I am going to share with
you bits of a reflection that I found to be very helpful in thinking about Holy
Saturday:
Holy Saturday is one of
most important moments of Holy Week - it speaks most directly to the daily
reality of our lives. After the shock of death or words that bring despair
(such as "cancer," "divorce," "terminal,"
"sorry, but we have to eliminate your position"), we have to begin living with the "what
next?" as we enter the void of unknowing.
Most of us live, from
time to time, in Holy Saturday. We experience the jubilation of Easter and the
stark pain of Good Friday, but those are immediate and momentary. Holy Saturday
is the time in between death and resurrection, fear and hope, pain and comfort.
Holy Saturday is the valley of grief and uncertainty, for us and for Jesus'
first disciples.
On Holy Saturday, we
don't know what the future will bring. We don't know if the cancer can be cured
or if we will love again or find the position that fulfills our vocation.
It is difficult for us to
experience Holy Saturday during Holy Week. After all, we've read the story; we
know that there's a happy ending—resurrection and new life! Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed! This luxury wasn't available to Jesus' first followers.
All they had was the hope that somehow their Teacher and Savior would live on
in their hearts and imaginations.
But, we can still share
the journey of the first Christians. Perhaps, put yourself in the shoes of one
of the first disciples on Holy Saturday—Peter, Thomas, John, Mary Magdalen,
Mary or Martha of Bethany, Jesus' mother Mary. Visualize yourself as one of
them: see your life situation in light of the cross, feel your loss at Jesus'
hideous death, feel your sense of uncertainty, feel the unknown that lies
before you.
And then, because we do
have the privilege of knowing the ending, prepare your heart for the
Resurrection!
This evening, after the
sun goes down and it is liturgically Sunday, we will celebrate the Easter Vigil
– where we will profess our faith in the Creed along with our newly baptized
brothers and sisters, and we will partake in the Eucharistic sacrifice – the
unbloody reenactment of Calvary.
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