6ª Feira SANTA - GOOD FRIDAY

Why is Good Friday significant? Death is usually accompanied by grief. But when Jesus died we call it “good.” Why is that? Jesus paid the price for our wrongdoing. When Jesus died on a cross (crucifixion) all the world’s sin and darkness was placed on his shoulders so that we, and all people, could have the opportunity of a new life in relationship with God, without the barrier of sin. Jesus’ sacrifice and atonement (the price he paid for all humanity) is one that is reflected on by Christians around the world, especially during Holy Week. On our behalf, Jesus experienced the most excruciating and humiliating death of his time. He was mocked, whipped, stripped bare and nailed to a cross. It was a painful, undignified and public way to die. The path Jesus walked to the cross was the toughest journey anyone has faced. Good Friday is significant because Jesus endured every terrible aspect, to give hope to the whole world. Jesus’ final words on the cross were, “It is finished” (John 19:30 NIV). Although it seems at first glance that humans were in control of Jesus’ punishment, Jesus could have stopped the process at any time. Angels could have rescued him. But he persevered because his love for people was greater than the pain he felt.  So while Good Friday is in many ways a very sad and sombre holy day, it is also truly a good day.

Easter is a time of celebration, but it is also a time to reflect and stand in awe of the cross of Christ. The cross was an instrument of cruelty, a symbol of suffering and shame. Yet, for those who believe, it is the very foundation of our faith. The early disciples didn’t hesitate to proclaim the message of the cross, even in the face of ridicule and persecution. Why? Because they knew that without the cross, there is no salvation, no hope, no life.

QUINTA - FEIRA SANTA - MAUNDY THURSDAY

Each Maundy Thursday we are remembered of the Last Supper when Jesus and his disciples had their last meal together before he was crucified.

Image by freepik THE BREAD AND THE WINE REPRESENT THE BODY and THE BLOOD of CHRIST.

SÁBADO DE ALELUIA - hallelujah or holy saturday

A Cruz de Cristo - um símbolo da Fé Cristã e de Portugal.

Recorda a grande epopeia das descobertas portuguesas nos anos de mil e quinhentos, tendo sido adotada como marca, bem visível à distancia, nas velas das naus e caravelas portuguesas. Essas naus cujos homens ousaram vencer os medos dos mares desconhecidos, e que levaram também, a mensagem da BOA NOVA da SALVAÇÃO DA ALMA PECADORA PELOS MÉRITOS DE CRISTO, não por obra humana, PORQUE FOI FEITA A EXPIAÇÂO TOTAL DOS NOSSOS PECADOS PELO SANGUE INOCENTE DE CRISTO - O SALVADOR, O UNICO JUSTO, PERFEITO entre os homens - NA CRUZ DO CALVÁRIO.

O último mandato de Cristo:

" Ide, ensinai todas as nações, batizando-as em nome do Pai, e do Filho, e do Espírito Santo; ensinando-as a guardar todas as coisas que Eu vos ensinei." ( Mat. 28:19-20)

Porquê este mandato? 

Basta olhar ao redor, ver as notícias de jornal, na tv, na net... a violência no coração do ser humano está patente e adquire novas formas de maldade ... quem pode resolver? Cristo apenas, o Único que nunca pecou, porque veio de Deus. Ele veio CONSERTAR A FALHA ESTRUTURAL DE REBELIÃO NO CORAÇÃO HUMANO... daquele que Nele crê... e segue. 

Daí haver NATAL... daí A PÁSCOA - o Livramento, a Libertação do pecado e da consequência do pecado: o inferno, a trágica e sem retorno morte eterna da alma não arrependida!

The Cross of Christ - a symbol of the Christian Faith and of Portugal.

It recalls the great epic of Portuguese discoveries in the 1500s, and was adopted as a symbol, clearly visible from a distance, on the sails of Portuguese ships and caravels. These ships whose men dared to overcome the fears of unknown seas, and who also carried the message of the GOOD NEWS of the SALVATION OF THE SINFUL SOUL THROUGH THE MERITS OF CHRIST, not through human work, BECAUSE THE TOTAL ATONEMENT OF OUR SINS WAS MADE BY THE INNOCENT BLOOD OF CHRIST - THE SAVIOR, THE ONLY RIGHTEOUS, PERFECT ONE among men - ON THE CROSS OF CALVARY.

Christ's last command: 

"Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt. 28:19-20).

Why this command?

Just look around, read the news in the newspapers, on TV, on the internet... violence in the human heart is evident and takes on new forms of evil... who can solve it? Only Christ, the only One who never sinned, because He came from God. He came to FIX THE STRUCTURAL FAILURE OF REBELLION IN THE HUMAN HEART... of those who believe in Him... and follow Him.

Hence there is CHRISTMAS... hence EASTER - the Deliverance, the Liberation from sin and from the consequences of sin: hell, the tragic and irreversible eternal death of the unrepentant soul!