City offices are closed today in observance of Good Friday. Offices will resume normal business hours on Monday
The Friday before Easter is the most solemn day for Christians - it is the day on which Jesus Christ died on the cross. This day is known as Good Friday, Holy Friday, Great Friday or Black Friday. As such, Good Friday is a day of mourning, and all the ceremonies and rituals of the day are centered on the feeling of sorrow, at the pain and humiliation that Jesus underwent for the cause of goodness and humanity. The message of Good Friday is that the dictum of "an eye for an eye" cannot work. The way to conquer evil is through good. Similarly, violence can be overcome only by non-violence and hatred by love.
Good Friday is devoted to fasting and prayer, as a way of following the example of Jesus, who stressed the role of prayer in the struggle to conquer evil. The service consists of prayers and readings from the Bible. In many churches, a piece of wood in the shape of the cross is kept. People pray before the cross and kiss it. Jesus is believed to have died on the Cross at three in the afternoon. Therefore, the traditional service lasts for three hours from noon. Some churches concentrate less on prayers, and instead, encourage people to become involved in charitable deeds.
In some churches, mourners wear black and enact the Passion of Christ - scenes of Christ's crucifixion and burial. Many churches cover the cross and the altar with mourning black, and do not light any candles. At other churches, candles are lit, but they are extinguished one by one, with the last one being put out at the moment denoting Jesus' death. The church bells are not rung on Good Friday. Catholic churches follow the tradition of the Stations of the Cross. People pass before paintings depicting the important scenes of the last hours of Jesus' life, reciting prayers and singing hymns.
Good Friday Date 2011 : 22 April.
Easter (Old English: Ēostre; Greek: Πάσχα, Paskha; Aramaic and Hebrew: פֶּסחא Pasḥa,) is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday (also Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday). The chronology of his death and resurrection is variously interpreted to be between AD 26 and 36, traditionally 33.
Easter marks the end of Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. The last week of the Lent is called Holy Week, and it contains Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Easter is followed by fifty-day period called Eastertide or the Easter Season, ending with Pentecost Sunday.
Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. It occurs during the spring, in March or April; the method for determining the date of Easter Sunday is complex, based on lunisolar calendar.
Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In many European languages, the words for "Easter" and "Passover" are etymologically related or homonymous. The term "Pascha", from the same root, is also used in English to refer to Easter.
Easter customs vary across the Christian world, but decorating Easter eggs is a common motif. In the Western world, customs such as egg hunting and Easter Bunny extend from the domain of church, and often have a secular character. Source :wikipedia.org
How Jesus Reveals Himself To Help Us
If you never felt pain, then how would you know that I am a Healer?
If you never had to pray, How would you know that I am a Deliverer?
If you never had to pray, How would you know that I am a Deliverer?
If you never made a mistake, How would you know that I am a forgiver?
If you knew all, How would you know that I will answer your questions?
If you never had a problem,How would you know that I can solve them?
If you never had any suffering, Then how would you know what I went through?
If you never were broken, Then how would you know that I can make you whole?
If you never had a problem,How would you know that I can solve them?
If you never had any suffering, Then how would you know what I went through?
If you never went through the fire, Then how would you become pure?
If I gave you all things, How would you appreciate them?
If I never corrected you, How would you know that I love you?
If you had all power, Then how would you learn to depend on me?
If your life was perfect, Then what would you need me for?
Love,
Jesus
Jesus
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