Good Friday has come again, and another year is passing us by. I was at church today for the Good Friday Services, Rosary, Stations, Reflection on the Passion and Bible Readings. The tone was hushed and silent, prayerful and reflective. The altar space was all cleared off last night after the Holy Thursday Mass, which I was glad to assist in clearing, and have done it in years past. So today there was nothing left, except the bare altar, and the empty tabernacle with doors open, which impressed on me the further emptiness.
In passed years different things impressed upon me in different ways, but this year something else hit me more deeply. The heaviness of the silence could be felt, it was tangible and more present. The reason I mention this is because at the end of all the Good Friday services everyone in the church left in silence, from the Priests, deacon, altar servers and the people. We just walked out, there was no singing, no talking, nothing but that heaviness of the silence that I felt.
It stayed with me and I am still thinking about it and feeling it as Good Friday closes and more of the silence will continue into Holy Saturday. A silence growing in anticipation of the coming Easter Sunday, when the Church will be filled with noise of rejoicing and singing. Until then make it a good and holy silence reflecting on what is happing and what is coming.