A Brief Holy Saturday Reflection

Today is Holy Saturday. The horrors of Good Friday are over, but grief and mourning have just begun. Mary has just witnessed the torture and Death of Her Son, and although She knew He would rise again, Her grief is not lessened. She feels immense pain at the reality of sin and the fact that things had to be this way. She grieves for the world and for the people who did this to Her Son. And she mourns for what He went through and for His loss, however temporary.

The grief of the apostles and disciples is different. They had heard Jesus’s words that He would rise again on the third day, but they hadn’t understood them and now they don’t know what to think. They can’t bear to think about going on without their Lord and Master, and they are heartbroken. This kind of grief is likened to a dark night of the soul, where we cannot feel the presence of God and we may question if He’s even with us. When we go through a dark period in either our mortal lives or our spiritual lives, we can relate to this Holy Saturday grief, as Jesus seems to have hidden Himself from us and we probably don’t understand why or how He plans to bestow His light once more.

For us today, even though we know the end of the story and that Jesus does rise again, Holy Saturday is a time for us to reflect and mourn for our sins that have crucified Him and put Him in the tomb. We should pray for ourselves and for the world, that all may repent and rightfully mourn for their sins, turning back to God and trusting in Him.