In this special Good Friday episode, we invite you to pause from the hectic pace of life and enter a sacred time of reflection and renewal. As you tune in, discover the beautiful journey through the paths of faith, where the intersection of tradition and modern challenges presents a powerful opportunity for growth and connection. Delve deep into the significance of the Holy Cross, recognize its redemptive power, and renew your hope with the stories of those who have continued to uphold their faith in times of trial.
Praise be the most holy name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Welcome to 33 minutes on the Lord’s Day, a sacred time, a set apart moment, a return to what matters most. In a world that moves quickly, that speaks loudly, that often forgets God, this is your invitation to pause, to listen, and to enter into the presence of the Lord. For the next 33 minutes, we will walk together through the Word of God, encounter the reality of our daily lives, and respond to the call of Christ, who speaks not only to the world, but personally to you. This is not just a program. This is a moment of grace, a moment to remember who you are and who you are. So wherever you are, driving, working, resting, open your heart. The Lord is speaking. Welcome to our show. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer by night. But I find no rest. We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world. Praise be the most holy name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen. My dear brothers and sisters in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the intent of today’s special episode is to provide all of us with a new hope, the hope of redemption, the hope that the innocent Lamb of God has redeemed us and saved us. To provide us with a new direction, a direction that takes us towards God, not towards hell. A direction that takes us towards love, not towards hate. A direction that takes us towards peace, not towards war. A direction that takes us towards healing, reconciliation, peace, and pardon, and life, not death, and conflicts, and dissension, and oppressions. So please join me today on this special episode for Good Friday during this Holy Week, as we come to you with a special episode. Today, in a special way, our hearts go to the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Today, Our Lady, the Virgin Mary in the Middle East is called Our Lady of Sorrows, or the Mother of Sorrows, . In the Middle East, in fact, the faithful today, as they walk the stations of the road of the cross, They look to the Virgin Mary, seeking her intercession by calling her, O Mary, mother of sorrows, may the death of your son be the life of all who seek it. So let us take a moment and go to this very old and popular chant of Good Friday, performed by the world-renowned and most famous Lebanese singer, Fayrouz. Listen to this dialogue, even though in a language we may not understand. But listen to the affliction of the mother who is seeking the help from the people of Jerusalem. Mary is seeking their help with her sadness over her son, the crucified Lord and Savior. The hymn is called, I am the mother of sorrow. Let us pray with this hymn.
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I am the mother who is sad. And no one can comfort her. I am the mother who is sad. I love you. I love you. Al-Fatiha. Let there be peace in the world, and life for us and for them. Let there be peace in the world, and life for us and for them.
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I love you.
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Oh, my God.
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The mother of Jesus Christ, she cried and she made everyone cry with her. And then she says, my heart breaks for a nation that killed her own shepherd. And then the people always responds to her, consoling her. May the death of your only son gives life to those who seek it. And then the Virgin Mary looks at the sky of Jerusalem, and she sees the doves and the pigeons passing. And she says, look, even the pigeons and the doves up in the sky of Jerusalem. lamenting at the dispersion of the families of Jerusalem and the people respond to her telling her may the death of your son or Mary bring life to those who seek it and then the Virgin Mary at the station of the cross following her son looks at the versions of Jerusalem and she looks at the people and she tells them look The virgins of Jerusalem, the girls, the daughters of Jerusalem are crying, are weeping for the death of their own children. And then the people of Jerusalem look to the virgin and tell her, may the death of your son be life for those who seek it. And then the people of Jerusalem, in a feeling of sympathy and deep compassion to Our Lady, calls to one another and they say, after the burial of Christ, let us now go to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, and console her. With this, my brothers and sisters, we see how the faithful people in Jerusalem, in Antioch, in Lebanon, in Damascus, they carried the processions and those beautiful celebrations during Holy Week. So today, in this special episode, I would like to present to you how Christians of the East In the Aramaic tradition, in a Maronite church, living in villages, in caves, on mountaintops, celebrated Holy Week and the resurrection. You know, we all ask, what did the Christians do during Holy Week? How did they live the feeling and the night of the resurrection, awaiting for the Lord to come? how did they proclaim the empty tomb for instance and we will walk through this mystery as it has been revealed to us we see how this holy week fulfills all the prophecies of the old testament from isaiah daniel and micah we see how the new testament describes step by step the pain, the suffering, the passion of Jesus Christ, and how Jesus himself predicted three times his passion, his death, and his resurrection. We also see how in the Acts of the Apostles, in the four Gospels, how the first Christian community as well suffers itself as well with the suffering of Jesus. We also see in the four Gospels how Jesus himself told the world about the pain and the suffering and the persecution of all the Christians. So we will encounter all of these beautiful traditions during the walk of this Good