All through the night, Jesus has been locked in the dungeon of the high priest’s house. Early this morning he was bought before a Pilate who transferred his case to Herod. Herod sent him back to Pilate who, sometime in the mid-morning, bowed to the pressure of the Temple leadership and the crowds, and condemned Jesus to a horrible death by crucifixion. In the late morning, Jesus was taken by the soldiers through the city and up to the hillside of Golgotha. By noon he was nailed to the cross where he hangs in agony for some three hours. He died around three in the afternoon. He was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb hastily before sundown. 

Today is a day we remember and devote ourselves to communal prayer and worship. To acknowledge the power of the cross in our lives today, we one by one come forward to venerate the cross with a kiss. We are in the mood for a house where the death happened. We gather quietly in our Church to enter into a time of prayer as we reflect on Jesus death on the cross. There will be full night vigil prayers. We also pray for the needs of the world. It is similar to how the apostles might have gathered that night together in fear and prayer reflecting on all that happened.