Good Friday 2025

web81754
Apr 17
2 min read

An Easter procession in Malta depicting Christ carrying the cross

Today, the whole Church enters into mourning as we remember the death of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Good Friday stands apart in the Christian calendar as a day marked by sorrow, silence, and solemnity.

It is a time for fasting and prayer, a day when we pause and contemplate the depth of Christ’s sacrifice and the mystery of His love.

The name we give to this day varies across the world, each version capturing something of its profound significance. In Latin nations, it is known simply as Holy Friday, a direct reflection of the sanctity of Christ’s passion. The Slavic nations and Hungary refer to it as Great Friday, speaking to the magnitude of what took place on the Cross. In Germany, it is Friday of Mourning, a name that powerfully evokes the sorrow and lament felt by Christ’s followers then and now. In Norway, it is Long Friday, perhaps a reference to the slow, aching passage of this day of grief.

Here in the UK, we know it as Good Friday - a name that may seem puzzling at first. What can be good about such pain, betrayal, and death? And yet, many believe that the word “Good” in this context may have once meant “holy” or may derive from the phrase “God’s Friday.” It reminds us that even in the depths of darkness, God was at work bringing about redemption and reconciliation for all humanity.

As a hospital community that walks alongside people in moments of pain, suffering, and vulnerability, we may find Good Friday speaks especially deeply to us. It acknowledges the reality of human suffering while also pointing us toward the hope of Easter morning. We recognise, in the crucifixion, a God who enters into our suffering, not distant or untouched by our pain, but present with us in it.

Today, we invite our community at Mildmay to take a moment of quiet reflection. Whether in the chapel, at a bedside, or simply in your heart, let this be a time to hold both sorrow and hope, to honour the depth of Good Friday while looking forward to the joy of resurrection to come.