“A great silence reigns over the earth. A great silence and a great loneliness. A great silence because the King is asleep; the earth trembled and became silent, because the God made man fell asleep and woke up those who had been asleep for centuries. God died in the flesh and awakened the mansion of the dead. I command thee, awake thou that sleeps, for I created thee not to remain in the mansion of the dead. Arise, work of my hands; I am the life of the dead. Arise, work of my hands; arise, O my image, you who were created in my likeness. Arise, let us go from here; you in me and I in you, we are one and indivisible person“. (From an ancient homily on Holy Saturday, 4th century)
We’ve reached Holy Saturday. Silence and meditation are the spirit of this day’s liturgy.
While we venerate in silence the holy tomb of the Lord, He descends into the mansion of the dead to rescue those who were waiting for His salvation. Wouldn’t the Lord also be descending into our deaths, into our darkness, at this very moment, to free us through His most blessed light?
Yes! The Light of Christ’s obedience wants to guide us back to the path of holiness. He, coming to the gates of death, which were closed by human disobedience, opens them by means of the key, which is His cross, and frees us for true life.
At the height of this night is the Easter Vigil. The new fire of the candle announces that the light of Christ is the victor of darkness. Singing the hallelujah, we join with all the angels and saints in heaven to proclaim that He lives and is the true light of the nations.
Translation: Sérgio Godoy Jr.
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