NOTES CONCERNING GOOD FRIDAY AND HOLY SATURDAY CUSTOMS

 

TODAY is unlike every other Friday of the year.  It has borne the name ‘Good’ since early in the Christian era because it was on this day that Life triumphed over death, Love over hate, Light over darkness, forgiveness over sin, and God over the forces of evil and the sign of this is the place where it occurred – the Cross.   As full choirs cannot sing at present, here is a recording of Bach’s profound St Matthew Passion

Good Friday customs
Although this day saw the triumph of good, it is also a day of deep sadness that a Man in whom God lived had to die in order to fulfil this victory.  As a mark of sorrow and sense of loss, the Divine Office is abbreviated until Easter Day Matins and the usual notes of joy ar4e omitted.  It begins with the Psalms,  which are said sotto voce, the Glory be is not said and only the Collect offered immediately after the Benedictus.

At the main Liturgy of the Day, during the reading of the Passion, all genuflect at the point when Jesus gave up His spirit and, in a similar way, after the Cross has been venerated and placed in a prominent position, anyone passing genuflects to remind themselves that this is the wood one which Christ died.  There is also a custom that one of the Hosts that had been reserved for Holy Communion is not consumed at this Liturgy but replaced in the ciborium and taken to the 'secret place' (in case it is needed for the dying) where it is kept until being placed back in the tabernacle (or aumbry) after Mass on Easter Day.  Some churches have a small tabernacle in the Sacristy for this purpose where it can be securely kept until Easter Day.

In the early evening the Cross is taken from the altar and ‘buried’ so that the body of Jesus doesn’t remain on view but is taken from the cross and laid in the tomb, thus completing the Liturgy of Good Friday.  A small table, surrounded by flowers and candles, should be placed in the chancel and, during the Liturgy, the Cross is taken from the altar and placed beneath the Epitaphios (burial shroud) on the table, symbolising the Tomb of Christ, thus completing the biblical account of this day.  Here is a short Liturgy of the Deposition that can be used for this observance.

Holy Saturday customs

Today priests devotionally wash and anoint church altars with oil, symbolising the way the dead are normally treated before burial.  Whilst Jesus’ body wasn’t treated in this way, it is a custom that helps us connect with the desires of Mary Magdalene who came to Jesus’ tomb early in the morning of Easter Day.  This can be extended to washing the statues as a further devotional act offered to the saints.  And whilst this is the 'day of preparation', it is also the day when Christ entered into deeper darkness to draw our primordial, metaphorical parents - Adam and Eve - from death to life and so the crucified is left lying in the darkness until Easter Day, and so the Crucified is left lying in the darkness until Easter Day.