Non-Catholics and Good Friday....how do they see this day??

[Tonks40]

The reason why I ask…

I was recalling how last year, soon after my reversion back to the Church, my friend, a non-denominational Christian and former Iglesia Ni Cristo member (and who I thought at the time was a very devout Christian) came over to my house on Good Friday. We had just completed eating dinner, and she popped by to see if I was interested in going out to the karaoke bar (which at the time is what I usually did on Fridays). I looked at her puzzled and said, “It’s Good Friday.” She responded, “I’m not Catholic.”

My instant reaction was deep hurt…not because she was disrespecting my religion (per se), but that as a Christian, I couldn’t understand why she had such a low regard for the day that Christ was cruxified in order to bring her, and everyone else, eternal life. I realize that we as Catholics do have a high reverence for days such as Good Friday (look at the Holy Triduum), but has the reformation removed many Christians so far away from His Sacrifice that they see Good Friday as just any other ordinary day??

I know that I’m making some generalizations here, but I really want to try to see the non-Catholic point-of-view.

[When she left (after an explanation of why I decided to stay home that night), I popped in my copy of “Passion of the Christ” to help me with my reflections for that day.]

God Bless!

 

[tamie]

Coming from a protestant background, Good Friday was fairly important but not like it is in the Catholic faith. Some of the churches I attended would have a candlelight service in the evening and sunrise services on Sunday along with joyful Sunday services, but again the Catholic Church really does it the way it should be done. Even though I was protestant most of my life, I alway felt more reverence for Good Friday than most of my friends. I never expressed this out loud but that is what I felt. I think the lesser reverence found in protestant churches stems from the reformation and the need of non catholic people to honor God and Jesus, but not the same way as Catholics. Maybe I am wrong but that is my observation. I wouldn’t feel slighted by your friend. Since she doesn’t really know the reverence Catholics feel, she couldn’t know the importance of Holy Week and Good Friday to you.

Tamie W

 

[SemperJase]

I was raised in a non-denominational “Bible” church. We went three times a week. I don’t ever remember observing Good Friday. No church service, no prayer, nothing.

When I started working for a brokerage firm, we were given a holiday on Good Friday (the stock markets are closed on that day). It was just another day off for me.

 

[empacae]

A friend of mine who is a Baptist (I’m not really sure what kind) but was going on with a girl in his Bible study. But they were scoffing about the whole accuracy of the days of when Good Friday and The Resurection (as Easter is named after a pagan holiday w/ eggs & bunnies) and that he doesn’t celbrate Good Friday, “It just seems so… so…” and I blurt out “Catholic!” “Yeah,” he replies. I proceeded to tell him of my hometown in Ontario where you can’t so much as spit and not hit a church (only two RCCs though, one in French), and that our neighbour church (A Baptist church) put on the most amazing Passion Plays every year. And he told me from time to time his home parish put on plays on their stage. And I said, “Oh no, this play starts in downtown Georgetown and weeping women, and Romans on horseback, and brutal tormentors whip and beat a bloddied Jesus carrying his cross all the way to Calvary (The Baptist church’s parkinglot), and there he his nailed and hung and dies, and by this time many people in the crowd are balling.” Is it for the actor or what he represents to them? Hmmmm… I think our Baptist neighbors back home are starting to get it. Pity my Baptist friend out here doesn’t… he’s nothing like the Happy Clappers back home.

So regardless of what the non-Catholic Christians believe, the fact that we celebrate the day like we do at least puts it in their minds, and gives them a vehicle to reflect on the day and that Our Lord suffered and died, and we can feel a little better doing our jobs as evangalists and promoting that Good Friday we crucified Christ.

Love

emp

PS
On a personal note as a kid and teeneager I was disgusted about kissing Christ’s Feet… I’m not so repulsed by it as I was, but dunno if it’s a germ thing… or being that close to a representation of a dying/dead Jesus…always gave me the heebie jeebies.

