Good Friday: Why is Jesus Silent during the Passion?

It's interesting to think about the silence of Jesus during the Passion. On Good Friday we hear the Passion according to St. John, which begins in Chapter 18. Chapters 14-17 of John's Gospel are Jesus talking nearly continuously at the Last Supper. (It's his longest discourse in all of the Gospels.) And then the Passion begins, and he hardly says anything. We especially notice this when Jesus is asked direct questions by Pilate and others interrogating him, and he stays silent. Tonight while he presided at the Stations of the Cross, Pope Francis gives us an explanation: Jesus is silent because he is praying. He is uniting himself to the Father. He is accepting the suffering of the present moment. And he is forgiving those who were attempting to harm him. May we learn to imitate him!

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