"He was spurned and avoided by people,
a man suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
one of those from whom people hide their faces,
spurned, and we held him in no esteem.
Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured..."
Isaiah 52 
On this Good Friday one does not need to journey far to encounter persons who are accustomed to infirmity.
Of this, we already know.
On this Good Friday one does not need to journey far to encounter persons who are spurned and avoided.
Of this, we already know.
On this Good Friday one does not need to journey far to encounter persons who are held in no esteem.
Of this, we already know.
What we may not know and what we must come to know is the distance our suffering brothers and sisters journey to encounter us.
Is it a far journey for them? Is it lonely? Is it lined with our expectations for them?
On the first Good Friday there was no distance between the great love of God and those who were suffering. There was no distance between the great love of God and each one of us. There never has been distance; there never will be. God's great love erases all distance.
Of this, we already know.
What we may not know and what we must come to know and to own and to practice is--our own great loving erases the distance that prevents encounter. Like our brother Jesus, who journeys with us, our great love creates unity.
On this Good Friday---and on every day of our lives, may we live with such a great love.
--Marie O'Hagan SSJ