Homily: Friday of the Passion of the Lord
Isaiah 52:13–53:12 / Psalm 31:2, 6, 12–13, 15–16, 17, 25 / Hebrews 4:14–16; 5:7–9 / John 18:1–19:42
3 April 2026
Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA
I remember a man sitting alone in a hospital waiting room late at night. His mother was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). For days, he had been strong—talking to doctors, making decisions, calling relatives. He kept saying, “Kaya pa. (I still can do it.) We can still do something.” However, that night, the doctor came out and quietly said, “We’ve done everything we can.” And suddenly, the strength he was holding onto gave way. He sat down, covered his face, and whispered, “Lord… I don’t know what else to do. Kayo na po, Panginoon!” (Into your hands, Lord!)
It was not a long prayer nor was it even complete. But it was real. It was quiet surrender.
Moreover, maybe that is the hardest moment in life—when we reach the point where we can no longer fix what is breaking, when our strength fails us, and everything we can offer is no longer enough. Especially when the situation involves people we love, we want to act, to solve, to hold things together. But sometimes life brings us to that quiet, painful place where all we can do is let go. That is where Jesus is on Good Friday.
On the Cross, after everything He endured—the betrayal, abandonment, suffering—He says, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46; cf. Psalm 31:5). These are not words of defeat, but of trust. He had done all that was humanly possible and now it was time to place everything in God’s hands. He was not giving up, but giving Himself over. Isaiah had already foretold this kind of surrender: “He was despised and rejected… a man of suffering… yet he bore our infirmities” (Isaiah 53:3–4). And the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus did not face this lightly—He “offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears” (Hebrews 5:7), and so He truly understands what it means to struggle and to let go.
Surrender is hardest when we do not understand why this is happening to us, when the pain is real, when everything in us wants to hold on just a little longer. We hold on, believing, if we wait a little longer, the outcome we desire will happen. However, that is hardly the case. We view things from our perspective which is so limited, compared to the way God sees the bigger picture. Trusting that God can turn that pain into something worthwhile and beautiful is so difficult. Yet, that is what makes surrender so powerful! Jesus shows us the way as He hangs dying in the cross, and entrusts Himself to the Father. He was innocent; He did not deserve it; and He hung on until there was nothing left to do or to give. That man in the hospital, without realising it, prayed the same prayer. “Kayo na po.” Into Your hands. In that moment, he stopped trying to carry what he could no longer carry… and placed it in God’s hands (cf. Psalm 31:15).
Maybe that is where Good Friday meets us today. Not in big words, but in quiet surrender. In the burdens we can no longer fix. In the prayers we no longer know how to say. We need not punish ourselves when we have reached that point of absolute helplessness—when we no longer have control over a dire situation. Perhaps it is time to let go and entrust everything to God. Perhaps, we need to remind ourselves to believe in His love, His power, and His mercy.
Today, as we kneel before the Cross, perhaps our prayer can be just as simple, just as broken, just as real: “Lord… I don’t know anymore… but into Your hands.” And that is enough, because what is placed in the hands of the Father is never lost. It is where love, even in suffering, begins to be transformed!
Sunday Gospel Reflections 