Friday with Jesus Christ. Before we continue, as today is a time also where Christians all across the world and here in the United States, we go to churches, we walk the Stations of the Cross. We are also invited to do concrete acts of mercy, concrete acts of charity with one another. I wanted to share with you some of the immediate news that we received from Lebanon for the Mission of Hope and Mercy, one of which comes to us from the head of the Chaldean Church in Lebanon, from Archbishop Kassarji. This is a community in Lebanon who the mission of hope and mercy has been helping for years now. And as a matter of fact, I was very consoled that yesterday His Excellency had sent a letter to the mission of hope and mercy. The importance of this letter is that on one hand it tells us what is happening in Beirut and what is the situation in Beirut and somehow and how significant it is for the mission of Hope and Mercy, our donors, our contributors to help and to assist these people. And after that, I wanted to share with you a short video message that came to us from the Orthodox Church in Tripoli and in Koura in North Lebanon, who also the mission of Hope and Mercy is helping them and helping the community in North Lebanon. So imagine from north to Beirut to the south of Lebanon. I am thankful to all of our donors, to all of our contributors. And I encourage you, as you hear the message, and I will translate, and you see a little bit of the content of the letter received, by us at the Mission of Hope and Mercy from Lebanon, from the Chaldean community. I encourage you, please go on our website, missionofhopeandmercy.org. That is missionofhopeandmercy.org. And do your tithing today for the sake of helping the persecuted Christians. But first, let us see the letter that we received from the Chaldean Archbishop in Lebanon. who he says on behalf of the chaldean diocese of beirut i wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude to you and to your esteemed association for the 150 food parcels you have generously sent to our community your support has come at a time of great need bringing both tangible relief and deep spiritual consolation to many families The Archbishop continues, Many struggle with limited access to employment, adequate housing, and basic necessities. At the same time, we must not forget the Lebanese Chaldean families who, despite belonging to the same ecclesial community, are today facing severe economic hardships and precarious living conditions. your timely support his address in the mission of hope and mercy helps preserve their dignity and rekindle hope in their hearts and i want to thank the archbishop i want to assure him of our support from the mission of hope and mercy i want to share with him and the community of the caldini people who we love in united states in lebanon in syria in iraq the most heartfelt emotions and greetings at this Easter. So despite that we are going with the cross of our Lord through His holy passion, through His holy wounds, I want to tell the Archbishop, Al-Masih, come. As we say in the Aramaic language of our Lord, Christ is risen from the tomb to him and to all of his community. And when I continue to encourage our donors, our benefactors, our friends of the Mission of Hope and Mercy, please go to our website, missionofhopeandmercy.org, and continue to assist us. As you could tell from the letter of the Archbishop, the situation in Lebanon for every community of our Christian brothers and sisters continues. is actually not good, and they do need our help and our assistance. And next, I wanted to share with you also a very short video that came to us, a video message. I’m not sure if I can do the voiceover translation as the representative of the Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Antiochian Church from the Greek tradition. Antioch and and Greece and Constantinople we have also assisted them provided them during this time of land season with food and with medical aid for people who are being treated in one of their centers for drug abuse and for alcohol abuse and people who are really in bad bad bad shape and I also want to address him after we watch this video together that we just received from the Orthodox community in Tripoli and in Koura, North Lebanon.
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In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
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In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
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In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit.
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In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit.
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In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit.
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In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and to all the initiatives that they are helping because in reality they are incorporating the word of Jesus Christ and the word of the Gospel. We have been so pleased to have worked with them and they have supported us and offered us parcels of food boxes that we distributed in the entire aparchy of the Orthodox Church. So we thank you for your cooperation and we ask God to bless always the work of your hand that you continue supporting the human beings who are suffering in Lebanon with joy and with peace. I’m not sure if you were able to hear my translation. We just literally received this video from the Orthodox community to His Excellency and to His Beatitude, Yohanna al-Asher, and to the community of the Orthodox Church in Lebanon and Syria. I want to tell you, you notice in Syria, they canceled all the celebrations of this Holy Week and of Easter. Yes, it does break my heart, but it makes me very happy that today we, as a Mission of Hope and Mercy, with the help of people like James Sambrenda, like Joe Altman and his team and the Untamed studio, Untamed Nation, and the donors of the Mission of Hope and Mercy and the contributors, it really makes me happy. It consoles my heart amidst tribulations, amidst hate, amidst all the suffering from which I suffer myself. It really makes me very happy. I’m very pleased that those people are receiving the food, are receiving the help. So