 

[LilyM]

empacae:

A friend of mine who is a Baptist (I’m not really sure what kind) but was going on with a girl in his Bible study. But they were scoffing about the whole accuracy of the days of when Good Friday and The Resurection (as Easter is named after a pagan holiday w/ eggs & bunnies) and that he doesn’t celbrate Good Friday, “It just seems so… so…” and I blurt out “Catholic!” “Yeah,” he replies. I proceeded to tell him of my hometown in Ontario where you can’t so much as spit and not hit a church (only two RCCs though, one in French), and that our neighbour church (A Baptist church) put on the most amazing Passion Plays every year. And he told me from time to time his home parish put on plays on their stage. And I said, “Oh no, this play starts in downtown Georgetown and weeping women, and Romans on horseback, and brutal tormentors whip and beat a bloddied Jesus carrying his cross all the way to Calvary (The Baptist church’s parkinglot), and there he his nailed and hung and dies, and by this time many people in the crowd are balling.” Is it for the actor or what he represents to them? Hmmmm… I think our Baptist neighbors back home are starting to get it. Pity my Baptist friend out here doesn’t… he’s nothing like the Happy Clappers back home.

So regardless of what the non-Catholic Christians believe, the fact that we celebrate the day like we do at least puts it in their minds, and gives them a vehicle to reflect on the day and that Our Lord suffered and died, and we can feel a little better doing our jobs as evangalists and promoting that Good Friday we crucified Christ.

Love

emp

PS
On a personal note as a kid and teeneager I was disgusted about kissing Christ’s Feet… I’m not so repulsed by it as I was, but dunno if it’s a germ thing… or being that close to a representation of a dying/dead Jesus…always gave me the heebie jeebies.

My understanding is you don’t have to kiss the feet - you can touch them or just bow or kneel in front of the Cross. I’d be worried about kissing them myself. Can anyone enlighten us?

 

[Talitha]

My Church of England childhood saw me in Church almost all of Good Friday. There was a three hour service from noon until three pm. You could leave or come in on every half hour; I always stayed the full three hours.
Deeply, deeply spiritual. I rememeber the intense silence and darkness of it.
We never had any flowers in the Church all Lent.
We also had a united service with the local Methodist Church on that day; we would have loved that to include RC but they refused.
At the day’s end I always felt " prayed out", drained, yet satisfied.

They did join with us on the local " Walking Days" though which were a united procession of witness.
In later years when I was in places where there was no physical Church, I relied on radio and TV; always right across the denominational board. Again, all was deeply spiritual and meaningful.
Here, many disregard Good Friday too. Non-Christian. Lapsed from any faith.

 

[empacae]

LilyM:

My understanding is you don’t have to kiss the feet - you can touch them or just bow or kneel in front of the Cross. I’d be worried about kissing them myself. Can anyone enlighten us?

Ya now,

But you do what your dad tells ya growing up. Yep bow, right hand touch the cross, sign of the cross… heebie jeebies still there.

emp

 

[JoeyWarren]

As a child in school, I cannot remember having Good Friday off. But I know they have it off now. Growing up Pentecostal, we had zero comprehension of Good Friday. My company does not have it as a recognized holiday, so I take a personal day off.

Just recently the Mexicans that comprise a majority of our work force asked the company to make it a paid holiday. They declined. The Mexicans are not so happy about this.

 

[Kitty_Chan]

The Baptist churches in Calgary Alberta Canada have a group service where we all go to a auditiorum (for operas, plays etc) and have a service on Good Friday with all of the churches together, which is nice to see so many together.

And then the individual churches do whatever they have planned on Sunday.

Dont forget as bad as it may seem sometimes churches dont do things like this because of lack of participants, funds and enthusiam. It seems to me if there is a “lack” of a Good Friday service in a church its because its seen as the “sad day”. Where Sunday is the “Big Day” and a very joyeous day. I think more emphasis is put on the Sunday for that reason. So more plans are made for it.