No. And people may not be able to attend the Mass of the Lord’s Supper for a variety of reasons: their family needs, work schedule, or health. But it’s a beautiful Mass. You should go if you can!
Is there Mass on Good Friday?
No, there’s no Mass on Good Friday.
In fact, after Mass on Holy Thursday, the altar is stripped of its cloth. Crosses are removed from the Church or covered. No candles burn in the church.
The Blessed Sacrament is not reposed in the church’s tabernacle but in another small chapel.
On Good Friday, the church is empty of many of its symbols. It is adorned like a church in mourning. And, at 3 p.m., the Church offers the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion.
At this celebration, Scripture is read that recounts the prophetic anticipation of Christ’s passion and recounts the passion narrative itself. Communion is distributed. Believers are invited to venerate the cross — to come forward and kiss or reverence a cross.
“Behold the wood of the cross,” the priest proclaims.
I know that Good Friday is a solemn day, but what should we do all day?
Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstaining from meat. You can read more about that here.
On Good Friday, families should try to observe a quiet day of simplicity in addition to attending the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion.
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This might mean praying the rosary together or reading Scripture together. It might mean keeping the TV off or going for a family hike. The idea is that it should be a day of reflection and should be noticeably different from other days of the year.
If you haven’t yet gone to confession during Lent, Good Friday is also an excellent day to go to confession — and take your family.
What does one do on Holy Saturday?
The culmination of Holy Saturday is the Easter Vigil. But it’s a long day, and people often ask what they should do with the rest of it.
Many families use Holy Saturday as a day for spring cleaning or garden planting. Some spend the day outdoors, and some spend the day preparing for an Easter feast. All the better if Holy Saturday is a day of prayer.
And some people dye Easter eggs!