​GOOD FRIDAY COLLECTION REFLECTIONS


  • Week 6 (3/27/23-4/2/23) Palm Sunday – Helping Christians in the Holy Land 
It is critical that we continue to support the Christians who are living in the land of Jesus' birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection. These faithful Christians are surrounded by a majority Jewish and Islamic population. With your support, we can help to ensure that Christians living in the Holy Land now, and that future generations of Christians will have a place to live and thrive. Please help the Christians in the Holy Land with your contribution to the Pontifical Good Friday Collection.

Palm Sunday:
REJOICE O JERUSALEM, YOUR KING HAS COME! On Palm Sunday, the faithful are confronted with the poignant contrast between the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the harrowing Gospel of the Passion that begins Holy Week. As we read in the Matthew’s account, Jesus instructs his disciples to prepare for his entry into Jerusalem, a mere two miles away. The crowds in front and behind him proclaim him as the “Son of David,” a messianic title exclusive to the Jewish Messiah. He comes riding on a colt, the “foal of a beast of burden,” and enters in humility and in peace, pointing to what His Kingdom actually entails and fulfilling the words of Zechariah 500 years before, "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zech 9:9) But despite his triumphal entry as Messiah, the forces of darkness that had been held at bay since Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem finally begin to emerge from the shadows and plot to overwhelm him. In the first reading, Isaiah’s prophecy foretells that the Christ would go like a sheep to the slaughter. Jesus lets the darkness come and lets it overwhelm, because that is the Father’s will. He is betrayed by Judas and arrested by the Temple guards. All his disciples desert him. He is tried and condemned by the Sanhedrin and finally turned over to Pontius Pilate and crucified. In the grim details of today’s reading, the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7 comes to pass: “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Jesus would have seen the soldiers coming as they left the Jerusalem gate and crossed the Kirdron Valley with torches, then entered the garden. There, we read the famous exchange between the guards and a waiting Jesus, who does not resist. Pilgrims who come to the Holy Land can pray in the same Garden of Gethsemane in the same spot our Lord did on the night of his betrayal and arrest. The Church of All Nations next to the Garden, with its Rock of Agony where Jesus prayed and sweated blood, is owned and maintained by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, who receives financial support from the Good Friday Collection. The Franciscans also sponsor multiple apostolates that assist our brothers and sisters in Christ, many of whom are descended from the Christians of the first century. It is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to give Christian witness by making a generous contribution on Good Friday to the Holy Land Collection that preserves the Holy Sites such as the Garden of Gethsemane, as well as supporting the Christian presence in the Holy Land.
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  • Week 5 (3/20/23-3/26/23) – Helping Christians in the Holy Land 
Franciscan priests and brothers are the custodians of the Christian sites in the Holy Land and they are counting on our financial help to assist them in providing presence, care and service on that holy ground. These dedicated servants of God work tirelessly to preserve the sanctuaries and shrines from the life of Jesus and the prophets. Funds collected last year on Good Friday helped to preserve 74 Christian sites and supported over 100 men preparing to be priests or brothers. Your contribution to the Good Friday collection this year will help this most worthy cause. Can we count on you?

Fifth Sunday of Lent:
JESUS IS THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE When somebody we love dies, it feels like our own heart has been broken, leaving us feeling as if life itself has come to an end. At this point, when we are consumed by sadness and sorrow for which there seems to be no relief, we experience so little consolation, simply because we feel so broken inside. In the readings for this Fifth Sunday of Lent, we read about the death of Lazarus and of his being in the grave for four days. For the people of Jesus’ day, death was the great finality, the end of all things. Nothing escapes or overcomes death. When Jesus is asked to come cure Lazarus, the Lord waits four days; and when he arrives, he finds the entire village weeping at the death of their friend and neighbor. Martha rebukes him. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” The detail that Lazarus had been dead four days by the time Jesus got there is meant to underscore that he was beyond any hope of being brought back to life. The rabbis believed that the soul hovered over the body for three days and after that, there was no hope of resuscitation. Even Martha, who came to confess that Jesus was the Christ, the “Son of God,” didn’t comprehend that Jesus could possibly help her brother. In the end, Jesus ignores the doubt, the unbelief, the criticism, and he goes on to raise Lazarus from the dead. The readings of today express the reality of God’s power to give life, even in the worse of circumstances. Lazarus is us – all of us – bound by death in our current lives, but called to life by Jesus who is the Light and the Life of the world. Jesus is always standing at the edge of our tombs, shouting "Come out!" Can we hear his command? And we can walk into the light of day, pulling free of our grave clothes as we go? No matter how hopeless we may find the situations we are in, God is willing and ready to unbind us if only we will believe in Jesus who is the resurrection and the life. For only God has the power to restore all the impossible losses in our lives, take away our grief, and bring us to endless joy. Let us ask God for forgiveness during this Lenten season and invite him into all our trials, that he may raise us and restore us to life with a fresh breath of his Spirit. Please consider making a generous contribution to the Pontifical Good Friday Collection to help preserve the Christian presence and preserve the Holy Sites in the Holy Land.


