Holy Saturday — Catholic Artist Connection

The Exile of Christ
By Catherine Rider

For forty days, we fasted and prayed in preparation for the holiest day of the year. The Lenten journey is a recollection of Christ’s time in the desert. It is a time for strengthening our Christian resolve, denying ourselves, taking up our crosses, and examining our weaknesses. During Lent, the liturgies draw attention to the themes of the season: simple music and decorations, omission of the Alleluia, the purple garments that signify penance.

The liturgies of Holy Week move us deeper into these mysteries of faith. On Palm Sunday, we recount the Passion. We call out, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” with the crowds and say, “I do not know this man” with Peter. On Thursday, we celebrate the Institution of the Eucharist and recreate the washing of the feet. We place the Blessed Sacrament at the Altar of Repose, and on Friday we gather in the stillness and leave in silence, contemplating the events of the week. Then there is the splendor of the Easter Vigil. But there is also a very poignant time between the liturgies of Good Friday and the Easter Vigil.

If you've never visited a Church on Holy Saturday, I encourage you to go. You will see a bare altar, no sanctuary lamp, and an open and empty tabernacle. For Catholics, this is not just symbolic; it is tangibly different. Every tabernacle across the world stands empty and open. Christ has left the earth. We cheered it on. Looking at the empty tabernacle, you feel what the apostles must have felt.

Pope Francis said, “There is a great silence throughout the World; a silence lived by the first disciples in mourning and bewilderment, shocked by Jesus’ ignominious death. While the Word is silent, while Life is in the sepulchre, those who had hoped in him were put to a difficult test, they felt like orphans, perhaps even orphaned by God.”

We know this is not the ending. If you stay long enough, parishioners begin preparing elaborate flower arrangements and ornate altar cloths. Death didn’t win. Christ has risen. At the Vigil, bells sound in joy for minutes as the Gloria returns. I once went to the cathedral in Birmingham, AL. Before the Gospel, an acolyte ran down the center aisle to the bishop, took out a scroll and unrolled it, saying breathlessly, "I bring you a joyful message!" as the bishop took it and sang an elaborate Alleluia. This is the Christian’s joy. Easter does not negate the sorrow, but it makes it Holy.

On Saturday, we feel the extent and consequence of our sins. We also feel the extent and magnitude of Christ's love for us. Pope Francis continued, “All questions and uncertainties, hesitations and fears are dispelled by this revelation. The Risen One gives us the certainty that good always triumphs over evil, that life always conquers death, and that it is not our end to descend lower and lower, from sorrow to sorrow, but rather to rise up high”.