om the blessed results
of our Saviour's sufferings, for by the shedding of His own most
precious Blood He obtained eternal Redemption for us. It is the most
solemn and binding of all Fridays and should be observed as an
absolute Fast in token of our sorrow for sin, and in preparation for
the Easter Communion. All unnecessary work, all social engagements
and pleasures are especially to be avoided by all those who reverence
their Lord, and remember of what Good Friday is the solemn memorial.
It is a day of Church-going, and it will be found that the Good
Friday services are very {125} impressive, solemn and soul-stirring.
The Proper Psalms are the 22d, 40th and 54th in Morning Prayer, and
the 69th and 88th for Evening Prayer. Proper Lessons and three
special Collects, together with the Epistle and Gospel all set forth,
amid the solemnities of worship, the momentous story of the Saviour's
Passion and Death. In many places, it is usual to have in addition
to the appointed services, the "THREE HOURS SERVICE" (which see),
held from 12 M. to 3 P. M., in commemoration of our Lord's Agony on
the Cross, and consisting of special prayers and hymns with addresses
or meditations. The Holy Communion is not celebrated on Good Friday,
in accordance with the immemorial usage of the Church; only the
introductory portion of the service is used. The Altar is entirely
stripped of its hangings and ornaments, except the cross, and is
sometimes covered with black hangings. The observance of Good Friday
is inwoven into the very texture of the Christian Religion, having
been kept from the very first age of Christianity with strictest
fasting and humiliation. The mind of the Church seems always to
have been, "this day is not one of man's institution, but was
consecrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when He made it the day of His
most Holy Passion."

Good Shepherd, Sunday of.--The name given in the Western Church to
the Second Sunday after Easter. The French know it as the Sunday of
the _Bon Pasteur_. The name is suggested by the Gospel for the day
which sets forth our Lord as "the Good Shepherd," and who in the
Epistle is called the "Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls." {126}

Gospel.--The word "Gospel" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon
_Godspell_, signifying "good news"; founded originally on certain
words used by the angel in announcing the Saviour's Birth, viz.:
"Behold, I bring you _good tidings_ of great joy" (St. Luke 2:10).
The word is greatly