NORTHFIELD — God never tires of forgiving.
Such was one of the messages Bishop Dennis Sullivan preached April 15 during the Good Friday service he presided over at Saint Gianna Beretta Molla Church.
“Love empties from the Cross. It flows out of the Lord into us,” the Bishop preached during the bilingual service attended by more than 300 faithful of all ages.
“Cross and Resurrection, they go together. They are the source of the world’s salvation,” he continued. “On this second day of our Paschal Triduum, we pause at the Cross of the Savior to confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy.”
Moments before the faithful would have the opportunity to venerate the cross — which was accompanied down the aisle by Bishop, deacons, seminarians and priests including Father Anthony Manuppella, parish pastor — Bishop Sullivan said, “Sisters and Brothers, when you reverence the cross with your kiss or touch or bow, place there your own crosses. Leave your sufferings, sorrows, troubles, problems. Leave them with the Crucified Lord. Ask for his help, for the strength to carry your cross — to lead you through your cross or crosses — many people have more than one cross — so that as you carry that cross or those crosses, you, too, can come to know life and resurrection.”
Ann Bernadette Lehr shared that she has had many crosses to bear throughout her lifetime. Away from the Church for 28 years, it was the Holy Eucharist, she said, that brought her to Saint Gianna Beretta Molla about two months ago.
“This day, Jesus gave up his life for all of us for sin, for deliverance, for healing, and no one could have done that for us except him,” she said. “If there was no Good Friday, there would be no Resurrection Sunday, and therefore, he would be just a regular man.”
Knowing Jesus died on the Cross for the love of all sustains Lehr every day, she said. “We all come from different paths of life. His existence and his love for me is protection; his undying love has gotten me to this point in my life. And when things were taken, he gave me back hundredfold.
“At some point, you come to a place where you don’t really need anything but the Lord. He gives us everything,” she said.
Longtime parishioner George Schilling said he regularly attends the celebration of the Lord’s Passion. “It’s important to memorialize his sacrifice. I’m grateful.”
“The Crucifixion, shows us all what he was willing to go through. How he died, you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy,” Schilling said. “I want to be here because this is the foundation of our life.”
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