Fridays at the Foot of the Cross: A Lenten Meditation Series Begins

| 02/20/2026

By: Mary Shovlain

This Lent, The Good Newsroom launches a new weekly video series, Fridays at the Foot of the Cross, inviting viewers into a moment of quiet reflection each Friday of the Lenten season. The series centers on the Seven Last Words of Christ, offering Scripture, inspirational words of the saints, and sacred imagery as a space for prayer. Each installment is simple and unhurried, allowing the words spoken from Calvary to draw us more deeply into the mystery of the Redemption.

The first video, released February 20, centers on Jesus’ First Word from the Cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Even in the midst of suffering, Christ’s answer is mercy. The meditation is accompanied by the words of St. John Paul II, who during Lent urged the faithful to look upon the Cross with renewed attention to rediscover its eloquence. “We cannot see in it only a memory of the events that happened about two thousand years ago,” he said. “We must understand the teaching of the Cross as it speaks to our times, to modern man: ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever’” (Heb 13:8).

Each Friday throughout Lent, a new meditation will focus on one of the Seven Last Words, gradually unfolding the depth of Christ’s sacrifice. In a season marked by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, these brief reflections offer an opportunity to return to the heart of the mystery: the love poured out for the salvation of the world.

The series continues each Friday through Good Friday.

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This first video of the Fridays at the Foot of the Cross series centers on Jesus’ First Word from the Cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

By:

Mary Shovlain

| 02/20/2026

Today, Jesus reminds us of something important about fasting. Jesus is always with us, but we sometimes close ourselves off to Him. Fasting is a way to return our focus to Him.

By:

The Good Newsroom

| 02/20/2026

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Cardinal Dolan shares the daily devotions of the week.

By:

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan

| 02/20/2026