LOOKING OUT Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday used to be a time of relief for me--- relieved that the 40 days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving were finally over and I was keen to refocus myself on things other than Lent. Although revelling was never my choice, I wasn’t shy to indulge myself in the food and activities that I had abstained from in the past 40 days. Why should I shroud myself in sadness when we were going to sing ‘Hallelujah’ the next day?

In recent years, my mood during Holy Saturday slowly changed as I went through losses in life. How would I describe my mood? Sombre? Weighty? Lost? Or, a mix of all of these? If possible, I would spend the day in quiet. My heart was still, my prayers didn’t need words, my inner being was in solitude even when I appeared to be busy. This was probably closer to the mood of Jesus’ grieving disciples on the first Holy Saturday except that they were also terrified.

Last Holy Saturday, a friend sent an image to my phone. The image reads: ‘Peter is asleep. Mary is crying. Hope is lost. Death has won. Satan is laughing. Jesus is buried. A rock is rolled into place. A soldier stands guard. Remember, Sunday is coming.’

What a reflective depiction of the first Holy Saturday. That group from Galilee was on the verge of breaking up. It had lost two lives in one day---its leader and his money man, Judas. The rest of them were hiding in fear and despair while the enemies were celebrating. Yet, it was in their pit of hopelessness that God lifted them up with a mighty miracle the next day. This is the mystery of our faith.

Many of us have gone through the ‘Holy Saturday’ of life when everything has fallen apart and not a glimpse of light is in sight. The first Holy Saturday lasted for 24 hours, the ‘Holy Saturday’ in our lives could last for years. The mystery of our faith urges us to hang in there with faith, love and hope, trusting that God will lift us out one day