  • Week 4 (3/13/23-3/19/23) – Helping Christians in the Holy Land 
In this season of almsgiving, why not consider helping the Christians in the Holy Land by donating to the Good Friday Collection? Through our generosity last year, Catholics across our country helped make an incredible difference in many lives by helping to create more than 1,500 jobs and rehabilitate over 100 homes for Christian families in the Holy Land. Will you help make a difference again this year with your donation to the Good Friday Collection?

Fourth Sunday of Lent:
LIGHT AND DARKNESS In this reflection from the gospel of John, we see the Pharisees’ reaction to the miracle of Jesus healing the blind man. Initially, the Pharisees are irritated that Jesus would dare cure on the Sabbath, and after some investigation, they conclude no man sent from God would ever violate the Law of Moses; therefore, Jesus cannot be from God. But as the Gospel story unfolds, we see increasingly how the theme of light and darkness comes through in the developing narrative. The Pharisees cannot accept who Jesus is, despite the fact that he performed a miracle than can only possibly come from God. In their darkness of unbelief, the Pharisees become the symbol of the darkness of the human heart and mind. But Jesus, in the midst of all this darkness, reminds his disciples that “I am the light of the world.” In Genesis, the Word of God entered the world in light and created everything new. In this gospel, the apostle John declares that Jesus is the light of the human race, and that life and light are intimately intertwined. The story of the blind man in the gospel of John is a powerful reminder of this. This story becomes a powerful demonstration of how the Christian community can live by the principles of light and dark. As Jesus is the Word made flesh, he shines as light over the darkness. Unfortunately, this light will be snuffed out by the forces of darkness, ultimately resulting in his crucifixion. As such, we need to keep our eyes open and our hearts filled with faith in God to keep ourselves and others in the light. Light streaming in over the tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The healing of the blind man is a striking illustration of Jesus’ divine claim to be the light of the world. The Jews judge Jesus for worldly reasons – the man’s blindness. Despite their blatant sin, we discover that it is actually the infirmity that enlightens a person. In our own day, the Christians in the Holy Land live under conditions of adversity and strife. Forces of darkness are constantly seeking to afflict them simply because they are children of the Light. Please consider making a generous contribution to the Pontifical Good Friday Collection to help preserve the Christian presence and preserve the Holy Sites in the Holy Land.

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  • Week 3 – Helping Christians in the Holy Land 
  • When you donate to the Good Friday Collection, you help to ensure that Christianity will remain in the Holy Land for years to come. Last year's collection provided support to 29 parishes and 4 homes for orphans. The funds collected also helped keep 16 schools open for over 10,000 pre-K through grade 12 students. Will you help maintain the Christian presence in the Holy Land with your contribution to this year's Good Friday collection?

Third Sunday of Lent:
​QUENCHING OUR THIRST WITH LIVING WATER We talk about Lent as a time of invitation from God. What does God want to give us this Lent? In today’s gospel, we look at the story of a woman who is in need but doesn’t know where her help will come from. She doesn’t know how to change her life and its often unpleasant patterns. But through an encounter with Christ at the well, she leaves behind her past and her fears and begins a new life. God invites her, and she says yes!. John’s gospel tells us she went every day to the well to draw water. But she drew it out of physical necessity to quench a physical thirst. Our Lord spoke to her about “living water” that He would give, the water that would truly quench her thirst and become in her “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” This is the water we all thirst for, the living water of the Holy Spirit, the water that satisfies our thirst for the infinite. Pope Francis wrote that man is like a traveler who, crossing the deserts of life, thirsts for this living water: gushing and fresh, capable of quenching his deep desire for light, love, beauty, and peace. “We all feel this desire,” he writes, “and Jesus gives us this living water: He is the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and whom Jesus pours out into our hearts. ‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly,’ Jesus tells us.” Lent is a time for us to quench our thirst, to rediscover the meaning of our life in Christ. This is a special time to encounter Jesus like the Samaritan woman at the well and to be transformed by our encounter with Him like she was. The Lord wants to give us living water. This is why He came to earth, that we might have life and have it abundantly. Sin is the obstacle to that abundant life, so we have this time of Lent for our deeper conversion to the Lord. The Church invites us to drink from the living waters of the Holy Spirit. Then, like the Samaritan woman, we are no longer thirsty. In fact, we are transformed into missionary disciples, who go forth like the Samaritan woman to spread the love of Christ and satiate His thirst for the salvation of souls. Please consider making a generous contribution on Good Friday to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land to help preserve the Christian presence and preserve the Holy Sites in the Holy Land.
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  • Week 2 – Helping Christians in the Holy Land 
Did you know that funds collected in last year's Good Friday Collection provide senior care facilities in Bethlehem and Nazareth, and provided 398 homes benefiting Christian families? Your gift will make a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land who are in dire need of our help. Please consider supporting the Good Friday Collection with some of your Lenten almsgiving.

