This Lent, we walked with Jesus to Calvary. Now, at the foot of the Cross on Good Friday, we ask: "How well did you bear your crosses and trials this Lent?"

Good Friday highlights a tragic event in which Jesus suffered a cruel and unjust death as He sacrificed Himself for the sins of humanity. And yet, because we know the purpose behind this great sacrifice and the joy to come just three days later, we can truly see it as a “good” day.

Life in Christ cannot exist without Him. How we crave Him!  How desperately we need Him! Our souls truly ache to be united with Him.

Joseph’s chastity, and his purity of heart, which includes but goes beyond just physical purity, enabled him to embrace God’s will, no matter the apparent cost to himself or the strenuousness of the undertaking. The pure, unadulterated gaze of Joseph’s heart upon God made it extremely sensitive and supple to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, as revealed to him by God’s messenger angels.

Holy Week is the holiest week of the year, in which we enter into the greatest mysteries of our faith: Jesus' Institution of the Eucharist, His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. This reflection invites us to be present with Jesus at each of these events — Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday — simply to be with Him and to immerse ourselves ever more deeply in these sacred mysteries.

In today’s culture, the term spirituality refers to one’s place in the universe, or connecting with something greater than oneself, often through practices like meditation, focusing on inner peace and personal growth. While those in and of themselves are not bad, they omit objective truth from the process.