April 18, 2025, Holy Friday, Holy Rosary (Sorrowful Mysteries) | Fifth Anniversary of the Rosary Network

04/18/25 • 33 min

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Friends of the Rosary,

Today, Friday of the Passion of the Lord, Holy Friday, or Good Friday (a deviation of the term “God’s Friday), the Church observes the earthly death of our Savior. It’s a solemn day of mourning, prayer, fasting, and a sense of sadness as we acknowledge our failure to serve our Lord.

We slow down, restrict ourselves from entertainment, participate in processions and devotions (such as the Rosary, Stations of the Cross, and the Divine Mercy), and meditate on readings and prayers related to the passion of Christ.

At three o’clock, the faithful attend the “Celebration of the Lord’s Passion.” It’s not a Mass but a service with three parts: Liturgy of the Word, Veneration of the Cross, and Holy Communion.

At the beginning, the priests and deacons prostrate themselves in silent prayer. The General Intentions cover ten areas:

For the Church
For the Pope
For the clergy and laity of the Church
For those preparing for baptism
For the unity of Christians
For the Jewish people
For those who do not believe in Christ
For those who do not believe in God
For all in public office
For those in special need

In part two, we venerate and kiss the wooden cross “on which hung the Savior of the world.”

In part three, the congregation receives Holy Communion, and everyone departs in silence.

The liturgies of the Paschal Triduum are one continuous act of worship. Yesterday, we saw Christ Jesus at the Last Supper completing the washing of the feet in all humility and instituting the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Orders. Today, at the midpoint of the Triduum of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of the Lord, our pilgrimage comes to Calvary. Tomorrow, the Easter Vigil of Easter will begin with the Service of Light.

The first reading at today’s commemoration of the Passion is the fourth of Isaiah’s songs of the Suffering Servant.

Then we hear St. John’s narrative of Christ’s Passion. To protect and heal us from darkness, Christ Jesus allowed the fury of sin to destroy Him. He endured the pain of the cross bearing our sins.

The Suffering Servant pleased the Father not by his agony but by being obedient to the point of death on the cross, offering his body in sacrifice to take away the sin of the world.

St. Anselm said that the death of the Son reestablished the right relationship between divinity and humanity.

In Jesus, with his arms outstretched on the cross, we find the redemption of our suffering. He is the source of our eternal salvation.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
To Jesus through Mary!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Enhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:
Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play

• ⁠April 18, 2025, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Friends of the Rosary,

At the beginning, the priests and deacons prostrate themselves in silent prayer. The General Intentions cover ten areas:

For the Church
For the Pope
For the clergy and laity of the Church
For those preparing for baptism
For the unity of Christians
For the Jewish people
For those who do not believe in Christ
For those who do not believe in God
For all in public office
For those in special need

In part two, we venerate and kiss the wooden cross “on which hung the Savior of the world.”

In part three, the congregation receives Holy Communion, and everyone departs in silence.

The first reading at today’s commemoration of the Passion is the fourth of Isaiah’s songs of the Suffering Servant.

The Suffering Servant pleased the Father not by his agony but by being obedient to the point of death on the cross, offering his body in sacrifice to take away the sin of the world.

St. Anselm said that the death of the Son reestablished the right relationship between divinity and humanity.

In Jesus, with his arms outstretched on the cross, we find the redemption of our suffering. He is the source of our eternal salvation.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
To Jesus through Mary!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Enhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:
Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play

• ⁠April 18, 2025, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Previous Episode

April 17, 2025, Holy Thursday, Holy Rosary (Luminous Mysteries) | Fifth Anniversary of the Rosary Network

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, Holy Thursday, the first day of the Paschal Triduum of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of the Lord, we listen to the words spoken by Christ Jesus to His apostles at the Last Supper, after He had completed the washing of the feet in all humility.

As reflected in the Gospel, we meditate on Christ’s actions that day. They included:

1 - The eating of the Easter lamb or the paschal meal;

2 - The washing of the disciples' feet;

3 - The institution of the Most Holy Eucharist and the Holy Orders. It was the first Mass at which Jesus Christ, the eternal high priest, was the celebrant, with the first Communion of the apostles.

4 - The foretelling of Judas' betrayal and Peter's denials;

5 - The farewell discourse and priestly prayer of Jesus;

6 - The agony and capture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

On Holy Thursday, there are two Masses:

1 — The Chrism Mass or Mass of the Holy Oils is usually said in the morning at the diocese's cathedral. The local Bishop consecrates the holy oils to be used during the next year and celebrates the institution of the priesthood. Catholics experience the communion of priests with their bishop in this Mass and give thanks for the Church's priests and for Jesus Christ, the eternal High Priest who "became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him" [Hebrews 5.9]

2 — The evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. The whole community and the priests of the parish participate. We recall the institution of the Holy Eucharist and the priesthood and celebrate the Washing of the Feet.

In the readings, we recall the Agony in the Garden, and the arrest and imprisonment of Jesus.

After the Communion Prayer, the Holy Eucharist is carried through the Church and placed into the tabernacle at the Altar of Repose.

We remain in quiet prayer and adoration, keeping Christ company. The Blessed Sacrament is conserved in a closed tabernacle.

There is a tradition to try and visit seven churches for silent adoration, to answer Christ's invitation "Could you not, then, watch one hour with me?" (Matt 26:40)

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
To Jesus through Mary!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Enhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:
Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play

• ⁠April 17, 2025, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Next Episode

April 19, 2025, Holy Saturday, Holy Rosary (Joyful Mysteries) | Fifth Anniversary of the Rosary Network

Friends of the Rosary,

Holy Saturday (from Sabbatum Sanctum, its official liturgical name) is the day of the Lord’s rest; it has been called the “Second Sabbath” since the creation of the world.

It’s a day of great silence on earth, instituted to enter reflectively into the divine rest.

After the great battle against sin and death, Christ Jesus is resting in peace. Upon Him we see the scars of intense suffering, with mortal wounds on His Body that remain visible.

Jesus’ enemies are still furious, attempting to obliterate the memory of the Lord by lies and slander.

In the silence of the day, Christ Jesus didn’t choose divine vengeance but the ultimate demonstration of divine love.

On Holy Saturday, while we meditate on the Passion and crucifixion of Christ, we wait with Our Lady of Sorrows — the Church is represented in Mary — at the Lord’s Christ tomb on His descent into the land of the dead.

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes clear, “he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the good news to the spirits imprisoned there.”

In the evening, as the sun sets, the Church gathers for Easter Vigil. The Church awaits the return in glory in its full splendor of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

After the readings of the crucial moments in creation and salvation history, the Church anticipates the proclamation of the Lord’s Resurrection by singing the Gloria, bells are rung, and the church is fully illuminated, anticipating Easter celebration.

Dying with Christ is no recapitulation. As Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life, as St. Paul wrote.

Ave Maria!
Jesus, I Trust In You!

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
To Jesus through Mary!
Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy!

+ Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Enhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:
Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play

• April 19, 2025, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET