As Father said, we'll use the time this evening to ponder really the mystery of the crucifixion.

You can't explode the mystery of the crucifixion.

Answer the question directly, why did Jesus die on the cross?

But we can explore it and open up avenues that help us to deepen our appreciation for what the faith

teaches us about Christian salvation. So why did Jesus die? A short introduction to Catholic

beliefs. Most of what I'm going to say here is reflected in the catechism. So it's Catholic

belief and not theological speculation on my bright ideas, as we say in Boston.

First, Good Friday. Springtime brings notice of those observances that Christians keep to celebrate Easter.

Good Friday remains a day when Catholics pause to recall the death of Jesus on his cross. Popular devotions include the three hours

celebrated at St. Patrick's Cathedral and elsewhere when a preacher occupies the

pulpit from noon until three o'clock. These homilies form a literary genre of their own.

The common note that each one strikes, however, seeks to explain why Jesus did die on a cross.

Once mention is made of the divinity of Christ, one may frame the question in even more

startling terms. Why did God die? Of course, we know that the event of Good Friday,

far from announcing the death of God,

sets up the drama that, in fact, proclaims the triumph of God in human history.

St. Thomas Aquinas explains how we should use language when we speak about the God man, Jesus Christ.

In the incarnation, writes Aquinas, we say that the Son of God suffered, but we do not say that the divine nature suffered.

Still, to hold that the Son of God himself suffered and died

opens up a mystery that Catholic faith places at the heart of its life and worship.

The depths of this mystery lie open only to the eyes of faith.

No rational arguments can conclude that the death of Jesus on a cross

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