Good Friday Reflection

I went to see father Stu earlier this week and wow! Definitely helped me shift my mindset for Holy Week!

There were two scenes that really hit me.

The first scene shows Father Stu in a terrible accident (shown in the trailer) it seems like he should be dead & then he sees a women, he sees Mary and she’s holding his head. As a tear rolls down her cheek she says, “My son died for you”

🥺😭 wow that hit me, even just typing it up the tears come back into my eyes.

Jesus, the man that never sinned.

The man that faced the devil and was tempted by the devil.

The man that taught the served people endlessly during his public ministry.

The man that healed and cured people.

The man that did no wrong.

He died for you.

He died because He loves you.

He took on our sin.

He shows us selfless love and endless mercy.

And He calls us to follow Him, follow the model He gave us.

The second scene that really hit me is later in the movie after Stu is diagnosed with a muscular disorder (the diagnosis is shown in the trailer too but this next bit could be a spoiler idk honestly it’d make me want to see the movie even more so read on at your own discretion).

He is having a hard time walking and he goes to the chapel to pray and he falls.

He then drags himself, pulling with his hands that are barely working, he uses all his strength to pull himself to the alter and then to the feet of Mary.

What a powerful image!

You know I lost it watching that scene 😭😭😭

A man that seemed to never catch a break giving his life to God through priesthood then taking what seemed to be one of his biggest trials to God and presumably turning to Mary for comfort similarly to how she comforted him after the accident.

And yet this man became a priest and was so inspiring that he drew people to him and so inspiring that a movie was made after him.

This man had such incredible perseverance and faced suffering so bravely and boldly.

He saw the suffering an opportunity to be more like Christ.

The most profound part was that he didn’t coward from it, he didn’t act woah as me, he embraced it and inspired people.

I would argue that Jesus is the most inspiring person to ever live on earth. He made the biggest difference.

I think it was through His suffering & death on the cross.

What if instead of looking at our trials, our struggles, our sufferings as burdens and reasons to feel sorry for ourselves we saw them as gifts from God to bring us closer to Him, to allow us to be more like Him and as gifts that He wants us to embrace to inspire others and to change the world.