Second Sunday of Lent:
LOOKING FOR GLORY? FOLLOW JESUS! According to tradition, the place of the Transfiguration is Mount Tabor, a singular mountain that towers 1600 feet over the Esdraelon Plain. Atop of the mountain is the Basilica of the Transfiguration, highlighted by its twin towers, double altars, and gorgeous mosaics of the Transfiguration. The Basilica of the Transfiguration is owned and maintained by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, who receives financial support from the Good Friday Collection that is taken up in parishes all over the world. The Gospel reading for the 2nd Sunday of Lent is the story of the Transfiguration of Christ taken from the Gospel of Matthew. We often read in the scriptures that one of Jesus' favorite places to pray was on a mountain. On this particular day, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John along with him to the top of Mt. Tabor to pray. Jesus seeks now to bolster the faith of these three disciples chosen to be important leaders in the coming years. For a brief moment, the true power and majesty of Christ is revealed to them. As Jesus prayed, His face “shone like the sun” and his clothes became "white as the light." Two men appeared at His side, identified as Moses and Elijah. Peter, always quick to speak what he is thinking, blurts out that they should build three tents on the spot in order to stay and savor this glorious event. Is not Peter's suggestion reminiscent of what we always wish to do with the good, true, and beautiful moments of our lives? But in the Gospel story, as with each of us, though the disciples could savor this incredible "mountain-top" moment, they could not stay Mt. Tabor and the Basilica of the Transfiguration at the top. there. The reward for that surrender is to be able to see Christ as he is and share in His glory forever in heaven. All Catholics are challenged each Lent to be drawn into a closer, more personal relationship with Jesus through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The Christians who still live in the Holy Land face incredible difficulties on a daily basis. Our brothers and sisters in Christ, many of whose families are descended from first century Christians, are being driven from their homes and denied access to decent health services, work, and even access to water. To help these Holy Land Christians and to preserve the Holy Sites such as the Basilica of the Transfiguration, please make a generous contribution on Good Friday to the Franciscan Custody through the Good Friday Collection​.

  • Week 1 – Helping Christians in the Holy Land 
Christians in the Holy Land rely heavily on our help. It is with funds from the Good Friday collection that the Franciscan Custody provides presence, care and service to the people who are living in the land of Christ. You can make a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters who live and work where Jesus walked on this earth. Please plan now to make your donation on Good Friday to this vitally important work! 

First Sunday of Lent:
THE JOURNEY OF LENT – FACING TEMPTATIONS Pilgrims who travel to the site of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan Valley can see the Mount of Temptation, which lies in the Judean hills high above Jericho to the west. There they can meditate on the very events recounted by St. Matthew on this first Sunday of Lent. Currently the site of a Greek Orthodox monastery carved into the side of the mountain, the Mount of Temptations is believed to be where Jesus was driven into the desert after his baptism. Today, this region is in the West Bank and is home to many Palestinian Christians who are directly helped by the Good Friday Collection that gathers funds for the numerous apostolates of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. Jesus is driven into the desert by the Spirit, and there he faces three temptations by Satan. In the first, He is tempted to give in to his great hunger after 40 days of fasting; but His response is a reminder of what true hunger means: the longing for God. In the second, Satan tempts Him with the promise of power over the world, and He replies that earthly dominion is an illusion, that only through the Cross will the world be able see the path to eternal life. Finally, the third temptation would test God Himself. But Jesus rejects the offer by reminding Satan that God is not to be tested. Christ was enticed to submit Himself to a power that could offer only lies and illusions. These three temptations are also found in our own lives. We are distracted by material desires and forget to long for the The Orthodox Monastery on the Mount of Temptation. Bread of Life, the only bread that can truly feed us. We are drawn toward earthly power and accomplishment and we neglect to seek and proclaim the only lasting kingdom and serve the only eternal King. As Pope Benedict XVI once observed, "Overcoming the temptation to place God in submission to oneself and one's own interests or to put Him in a corner and converting oneself to the proper order of priorities, giving God the first place, is a journey that every Christian must undergo." The Christians who live under the shadow of the Mount of Temptation are not immune to these temptations. Christians worldwide are asked to give hope to our brothers and sisters in Christ by being generous in their Lenten almsgiving through the Good Friday Collection.