Good Friday thoughts

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by Nancy Linenkugel

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"The Lord turned his head and looked straight at Peter, into whose mind flashed the words that the Lord had said to him …'You will disown me three times before the cock crows today.' And he went outside and wept bitterly." (Luke 22:61)

Why is there so much gun violence all around us? Why do I need to carry a gun? I'm not hunting in my backyard. I'm not hunting on the city bus. I'm not hunting at the airport. Does it occur to me that I might hurt somebody?

"The Lord turned his head and looked straight at Peter, into whose mind flashed the words that the Lord had said to him …'You will disown me three times before the cock crows today.' And he went outside and wept bitterly."

We look different. Our skin color is different. Our attire is different. Our dialect is different. It's clear that you're not as important as I am.

"The Lord turned his head and looked straight at Peter, into whose mind flashed the words that the Lord had said to him …'You will disown me three times before the cock crows today.' And he went outside and wept bitterly."

My card club circle members were making idle conversation in between the card play. One person started about what an oaf President Trump is. Another said, "Oh, you're so right about that. He's not for me." A third quickly jumped in and agreed, "How did we ever get that idiot as our leader?" I'm the only one who didn't made a comment.

"The Lord turned his head and looked straight at Peter, into whose mind flashed the words that the Lord had said to him …'You will disown me three times before the cock crows today.' And he went outside and wept bitterly."

(Bible citation is from The New Testament in Modern English, a translation by J. B. Phillips.)

[Nancy Linenkugel is a Sylvania Franciscan sister and chair of the department of health services administration at Xavier University, Cincinnati.]