Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16
Reading II: 1 Peter 4:1-8
Silent Day with Mary
Brethren, during the day of this Holy Saturday and in fact from yesterday after Jesus was crucified, is a sad moment for Christ Apostles and those who had believed in him. There is a great silence. The Savior has died. He rests in the tomb. Many hearts were filled with uncontrollable grief and confusion. Was He really gone? Had all their hopes been shattered? These and many other thoughts of despair filled the minds and hearts of so many who loved and followed Jesus.
On another hand, the Pharisees, chief priests and the prosecutors are on one side rejoicing for uprooting Jesus off from the land but also anxious if he may resurrect from the dead and they are put to shame. That's why they have employed the guards to watch over the tomb and sealed it with the stone so that nobody can steal him.
While it's sadness, confusion on those who looked at him, the Messiah, die on the cross, it is joyful moment to the Holy Souls down in the land of the dead for Jesus has gone to finish up his mission of bringing salvation also to the dead, it was part of his mission, for when he resurrects, he will rise with him all the souls. Therefore, Jesus to complete his mission has to die, not only for the living but also to bring salvation to the dead for he is the Lord of all, heaven earth, in water, underground and world of the dead.
As Christians, hope is not gone, we know Saturday night is coming, he is going to triumph over death, but let us take the reality of this Holy Saturday as silent as it is, in fact no mass during the day, to reflect upon Jesus' works and deeds, his words while he was still on Earth, how he was betrayed, persecuted, crucified, died, was buried, and figure out the experience of the tomb. We enter into the reality of losing a loved one, but with hope of eternal life, and we pray for our loved ones who rest in the tombs and have not got salvation and forgiveness of sins that Jesus may bring salvation to them and rise with them upon his resurrection. Therefore, this Saturday's message is the message of hope, not hope in a worldly sense, rather, it’s the message of divine hope. Hope and trust in God’s perfect plan. Hope in the fact that God always has a greater purpose. Hope in the fact that God uses suffering and, in this case, death as a powerful instrument of salvation.
Holy Saturday is an ideal day to ponder the pondering heart of our Blessed Mother. There are several times in Sacred Scripture where we are told that Mother Mary pondered the mysteries of her Son’s life in her heart. She was one of the few who stood by Him in His agony and death. She stood before the Cross and prayerfully pondered His perfect sacrifice. The Blessed Mother held His dead body in her arms and pondered where His spirit had gone. And today she keeps vigil, pondering His imminent return to her.
Ponder her pondering heart. Try to unite your own heart with hers. Try to understand what she was thinking and hoping. Try to feel what she felt this sorrowful day. Try to experience her faith, her trust and her joyful expectation. So many people in this world walk in despair and confusion. So many have lost hope in the new life that awaits them. So many have their own form of interior death without allowing God to draw them into His Resurrection. So many people today need the hope that was so alive in the heart of our Blessed Mother that first Holy Saturday.
Spend time in silence today. Try to enter into the reality of Holy Saturday. Let divine hope grow within you knowing that Easter is soon to come.
Let us Pray.
Dearest Mother Mary, on that first Holy Saturday, you kept vigil for your Son. You allowed the divine gift of hope to grow within you, and you allowed that hope to be your strength in the midst of the horror of the Cross. Pray for me that I may ponder your beautiful heart this day so that I, too, may be filled with hope as I endure the challenges of this earthly life. Give me a heart of joyful anticipation as I await the grace of new life our Lord so deeply desires to bestow upon me. Mother Mary, pray for me. Amen
Be blessed.
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