A Good Friday Birthday and Sunday's Gift 🎁

Born on a Friday

Emily’s parents wanted to share this beautiful “cross in the sky” they saw as they went to visit her grave last year on Emily’s birthday.  The following is an excerpt from Living Memento Mori (Prelude), in which she conveys a bit about her feelings of being born on Good Friday.

Excerpt from Living Memento Mori (Prelude)

The passage doesn’t end happily ever after, but looking through Emily’s life and hardships, she was drawn closer to the Lord in spite of them. She saw everything Christ endured and she knew that if He was willing to withstand all He did for her sake (and ours), that she could trust Him with her life and health. It became her testimony just like the things He brings you to and through are yours give you your testimony to be able to share His gospel and goodness with others.

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A Friday of Suffering, A Friday of Hope

We started Holy Week off earlier this week with a post explaining Holy Week and the Stations of the Cross and their meaning, but now as the week comes to its final and most significant days, we want to leave you with important points to ponder.

Emily’s reading of Isaiah during Easter 2023.

Now it’s Good Friday, considered the darkest moment in human history by Christ followers, but 2000+ years later, we know the history before this day and we know what followed 3 days later.

Listen to Emily’s reading from Isaiah (starting at the 6:10 mark), a major prophetic telling of what horror our precious Lord Jesus bare. That day that would come to be known as “Good Friday” all because of His obedience to God the Father and His love to endure for our sakes.

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A Sunday Like No Other

Below is another excerpt from Living Memento Mori (pages 79-80), which Emily wrote as a retelling with additional though observations from the women who went to care for Jesus’s body at the tomb on what’s now known as Easter morning.

Excerpt from Living Memento Mori (pages 79-80)

And finally, we would be remiss not to mention once more that Emily’s book, Living Memento Mori, is especially pertinent for Holy Week as each chapter is intertwined with a Station of the Cross. She does a beautiful job relating each station to her and encourages everyone in their own challenges. 

Holy Week and the Stations of the Cross

A statue of Jesus carrying His cross amongst onlookers (in a garden).

In preparation of entering into Holy Week next week, we wanted to take time to reflect on what the week encompasses and also contemplate the importance of the Stations of the Cross.

Holy Week is always the 8 starting with Palm Sunday and ending with Resurrection (or Easter) Sunday. This year, Holy Week takes place March 29-April 5. 

The Dynamic Catholic has a detailed explanation of all the focused on events that take place during this most special week, but the following is a summary of the focus of each day (credit: Dynamic Catholic):

• Palm Sunday, Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem

• Monday of Holy Week, Jesus clears out the temple with a whip

• Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus is anointed with oil at Bethany and preaches on the Mount of Olives

• Spy Wednesday, Jesus is betrayed by Judas

• Holy Thursday, Jesus celebrates the Last Supper, prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, and is arrested

• Good Friday, Jesus is sentenced to death, scourged, beaten, crucified, and dies on the Cross

• Holy Saturday, Jesus is buried in the tomb and descends into hell

• Easter Sunday, Jesus rises from the dead

The Stations of the Cross consists of 14 focused events taking places on Good Friday into Holy Saturday; these events are the last 12-16 hours of Jesus’s life, death and burial:

1. Jesus is Condemned to Death

2. Jesus Takes Up His Cross

3. Jesus Falls the First Time

4. Jesus Meets His Mother

5. Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry His Cross

6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

7. Jesus Falls the Second Time

8. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

9. Jesus Falls the Third Time

10. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments

11. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross (sometimes called the Crucifixion)

12. Jesus Dies on the Cross

13. Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross

14. Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb

Emily’s post here from 2016 is a great short read about the Stations of the Cross with some of her keen insights. She also has a wonderful post called “Joy Depends on the Cross” that are her thoughts on the true gospel being steeped in suffering, but leading to eternal joy!

And finally, we would be remiss not to mention once more that Emily’s book, Living Memento Mori, is especially pertinent for Holy Week as each chapter is intertwined with a Station of the Cross. She does a beautiful job relating each station to her and encourages everyone in their own challenges. 

We hope you take some time to meditate on the incalculable sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ in His ultimate acts of love for us and that everyone has a blessed Resurrection Sunday!