Good Friday - The Liturgy of the Lord's Passion

In a Church like ours where the pattern of the Sunday liturgy is
largely the same the liturgies of the Triduum have an especial power.
What we now simply call The Liturgy of the Lord's Passion used to be
known as the mass of the presanctified because although we do receive
communion we do so from the communion that was used for the adoration
of the Watch, thus it is presanctified. Although this is a beautiful
description I think I prefer the new title as this takes our focus
onto the different ceremonies that help us to adore Christ crucified
for us. Of course we do this on every celebration of the Eucharist
when we enter into the offering of Christ to the Father of his own
self upon the cross, and recieve the Lamb of God who still bears for
us the glorious wounds of his Passion. The ceremonies of the Liturgy
however do not compete with the Eucharist but serve to bring out the
depth of the mysteries contained therein, and is on that sense
complimentary. I was struck once again by an experience isolation and
desolation as I proclaimed the part of Jesus during the dramatic
reading of the Passion Gospel. For me the Liturgy always brings me to
an appreciation of the Lord's love for us. My training incumbent Fr
Roger always wept so much during the Veneration of the Cross that the
cross was almost awash with his tears. Why do we not live more as a
people who know just how much we have to be thankful to the Lord for?

In the evening I watched Mel Gibson's version of the Passion. I know
many people found if hard to watch the violence inflicted on the
Lord's body, (which is precisely why I think we need to watch it
because we often fail to appreciate the depth of what the Lord
suffered put of love for us) I do find it a very devotional depiction
of the Passion.