For more quick takes, visit Jennifer Fulwiler's www.conversiondiary.com blog extravaganza. [UPDATE: She didn't do 7 Quick Takes and I didn't realize until afterward. But anything she writes is worth reading, definitely check out her blog!]
1) Sacred music for Good Friday: Stabat Mater
Check out this for a beautiful, polyphonic treatment of the hymn...
2) Sacred art for Good Friday: Michelangelo's "Pieta"I've seen this in person and it truly is an incredible work. As one deficient in the sculpting skills department, it blows my mind that Michelangelo turned an enormous rock into one of the greatest masterpieces in western civilization. I was amazed at how lifeless Jesus looked. I remember half expecting Mary to breathe or turn her head. The technical skill to carve such a scene is one thing; the ability to capture the mood of Good Friday is extraordinary.
3) Sacred art for Good Friday: Dali's "Christ of St. John of the Cross"
I've been exposed to this image before, mainly on holy cards. Whenever someone talked to me about the image, they'd always point out one thing: there are no nails on the cross. "No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have the power to lay it down, and the power to take it up again; this charge I have received from my Father." (John 10:18, RSV-CE)
4) Beautiful church for Good Friday: Sainte Chapelle, Paris, France
A travel book described this church like "walking into a gem," such was the magnificence of the architecture and the stained glass windows. It truly was breathtaking! King (later Saint) Louis built the edifice in the 13th century to house relics from Jesus' Passion; among them, the crown of thorns. Thankfully the chapel survived the French Revolution... although not all of the windows did. Hidden but present behind the brutality of the crucifixion is the radiant glory of the resurrection; this chapel really captured that for me.
5) Church for Good Friday: Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome, Italy
This church houses one incredible relic of the Passion of Jesus: the titulus crucis, the sign that hung on the cross above Jesus' head. "Jesus the Nazarean, King of the Jews" was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin--as noted in St. John's Gospel (19:19-20). Since that phrase was a little long to put on devotional crucifixes, an acronym was used instead: INRI, the first letter of the Latin portion of the titulus crucis... "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum." As you probably learned from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," the letter J is not found in Latin. Check out this news clip:
6) Devotion for Good Friday: St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy
(shout out to my sister Kristy and her household at Steubenville) Three o'clock is the hour of mercy, as it's the hour that Jesus uttered His last breath. His death bought redemption to us all, and His sacrifice opened the gates of heaven to us. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!! It's extraordinary that God would be so merciful to us, in light of all the sins of humanity from the original one to now. St. Faustina was privileged to be visited by Christ in visions and in prayer; the fruit of that is a special devotion to Jesus' divine mercy. Check out the webpage of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception for a deeper description.
7) Sacrament for Good Friday: Confession
Be healed by the divine physician; let go and seek forgiveness of the spiritual death (i.e. sin) in the soul. Here are Fr. Z's tips for a good confession and a quick story of the great graces that ensue from confession.
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