Good Friday Mass

Good Friday mass today. Blogging about the mass, not Lent or Holy Week, guess that'll come later. Quite a lot to tell, I am Roman Catholic ;)

I really felt it, this mass. Didn't got to church expecting to, but I did. The music was great, and I think that was the contributing factor. I take my hat off to the musicians today. Now, why can't you others do the music like that every week?

Fr. Albert usually does his homily by telling a story - or parable, haha - and then summing it up. Here is the story, as best as I could remember:

John and Thomas were identical twins. They were alike in many ways; they had the same shade of hair and their mannerisms were much the same. When the twins were twelve, their parents died, leaving them orphans. John, the elder twin by just a few minutes, was the responsible one. He studied hard and did all that was needed for him and his brother. Meanwhile Thomas grew rebellious. He mixed with the wrong company and got into a lot of trouble.

John grew up to become a respectable person with a good, honest job and steady income. But Thomas had joined gangs and were always involved with fights; he was a very hot-tempered young man now. He had so much anger and unresolved issues that came from his parents' death that he couldn't deal with. John always tried to advise his brother but to no avail.

One night, Thomas came running home with his clothes bloodstained and all a mess. He was sobbing and looked terrified. He told John that he had been involved in a fight with his gang-member and in a fit of anger had killed the other man. He had murdered the younger brother of the chief of his own gang. Thomas knew that the chief and all his gang-members would now be after him, and would not rest until they had avenged the death of the chief's younger brother. John tried to convince Thomas to report the matter to the police, but Thomas would not, knowing he would go to jail. John then said quietly that he was grieved to hear the news, and would provide support to his brother in whichever way he could, and for now it was best to go to bed.

That night, when Thomas went to bed, John left the house. But before he did so, he dressed in his brother's bloodstained clothes and left him a note.

The gang-members caught John and beat him up until he was black and blue all over. Then they hung him from a prominent place and stabbed him multiple times until he died.

Thomas woke in the morning to find his brother gone. He was about to read the note when the police came, asking Thomas to come and identify his brother's body.

This is what the note said:

My dear brother, I love you very deeply. Live your life in the best for me.

Is it enough for Thomas to just feel the guilt the way his brother was beaten? Is it enough for Thomas to feel remorse for John's sufferings? Is it enough that he will just continue his life while John had been stabbed to death?

Fr. Albert did it much better than me, esp the last part, but I did it the best I could.
Something I thought I might share with you all.
It was the first time a homily made me cry.