The Passion explained

(Vatican Radio) In a series of reflections, the Secretary of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, Archbishop Arthur Roche, walks Vatican Radio through the Holy Week liturgies, explaining their significance, symbolism and place within the history of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection.

He explains the Passion of Our Lord, the first Good Friday Liturgy.

Listen:

“On Good Friday Mass is not celebrated. But the Eucharist which is consecrated at the Mass of the Last Supper is reserved to be distributed on that day. This is fairly recent addition, but very significant. The Eucharist, when you see the bread separated from the wine and the cup, that is a sign of death. But we also know that the Eucharist is only made present to us because of the Resurrection. So on this day we are receiving Our Lord entirely, body, blood, soul and divinity in the consecrated bread, which joins us with him in his Passion”.

“We finally come to the Cross to venerate it because we know that on this tree on which Our Lord hung brought salvation to the whole world. Now this tree was the means by which was being taken out of the world, death was overcome, it wasn’t a final act, we were being offered the chance of eternal life. What a gift, what a very powerful moment this is in the life of the Church”.