Holy Saturday
Reflection
Christ’s body lies in a tomb hewn from rock; he is returned to the earth. It is the earth the birther of life, the earth into which he said the seed must fall to live again. All is silence while germination takes place. We reflect that nothing that exists is ever lost only transformed, that the remains of the old hold the life of the new, that matter and energy are interchangeable. And we keep vigil.
Prayer
May we live in fidelity and love.
Action
Take time today if possible and reflect on the life and ultimate death of Jesus.
Suggested Reading
After this Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish authorities), asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he went and took away the body. Nicodemus, who had come to Jesus earlier at night, went with Joseph too, carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing seventy-five pounds. So they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, in strips of linen cloth according to Jewish burial customs. Now at the place where Jesus was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried. So because it was the Jewish day of preparation and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
John 19:38-42
The primary source of the appeal of Christianity was Jesus – His incarnation, His life, His crucifixion, and His resurrection.
Kenneth Scott Latourette
Holy Saturday acknowledges those struggling between post-traumatic defeat and pre-resurrection hope.
Unknown
People talk about imitating Christ, and imitate Him in the little trifling formal things, such as washing the feet, saying His prayer, and so on; but if anyone attempts the real imitation of Him, there are no bounds to the outcry with which the presumption of that person is condemned.
Florence Nightingale
Lord, show us that love is stronger than hatred, that love is stronger than death.
Descend into the darkness and the abyss of our modern age, and take by the hand those who await you.
Bring them to the light!
Benedict XVI
The message of Christ is not Christianity. The message of Christ is Christ.
Gary Amirault
Jesus is God spelling Godself out in language that we can understand.
S.D. Gordon