Daily
Thoughts:
Once again Pope Francis offers us these words to help us on our journey through
Holy Saturday – “There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without
Easter. I realize of course that joy is not expressed the same way at all times
in life, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes, but
it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty
that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved. I understand
the grief of people who have to endure great suffering, yet slowly but surely
we all have to let the joy of faith slowly revive as a quiet yet firm trust,
even amid the greatest distress: “My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten
what happiness is… But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the
steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they
are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness… It is good that one should
wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lam
3:17, 21-23, 26).” (Evangelii
Gaudium: The Joy of the Gospel)
I offer
you these words from Pope Francis because I think they reflect what Holy
Saturday is about. We sit and wait. Will there be an Easter? Yes, we know that
there will be but those disciples and friends of Jesus who lived through this
day many centuries ago did not. They lived this day in their grief but they
also lived this day in hope. It was a time when they remember the story, it was
a time when they hoped, it was a time when joy was conceived in their hearts.
Today we live in the hope that once again joy might be conceived in our hearts!
The word
that I always use for Holy Saturday is hope. After a long Lent, after the gift
of Love which we call Good Friday we wait in Hope on Holy Saturday. The
elements of the Easter Vigil which we will celebrate later today all point
toward the virtue of Hope.
We retell
the story of creation, our creation, of how God so loved us, of how we are
created in the image and likeness of God. We retell the story of our release
from slavery; How God with a mighty arm brought us from slavery to freedom. We
hear how God provides for all those who are thirsty, who are hunger. The rich
table, the rich food God provides for us.
On Holy
Saturday night we light a new fire. We bless new water. We welcome people,
through baptism, confirmation, Holy Eucharist into the community of faith. It
is a night of hope for us, for our church, for the world.
I read
not too long ago that the most common one-liner in the scriptures is, "Do
not be afraid." Someone counted, and it occurs 365 times. In one of the
Gospel readings for the Easter this one-liner appears twice. First the angel
who meets the women at the tomb just after the earthquake tells them, “Do not
be afraid.” Then as they go running from the tomb they run right into Jesus who
also tells them, “Do not be afraid.” Fear can be a crippling emotion. It can
sometimes hold us back from seeing, experiencing and proclaiming the Good
News. The world can throw many
experiences, situations and encounters at us that can cause to live our life in
fear. The message of our Easter celebration is to not be afraid, have to have
hope!
“Hope is
the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings a tune without the
words and never stops at all!” (Emily
Dickinson) We wait in faith today, we wait in love, and we wait to hear the
tune of hope that perches in our soul singing a tune of love that never stops.
Yes, today we wait...in hope!
Have a
blessed Holy Saturday!
Daily
Prayer:
Loving God as we wait today make ready our hearts that they may be inflamed
with your presence. Enkindle in them the fire of your love. Grace our souls
with the song of your hope, a song, and a tune that will never stop. Strengthen
us with patience, strengthen us with energy, gift us with wisdom and enliven us
with joy. We make this prayer as your faith filled people embraced by your love
and dancing to the rhythm of the song of hope! Amen!
A
Runner's Thoughts: As runners in faith we always need to persevere.
Perseverance requires faith that the path you have chosen is the right path.
Wherever it takes us we will grow in the presence of God if we are willing to
persevere.
Daily
Blessing:
Holy Saturday greetings and blessings to all! I hope you had a blessed and holy
Good Friday. I hope you got to spend a little time in prayer. The liturgy of
Good Friday is so simple it is one of my favorite days to just sit in a church
or a chapel and be. I had the great privilege of preaching at the service
yesterday and I have to say that being a Passionist there is no greater gift
than to proclaim the Good Word on Good Friday!
This
evening I will once again be preaching at OLPH Parish here is Pelham Manor. It
will be a wonderful way to celebrate the Easter Vigil. The pastor told me the
other day that there will be ten people coming into the Church in one way of
another tonight which is always a wonderful thing to experience.
But for now
it is a time of waiting. My prayer of blessing today is that your Holy Saturday
may be rich in the warmth of the sun, that it may be a day when you can hope
for all the goodness that Easter is. And may you be blessed with the new life
of joy that will enliven the journey of your life in new and faith filled ways!
Enjoy your Holy Saturday everyone and please know you are in my prayers
throughout this day and always! Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul
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