This is Holy Family School of Faith.

So let us begin in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.

Amen. Let us recall all those who have asked us to pray for them.

Friday is a day of penance in the Catholic Church.

The offering of penance in the Catholic Church. The offering of penance is a reminder to turn our heart toward Christ from the very earliest days of the Church. Christians would fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. Wednesdays were to recall the betrayal of Christ by Judas,

Fridays were to recall the suffering and death of Jesus.

In fact, Canon 1251 says that all Fridays except solemnities are still days of penance and

abstinence from meat is still to be observed, not just during Lent.

In the United States, we can substitute some other form of penance on Fridays,

whether it be fasting, prayer, or almsgiving,

but we should be doing something.

Because Friday is a penitential day, let us reflect more deeply on the sorrowful

mysteries. We begin in the Garden of Gassimini. Jesus is praying,

My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless, not as I will will but as thou will.

He is sweating blood.

This is actually a real medical condition called

Hamadrosis.

It occurs when a person is under such extreme stress.

It causes the capillaries to burst,

allowing the blood to come out of the pores or hair follicles.

It leaves your body tender like a bruise and hastens dehydration.

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