Holy Friday, 2012


On this day we commemorate the greatest event not just in human history but in all eternity; we observe the event when the Lord sacrificed Himself to save humanity from sin, the devil, death, and damnation.


On the sixth day God created man; also on the sixth day, i.e., Friday, the Lord suffered death on the Cross and through it recreated humanity, the latter accomplishment being a more difficult and more important feat than the former. Therefore the Lord Himself took on human flesh in order to defeat, in human form, the devil through humility and to vanquish death through His own Death.


Why was such a sacrifice necessary for humanity's salvation?


Apparently this occurred because of the very nature of good and evil.


When evil is victorious it condemns its victims to suffering and death. Good and love conquer by sacrificing themselves and suffering even unto death.


The nature of moral qualities are built on mutually exclusive opposites. The rejection of this or than virtue brings to bear the corresponding negative quality, i.e., evil, and vice versa.


The beginning and foundation of all evil is pride. Pride manifests first of all in self-affirmation. The most radiant of all angels was led astray by pride. The consequences of this were that he set himself up against God and led a portion of the angels away. Pride and self-affirmation consist of malice, envy, and hatred. From that time the fallen angels have been the bearers of malice and all evil. Out of envy and hatred they brought evil to the earth, tempting the first humans.


What can vanquish pride and ultimately neutralize it? Only its positive direct opposite—humility. Indeed, pride and humility are two incompatible and mutually exclusive states. Therefore humility is the beginning and foundation of all good and every virtue. Humility is manifested in selflessness. It is the opposite of self-affirmation, and is the only thing that can neutralize it. Humility and selflessness consist of love. Only it can neutralize evil and hatred.