today, my brothers and sisters, as we return to live our Christian identity as Christian people, the identity of the first Christian community, if you look and you see the people in the old days, how they used to suffer, they used to live in caves, they used to live underground. And of course, this is when the time the Christians were most immersed in unity and consolation and truthfully living the mystery of the redemption of the passion and of the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is a time in which they were living in the catacombs. They were themselves the living gospel of life and salvation for the whole world. It wasn’t only by words. It was by liturgy, by prayer, by a family life, by a community life, by daily actions of beautiful acts of charity and support. Remember, let us rise above the confusion that we see in our time. Let us return the church, bring back the church, to its biblical, to its liturgical, to its unified fully alive mystical body of Christ our Lord. So today, I hope, in this special episode, we rediscover together with the mission of Hope and Mercy how to be a family church living our faith, hope, and love in the fullness of the Christian life. So Good Friday then is no longer simply explained. It is proclaimed, not only through the scripture, but it is also proclaimed in the vivid pain and suffering that we saw from the Middle East, from these Christian communities who are suffering amidst this terrible war that is happening. Christians, and even in the Holy Land, Christians in Jerusalem, Christians in Syria, Christians in Nigeria, Christians in Mozambique, Christians in the Middle East, all over, in Iraq, Christians in Iran, Christians here in United States, Christians in Ireland, for God’s sake. As you see, the Burkes family, that young man, his mother and sister were all taken to jail a few days ago as well. There’s a lot of stories. But what is the point of all these stories? I myself suffer every day for the sake of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You suffer. Let us love one another. Let us embrace one another. Let us be a consolation for each other. Let us help the people be rooted in a courageous word of God and in the living tradition of our holy church, who through its liturgy of the holy passion of our Lord, as it was celebrating the passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as you see it reflected behind me by the cross that is covered with the purple and kingly color. This is the same church that will await the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who on good and beautiful Resurrection Sunday will be covered in white. will be covered in white as a sign of his resurrection. Christ shed his blood for us and for our salvation. This is our Christian identity. It comes from the power of the cross of Christ. And today, we are invited to read again the Bible, looking at every paragraph that spoke about Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the awaited Savior. Today also, we are invited to be pastoral with one another. to open our spirits to the mighty Spirit of God, to renew our baptismal promises, to remain in silence, yet at the same time to be accessible, that the Word of God can access in our hearts and through our action others as well who are in need for our hope, for our help, for our aid. Open wide your doors, my brothers and sisters, Let us be charitable, especially standing in solidarity with the persecuted Christians. Truly be rooted in Jesus Christ. And regarding Syria, if you recall and if you see, you know, we have posted on our X pages as well many of the stories that, as you see in Syria, they had to cancel the Passion of Christ celebrations were canceled inside Syria, unfortunately. It is the Greek Melkite Patriarchate and the Maronite Church as well. And all of them, they sent messages in Damascus to my children. I will translate the letter that you see sent by the Greek Melkite Patriarchate of Church or Diocese of Damascus. It says, to my children, the priests in the Damascus Patriarchate, the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And after even as we are entering to the passion, the salvific passion of our Lord. And due to the bad situations that we are seeing that are not encouraging. We have decided after with agreement after we have spoken to all the other churches in Syria. We have decided that the celebrations of Holy Week and of Good Friday and of Easter obviously will happen only to be contained inside our church buildings. Please be advised of our decision. And of course, this is Bishop Joseph Habsi, one of the great bishops we have in the Middle East for the Melchizedek Church. It’s a shame to see my brothers and sisters, these situations, unfortunately, growing day after day. I had received a note earlier today from somebody in the Middle East telling me, it doesn’t seem that the situation is coming to a closure very soon. It’s not like the war is going to end. We pray the war is going to end. But it seems like this whole plan is being showing and somehow hostility against hostility more and more. But I can tell you with conviction, we must proclaim Christ is risen. Christ is truly risen. Hallelujah. With the Christians in the Middle East, with the Christians in the Holy Land, with the Christians in Syria, with the Christians in Nigeria, you saw what happened this past Palm Sunday. 