On Good Friday, Jesus, a good and innocent man, was stripped of His human dignity because He performed godly wonders and healing. His good words and the unnumbered recipients of His good deeds were silenced. Giving all the excuses to justify political manipulation and earthly corruption, the Chief Priest and religious leaders unashamedly put Jesus to death. Unlike Jesus, they were unable to empty themselves of all egoism, of all envy, fear and anxiety, of all denigration of human dignity in the sight of others. How can we not be shaken by the fulfillment of the heartrending words of the Prophet Isaiah, "He let Himself be taken for a sinner while bearing the faults of many and praying all the time for sinners." Jesus exposes our frailty by letting go of everything. Still, many avoid looking upon the Cross and admitting their own iniquity. Jesus is not just an innocent man, He is the Son of God.

For us today, we still follow the same ritual of commemorating the Passion of the Lord. However, our lives must be seen as tied up with the Lord's resoluteness to defy all corrupted concerns, desires, ambitions, fears and anxieties. We need the grace of the Lord's Passion to remove these depraved attachments and to stand on the side of the innocents. We need to break down the barriers separating us from total union with Jesus, Son of Man and Son of God.