• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Catholics participate in a Good Friday procession at St. Leo the Great in Little Italy. (Tom McCarthy Jr./CR Staff)

Was Friday really ‘Good’?/ Go back to parish or not?

November 12, 2020
By Father Kenneth Doyle
Catholic News Service
Filed Under: Commentary, Question Corner

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Q. Why do we call the day Jesus was crucified “Good” Friday? Christ was made to suffer horribly, so this has always bothered me. (Radford, Virginia)

A. A fair number of people agree with you, and some have suggested that “Black Friday” would be a more appropriate designation. Interestingly, in the Greek Orthodox Church, the day is known not as “Good” but as the “Great and Holy Friday.”

Certainly, if you had asked the friends of Jesus on that day itself, they would have seen nothing good in what transpired. Christ had been tortured, then executed as a common criminal, and his followers had begun to scatter. But less than 48 hours later, all that changed. The tomb of Christ was now empty, Jesus had risen from the dead and had already begun to appear to those who had been close to him.

One theory, supported by the Oxford English Dictionary and some other linguists, is that the word “good,” as applied to the day of Christ’s death, comes from an antiquated meaning of the word, meaning “holy.” I prefer, though, the more traditional Christian explanation — namely, that we call the day “good” because, through it, Jesus has won victory over sin and death, both for himself and for us as well.

Q. Our bishop has suggested that the elderly and those with compromised immune systems not attend Mass in person right now. Since I fit into both of these categories, I have not been going to Mass. I do watch a Mass on television every week, and to be honest, I get more out of that than I do from going to my parish — except, of course, that I can’t receive Communion.

About four years ago, our pastor was replaced by a priest from Africa. While he is a nice person, I can’t understand him. He gives lengthy homilies (about 30 minutes) and then spends 10 minutes at the end of Mass talking about events or lecturing us on how to be a better parish. (Most parishioners refer to it as his “second sermon.”)

This has been my home parish for more than 40 years; I raised my children here and took part in many parish ministries until I got sick. Our parish numbers have been dropping, and several of my friends have been discussing what we are going to do when we are expected to return to church. Do you have any suggestions? (City and state withheld)

A. First, let me say how grateful I am that many foreign priests have volunteered to come and serve in the U.S. In much of Africa and in certain parts of Asia, vocations are plentiful — and without the generous sacrifice of these men, a fair number of American Catholic parishes would have had to close their doors.

I do acknowledge, though, that language can sometimes be a barrier to understanding and to productive worship. Do you know anyone on your parish council? Why not share your concern that attendance is dropping — in part, you feel, due to the length of homilies and to the language difficulty.

Hopefully, that person could then speak directly to the priest — in a sympathetic and understanding fashion — suggesting that American Catholic congregations are more accustomed and receptive to shorter homilies. (Perhaps the priest might even be open to having someone else — a deacon or a lector — read the homily that the pastor has prepared.)

Your last resort, of course, is to find another Catholic parish nearby. We all need to be nourished regularly by the Eucharist, and a televised Mass, while helpful, can never substitute for that. And if your health keeps you from attending, you can ask your parish that Communion be brought to your home.


More Question Corner

Question Corner: Do I need to attend my territorial parish?

Question Corner: Is the parish administrator the same thing as a pastor?

Question Corner: Are Jewish marriages valid to the Catholic Church?

Question Corner: When is it appropriate to say the St. Michael Prayer following the Mass?

Question Corner: Are the Gospels made up, nonhistorical accounts?

Question Corner: Does a married person need their marriage blessed or ‘convalidated’ once they become Catholic?

Copyright © 2020 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Father Kenneth Doyle

View all posts from this author

| Recent Commentary |

Remember common decency in immigration enforcement

confirmation

Sponsors – for life

Listen for God this summer

The virtue of patriotism

Sculpture of St. Rita and St. Therese with a cross and holy water font at the center sits on a table

A Gift and a Connection to the Past

| Recent Local News |

Scopes Monkey Trial ignited century-long debate on evolution and belief 

Deacon Gary Elliott Dumer Jr., active in men’s ministry, dies

Radio Interview: The music and ministry of Seph Schlueter

Hunt Valley parishioner recalls her former student – a future pope

Father Herman Benedict Czaster, former Curley teacher, dies at 86

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Poll: Record-high percentage of U.S. adults say immigration good for country
  • Scopes Monkey Trial ignited century-long debate on evolution and belief 
  • Patriarchs support Christian communities attacked by Israeli settlers in solidarity visit
  • Pope Leo visits Italian Carabinieri station, Poor Clares during summer break
  • 1 officer dead, 3 seminarians kidnapped after attack on Nigerian seminary
  • Trump administration to appeal after judge blocks ICE detentions based on race
  • Remember common decency in immigration enforcement
  • Sponsors – for life
  • Listen for God this summer

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en