The next three days are very special. If you are a young person reading this, you may not understand why they are special, but let me share with you my personal reasons why they are special and why you should participate in them.
- This is what our faith is all about. Jesus suffering for us and our sins. By entering into these three days we get a good sense of what suffering really is and that our human suffering is worth the reward we will receive because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.
- Talk about emotions. Over the past few years these next three days have become very emotional to me. I have to watch my best friend suffer, even though he never did anything wrong and is totally innocent. I have to listen and watch (I watch "The Passion of the Christ" every Good Friday) as my best friend is stripped down, embarrassed, spit at, whipped, made fun of, mocked, nailed, broken, and there is nothing I can do about it. It happens before my eyes and he's doing all of it for me, for you.
- Renewal. The renewal you feel at the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday are incredible if you go through the other two days with Jesus. You'll feel the most alive because what you just went through wasn't easy, but helps you understand a little bit more why Jesus did what he did, to give you LIFE and to give you HOPE.