"answer me!" (mi 6:3)
"The Lord has a plea against His people." —Micah 6:2
The Church in the Good Friday liturgy uses Micah 6:3 for the "Reproaches," a series of charges issued by God against His people. They are to be intoned during the veneration of the Cross. Following the Church's lead, kneel before a crucifix and listen to the Lord's plea:
- What more could I have done for you? I offered you daily the Bread of Life (Jn 6:50-51) and My Word, but you yielded bitterness.
- I gave you living water from My side (Jn 7:37; 19:34), but you gave Me gall to drink.
- I led you from slavery to freedom (Jn 8:32), but you led Me to the cross by your sins.
- I gave you a royal crown (1 Pt 2:9), but you crowned Me with thorns.
- "When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it? Or do you think that I am like yourself?" (Ps 50:21)
- My people, what have I done to You? How have I offended you? "Answer Me!" (Mi 6:3)
In the Good Friday liturgy, the Church reveals to us the answer that God desires to His "Reproaches." First, we pray: "Holy immortal One, have mercy on us." Then, we kneel before the cross and worship Jesus. Finally, we open ourselves to Jesus and receive Him in the Eucharist. Then we go forth and lead others to do the same.
Prayer: Jesus, You gave Your life for me. I give my life for You.
Promise: "You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God." —Mi 6:8
Praise: The Miller family threw out their TV and instead prayed a family rosary every night.
Reference: (This teaching was submitted by one of our editors.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, November 29, 1997
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 2, 1997