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Cardinal Vincent Nichols leads prayers and reflections on Good Friday


Scene from Trafalgar Square Passion

Scene from Trafalgar Square Passion

On Good Friday, 18 April, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, reflected on the crucifixion of Jesus. Cardinal Nichols spoke on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Thought for the Day’ and at the annual performance of Jesus’ death in Trafalgar Square before celebrating the Solemn Liturgy of the Passion at Westminster Cathedral.

In his homily for the Solemn Liturgy of the Passion at Westminster Cathedral, Cardinal Nichols reflected on the use of the words ‘glory, grace and truth’ in the day’s Gospel reading and considered how beauty can be seen in the Crucifixion, by the horror humanity can create and the sacrifice of love Jesus made for us overcoming it:

"Good Friday is the history of our humanity in all its horror and destructiveness. In him we see the terrible truth of our human condition, all our awful history of damage and destruction of each other, of the ways we disfigure and deface all that is good and beautiful."

"Yet already a new horizon is dawning because we know that in the person of Jesus we do not see a helpless victim but rather one who has willingly accepted the cross and embraced all its horror. In him we see love expressing itself unto the very end, faithful, paying the ultimate price, never wavering from love's embrace. In him we see the beauty of limitless love."

"All beauty, if it is not to be superficial or fleeting, must overcome all that opposes it. True beauty endures. It is always more than skin deep. Here, in Jesus, in this one man, is the whole of God's eternal and created beauty: the beauty of love overcoming all limitation. Here, in Jesus, we see the eternal plan of God for all his creation. It is stunning and absolutely compelling."

In commemoration the crucifixion and death of Jesus on Good Friday, the consecration of bread and wine into the Sacrament of the Eucharist does not take place, rather the Body and Blood of Christ, prepared at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday, is used in the service.

Cardinal Vincent joined the clergy and the congregation of Westminster Cathedral in a Walk of Witness on Victoria Street with hundreds of other Christians from Westminster Abbey and Methodist Central Hall, in memory of the Crucifixion of Christ.

The procession was led by a man carrying a Cross, symbolising Christ’s journey to His death. During the Walk of Witness Cardinal Vincent, alongside Canon David Stanton and the Reverend Martin Turner, preached to the assembled crowd. Cardinal Vincent spoke about the divinity and humanity in the person of Christ:

"Jesus, truly God, truly man. That is essential to why we are here today. If Jesus is not truly God then he cannot save us, if Jesus is not truly man then he is out of our reach. But he is both God and man and therefore our divine saviour."

"This is important also for our relationship with him; a real, living relationship. Jesus is not a memory or a record in a book but a living presence of God in our hearts."

After the Walk of Witness Cardinal Vincent attended the annual Passion Play held in Trafalgar Square and performed by the Wintershall Players. At the end he gave a reflection on the life of Jesus, often called the greatest story ever told, about how it must not be seen as fiction or myth but as a real event in the history of our world.

Cardinal Vincent gave the Good Friday ‘Thought for the Day’ on BBC Radio 4. In his reflection the Cardinal spoke about human trafficking, and the recent conference organised by the Bishops’ Conference in England and Wales, which looked at how law enforcement agencies and the Church could work together to eradicate trafficking:

"We heard the harrowing stories of victims from different countries. Women described in moving testimony their cruel treatment and the fear with which they lived. Delegates from the law enforcement agencies and the Church listened - in order to understand how best to build an active network to combat trafficking by working collaboratively."

"Pope Francis spoke of the crime of human trafficking, slavery in modern dress, as a terrible wound in the body of Christ."

"Then he said these words: 'Humanity still hasn't learnt how to cry, how to lament. We need many tears in order to understand the dimension of this drama.' He was asking us to cry!"

Reflecting on Pope Francis’s call for us all, Cardinal Vincent reflected on the meaning of Good Friday as ‘the day on which Christians learn again to shed tears of compassion’ and so, this day, should strive to address injustice and suffering throughout the world:

"Good Friday, today, is the day on which Christians learn again to shed tears of compassion, tears for our crucified saviour, tears for every victim of abuse, tears for the destitution of so many in the world today, tears of shame and anger at the slavery that disfigures our modern world. They are tears which should be shed as, together, we all resolve each to play our part in the healing of our wounded world."

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