every corner

But the shadow cast

Was not one of darkness

But one of light

A divine light

The light of love

Which still shines today

For it is the eternal light of God

IN THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS

When the world

Appears a troubled place

When you see pain

Etched into every face

Look for hope

In the shadow of the cross

 

When evil lives

In the hearts of man

When our neighbours

Plot our destruction

Look for hope

In the shadow of the cross

 

When you are burdened

With anxiety and fear

When you are so desperate

For someone to hear

Look for Him

In the shadow of the cross

THE LONG FRIDAY

 

The Long Friday

Or Good Friday

Marks the day

The Temple Guards

Aided by the Judas kiss

Arrested Jesus

At Gethsemane

Also, his interrogation

By High Priest Caiaphas

And the Sanhedrin

Who condemned him to death

Before conveying him before

The Roman governor

Pontius Pilate

Who with reluctance

Ordered his crucifixion

At the place of the Skull

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (1965)

 

The Greatest Story Ever Told, directed by George Stevens and David Lean, although for some reason the latter was uncredited.

It is an often under-rated movie with an all-star cast, and is a large scale epic movie that chronicles the life and ministry of Jesus Christ (Max von Sydow).

There are so many stars in this biblical epic that it is impossible to mention them all but among the notable performers were Dorothy McGuire (The Virgin Mary) Charlton Heston (John the Baptist) Martin Landau (Caiaphas) Sal Mineo (Uriah) Sidney Poitier (Simon of Cyrene) David McCallum (Judas Iscariot) Donald Pleasence (The Dark Hermit – Satan) Claude Rains (King Herod) and John Wayne (Centurion at Crucifixion).

I can highly recommend the modestly titled epic, which was long, beautifully photographed and was notable as it was the first english-language film for Max von Sydow.

A great, if not the greatest, movie, watch and enjoy.

WE CELEBRATE GOOD FRIDAY

We celebrate Good Friday

Because 2000 years ago

God proved that we matter

When he let his only son go