40 people were killed in a church. We didn’t hear too many religious leaders in the United States. speaking about it and complaining about it and crying out loud about it. My friends, my brothers and sisters who go to the churches today to share and to participate in these beautiful big celebrations of Holy Week here in our parishes in Denver, Colorado, in our parishes, in every diocese in the United States, in every church, please, Sometimes it makes me feel looking at a movie from the Second World War. You know, when I was a few times in the White House and we were talking to some of the Jewish leadership, they showed us a movie, how at the night of Christmas in 1940s, Christians were chanting inside their churches, , silent night, holy night. And the Jews were being picked up on the train by the Gestapo and being taken to Auschwitz, a pain that is second to none, a pain that makes us somehow wonder about the purpose of our faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when it lacks courage, when it lacks the attitude of the love of God and the love of the neighbor. It makes us sad people. It makes Christianity very sad. It makes Christianity very political. It makes Christianity, it’s almost not in touch with the reality of the suffering in this world. Don’t be like that. Don’t be Christians who are so happy in their own psychological atmosphere and ambiance and the surrounding of your parishes and community and say, oh, how beautiful the celebration was. No, it’s not beautiful because you’re not doing the right action. The right action is to transition from there so we can help the persecuted Christians. Today on this Good Friday, I ask you and I urge you, especially to our friends who today have joined us on this episode as we celebrated for 33 minutes on the Lord’s Day. coming in the spirit of the resurrection of the Lord and looking at the celebrations of this Holy Week, I ask you in a particular way, let us now begin, assist one another and help each other, protect one another and support one another. So allow that through this episode on 33 Minutes on the Lord’s Day and through this podcast with Irrevocable, Untamed Studios with Father Mahana, please become ourselves the liturgical proclamation of our Lord by speaking His words, by saying, Christ is risen from the death and He trampled death by death. Proclaim your faith, hope, and love. and also in Jesus Christ through His holy wounds and by the power of His holy cross. Let us walk with this Holy and Good Friday as we walked with Him through this Holy Week, celebrate the joy of His resurrection into life eternal. So, in this prayer that we pray today, we say in Aramaic, on Good Friday, we proclaim, You are holy, O God. You are holy, O strong one. You are holy, O immortal one. Christ, who was crucified for us, have mercy on us. And today, on the resurrection Sunday of our Lord, the church proclaims, on the other hand, You are holy, O God. You are holy, O strong one. You are holy, O mortal one. Christ, who rose from the dead for us, have mercy on us. With this, let us pray. Blessed are you, O Holy Cross, Tree of Life, the destroyer of error and giver of salvation to the world. You are the banner of victory over the world. In you the marvelous works of God are revealed. Through you the former sacrifice have passed away and the mystery of salvation has been fulfilled. Through you peace comes to us and the joy dwells within us. Through you the church is raised up and the faithful are protected. Through you our spirits are purified. Our imperfections are forgiven. Our reverence is renewed. Through you the faithful find the fullness of life. Through you the living are saved. Strengthened through you the departed find rest. In you we find shelter on the last day. And through you we attain everlasting life. And we give glory to Christ, the word who was crucified for us. The word of God now who is risen Lord from the tomb. And to his Father and to his Holy Spirit now and forever. Amen. With this, my brothers and sisters, how hard is your fast? Are you happy? Are you consoled? Did you go to confession? On this Holy Saturday of the Light, the day after the passing of our Lord and Him being placed in a tomb, it’s called the Saturday of the Light. And during the Saturday of the Light, we celebrate as Christians in the East, a beautiful rite of pardon, the rite of forgiveness. my dear friends have you been able to fast have you been able to abstain have you practiced the acts of sacrifice during the season of land have you read the gospels of the passion of christ during holy week have you celebrated the stations of the cross if not still do not lose the joy of today the resurrection of our lord and savior jesus christ from good friday to Easter Sunday is one time, one mystery, one sacrament, the redemption, the passion, the death, and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So as we enter deeply into the Good Friday, into the Holy Saturday, I ask you, please don’t miss. Go and make sure you confess your sins. Go and receive the Holy Communion of the Easter Sunday being in a state of grace. And also, I want you to consider continue supporting the mission of Hope and Mercy. And let the mission of Hope and Mercy for you be a place of prayer. I invite you to join us and let us be part of your and you become part of our spiritual family. I invite you to join us as we are a mission of service, as we are a community of faith. So please go visit missionofhopeandmercy.org to our friends on 33 Minutes on the Lord’s Day on KLZ radio station. Be with us. You can continue streaming this podcast that will continue to be streamed on our YouTube channel of the Mission of Hope and Mercy, on our X page of the Mission of Hope and Mercy, and Facebook’s page of the Mission of Hope and Mercy together as well. So we have entered Holy Week with Christ. Be not afraid. Walk with me, for I am the resurrection and the life, says our Lord. Thank you, my friends, for 33 minutes on the Lord’s Day, for being with us today. And I wish you again a wonderful and blessed and happy Easter from Good Friday to today. We say Christ is risen. Christ is truly risen. You just listened to 33 minutes on the Lord’s day. Do not let this be the end of the encounter. Carry the word you have received into your life. Let it shape your thoughts, your decisions, your relationships, and above all, let it draw you closer to Christ. But today, we also invite you into something more. If this time has blessed you, if the word of God has spoken to your heart, consider becoming part of the mission that makes this possible. Through the mission of hope and mercy, we are reaching souls, supporting the suffering and standing with persecuted Christians around the world, bringing light to where there is darkness and hope where it is needed most. You can be part of this mission through your prayer, through your sharing of this program, and if you are able, through your financial support, To join us, visit missionofhopeandmercy.org, missionofhopeandmercy.org. There you can learn more, stay connected, and make a direct impact in the lives of those in need. Your generosity, no matter how small, becomes a channel of God’s mercy in the world. God bless you. Father Andre.
