Marian Meditation for Good Friday

There are many reflections one can make during Good Friday.

A very traditional reflection is to imagine ourselves at the time of Our Lord, seeing His agony in the garden, His total abandonment by His apostles, His trial, His scourging, crowning with thorns, way of the cross and His Crucifixion.

It is also good when making such a reflection to apply those events to our current circumstances.

We can reflect upon the apostles who personally witnessed the miracles of Our Lord: His healings, His raising from the dead, His control over the elements, the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. The apostles themselves received tangible powers from Our Lord, such as the expulsion of demons and healing as is mentioned in the gospels.

Yet after all of this, they betrayed Our Lord. We would like to think that we would not do the same.

Our Lord reminded the apostles when He went into the garden of olives, to pray that they might not enter into temptation. They did not listen, but instead on that most important night when vigilance was most essential, they fell asleep.

We have an advantage today, that the apostles did not yet appreciate at that time. We have devotion to Our Lady. When we are overwhelmed with weakness, we can turn to Her for strength. When we are assailed by the wicked influences that surround us, we can ask Our Lady to dispel the influence of that wickedness and grant us Her maternal protection.

Just as Our Lord was assailed by evil men, those who remain faithful to Our Lord and to His Church are also assailed by evil men.

Let us ask Our Lord and Our Lady to keep us faithful, so that during trials we will not flee like the apostles. Let us also ask Our Lady to give us the grace to never waiver in the defense of the Holy Catholic Church, even when she is besieged on all sides by legions of well armed enemies.

Humanly speaking, it does not seem possible for the Church to withstand such a storm, but Our Lady, when She intervenes, will again conquer the serpent and his followers.

As is prayed in the Little Office of Our Lady, "Who is She that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array."

To those who seek to harm the Church and the faithful, Our Lady is indeed, "terrible as an army set in battle array."