Today we are in vigil, in mourning for the cruel death of our beloved Jesus. Today we put ourselves there with Mary, the mother of Jesus, with Mary Magdalen, with the other women, and with John, who stood by the cross and witnessed as Jesus died. We are there with the 11 disciples, all left to their grief because of the events of yesterday, Good Friday. How must they have felt and reacted to the violence inflicted on Jesus? What can we say to them or how can we be present to them at this moment?
What a mix of emotions must have been theirs as they confronted the reality of their unique situation. We all know that experience as we acknowledge the death of one of our loved ones. Let us call upon our own grief to better understand Jesus’ family and his friends’ experience of his cruel death on this “Holy” Saturday.
Our stance is one of waiting and watching with Mary and the disciples. We have lost our beloved; we are bereft of his presence to and for us. Deep sadness envelopes us. We are not comfortable with it, but we walk through these hours and look for an end to our sadness, looking for a brighter day.
Theologians speak of Holy Saturday as mirroring God’s creative spirit when He “rested” on the seventh day. Jesus is now at rest. We rest, too, as creatures who have been buffeted by the “work” of Jesus in his final Paschal celebration, which became a precursor for his own experiences on yesterday’s “Good” Friday.
Think about it. Holy Saturday, today, is the only day in the liturgical calendar that has no celebration of the Eucharist, no communion service. Jesus, through His presence in the Eucharist, is not with us today. We find ourselves missing His presence to and for us and we acknowledge it so that we can actively rest in the fact that He is truly lost to us in death. In a very real sense, God died yesterday. The end of His life is now a reality to be received and loved because we love and cherish His presence so dearly.
The Easter Vigil celebration tonight is a full and rich presentation of Jesus’ life, death, AND resurrection as it fits into a grand plan of God. From the moment God called a People to Himself, through the main figures of the Jewish Bible, to this very moment in history when a New People is formed by its faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Today we align ourselves with God’s plan over the centuries, align ourselves with God’s plan in Jesus, align ourselves with God’s plan for us.
What a blessing! What a gift! How blessed we are in the Person of Jesus, God and man, here on earth for us. Let us rejoice and be glad for such blessings. The Easter season has begun, and we are invited to enter into its call for joy and peace in the favor of God. Let us hear that call and respond from a full heart to God’s incredible goodness in the person of Jesus, our Christ, and our Savior.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!