Solemnly observing Good Friday takes careful forethought and intentionality. Whether you’re planning the day for yourself or a bustling family, Good Friday should be a day with dedicated moments of quiet contemplation, fervent prayer, and fasting.
Maintaining a reverence on Good Friday can be challenging with incoming work emails, energetic children, and a multitude of practical to-dos to prepare for your Easter celebration. Despite the speed of the world around you, a prayerful Good Friday is possible with the right intentionality, organization, and creativity.
The morning of Good Friday
Breakfast time! As you begin your day, it is important to plan meals ahead of time because there are further restrictions in addition to abstaining from meat. Fasting on Good Friday requires Roman Rite Catholics ages 18-59 to eat only one full meal and two smaller meals which, combined, would not equal a single normal meal. Those who are exempt from this fast are children, adults with physical and mental illness, pregnant women, and those nursing.
Good Friday breakfast ideas
If you plan for breakfast to serve as one of your smaller meals, consider these menus.
Breakfast A: One slice of toast with peanut butter, a banana, and black coffee.
Breakfast B: Half a serving of oatmeal with an apple and plain black tea.
Breakfast C: A hardboiled egg with a small side salad and water.
The USCCB implores Catholics to use their best judgement when considering how they will partake in the fast. If it is not healthy for you to fast from food, don’t despair! There are plenty of other ways to fast and withhold worldly pleasure to depend fully on God. Consider spending the morning only using your phone for emergencies, tackling a least favorite chore, or devoting a substantial amount of time for silence and meditative prayer.
Good Friday morning activities
For those faithful who have an office job on Good Friday and are not able to take leave, find ways to set the day apart. Perhaps take a walk to pray a decade of the rosary while on break instead of bantering by the coffee pot.
If you are at home with children on Good Friday, it is important to find the proper balance between creating a solemn atmosphere and setting age appropriate expectations. It is not realistic to expect young children to be quiet and still all day, so it is vital to provide ways that they can learn this day is a special and holy day without attempting to squash their liveliness.
Some activities for a morning with children include deep cleaning the house (especially if you have been slowly donating and tidying all Lent!), baking hot cross buns, preparing a simple soup for dinner, finding an outdoor space to pray a walking Stations of the Cross with friends, visiting the library to find Easter season books (but don’t read any yet!), or heading to the local church to visit Jesus.
Midday: The three hours of agony
Lunch on Good Friday will be light and simple. Since the hours that Jesus hung in agony on the cross are from noon to 3, it is best to plan to eat lunch before these three hours begin. Here are some ideas for a Lenten lunch on Good Friday.
Lunch A: Half of a bowl of bean soup with a slice of toast and water.
Lunch B: A small salad topped with a hardboiled egg, half of an avocado, vegetables, and dressing.
Lunch C: Half of a serving of tuna fish over spinach with a handful of crackers.
Midday activities on Good Friday
For adults who are able to take leave from work during these sacred hours, practice silence, pray the Stations of the Cross, visit a chapel, or go on a meditative walk. Many parishes offer communal Stations of the Cross and a mid-day liturgy to commemorate these hours as a church family.
Observing these hours of agony with children will take creativity and forethought. During these hours your family might choose to visit a church for prayer time if you weren’t able to in the morning. Children can rest and nap, color the Stations of the Cross, create a craft cross, make a Golgotha scene outdoors with sticks and twine, watercolor a stained-glass window, have family Bible reading time, or listen to this beautifully made Stations of the Cross podcast for kids.
After 3 p.m., consider watching a child-appropriate movie about Jesus’ passion and crucifixion. The Miracle Maker - the Story of Jesus would be an excellent choice for a quiet, restful afternoon. Other families may choose for Good Friday to be a day that is “unplugged” and save the movie for another day in Lent.
Good Friday evening
Dinner for Good Friday will still be simple, but perhaps the larger meal of the day for many families. This would be a good evening to eat in darkness and silence, or if you are at a dinner with children to discuss what each Station of the Cross means and also what we are looking forward to with Christ’s glorious Resurrection.
Good Friday dinner ideas
Dinner A: Baked fish, coleslaw, and cornbread.
Dinner B: Split pea or bean soup, arugula salad, and biscuits.
Dinner C: Vegetable pasta, caesar salad, and sourdough bread.
Many churches have their Good Friday liturgies in the evening. Families also may choose to gather with their community to pray the Stations of the Cross together around their yard or local church. In the hours before bedtime, perhaps prepare your supplies for egg-decorating on Holy Saturday or spend a few moments working on a pysanky egg design.
The key to a prayerful Good Friday is careful planning and forethought. Do you have any Good Friday traditions? Share them in the comments below.