115. Holy Saturday
Meditations no. 161 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
The disciplesā discouragement after their Masterās Death.
Jesus Christ lay in the tomb. Loving hands had affectionately laid him in the grave near Calvary which belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. Now it is all over. The work of our Redemption is accomplished. We are now children of God, because Jesus has died for us and his Death has ransomed us.
Empti enim estis pretio magno! You and I have been bought at a great price.
The Apostles were not there at that time. Only John was present when Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus. The Gospels do not tell us anything of what they were doing during those lonely hours. Could they have been wandering aimlessly on the streets of Jerusalem, weighed down by sadness and remorse? Towards evening, they may have come together in the Cenacle where they had previously gathered with the Master. How sad their conversation must have been! Jesus Christ, who had attracted them, and led them to love him and to cling on to his every word, had died an ignominious death and was now lying in the grave. They must have felt totally disheartened. Such was their sense of failure that they toyed with the idea of abandoning everything and going back to their old ways, as though it had all been just a dream. That was the state of mind which comes across in the conversation of the disciples on their way to Emmaus: We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israelā¦
The holy women must have felt the same. They had been faithful to the end in their love for Christ. But now he was dead. Their main concern was to observe the tomb and how his body was laid, so that after the Sabbath rest, they could return and complete the embalming. What deep pain they felt in their hearts as they pondered on these sad events! They had come to believe in the Lordās divinity, as indeed had the Apostles. But now they were disconcerted. Their faith and hope were not as lively as before. Only a flicker remained, thanks chiefly to the strength of their love and the evidence of so many marvellous events which they recalled.
Such disappointment on the part of the Apostles and the holy women was understandable. Nevertheless, they were not yet witnesses of the Resurrection of Christ. We, on the other hand, already know for certain that our Lord has fully triumphed. Therefore our attitude has to be like that of the hidden disciples of Jesus: Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. In the hour of loneliness, of total abandonment and of scornā¦ , it is then that they stand up for him audacter, boldlyā¦ heroic courage!
With them I too will go up to the foot of the Cross; I will press my arms tightly round the cold Body, the corpse of Christ, with the fire of my loveā¦ ; I will unnail it, with my reparation and mortificationsā¦ ; I will wrap it in the new winding-sheet of my clean life, and I will bury it in the living rock of my breast, where no one can tear it away from me, and there, Lord, take your rest!
Were the whole world to abandon you and to scorn youā¦ serviam! I will serve you, Lord!
Our Lady sustained the faith and courage of the fainthearted disciples.
Our Blessed Lady acted very differently. She had been the first to stand at the foot of the Cross, but she did not go to the sepulchre along with the holy women. She trusted in Jesusā words and looked forward to his Resurrection. Our Lady had faith in her Sonās divinity.
Together with the sorrowful memory of the sufferings which Jesus had undergone, her heart was filled with immense consolation at the thought that he had accomplished the Redemption of the whole human race.
Holy Saturday could not have been a sad day for our Lady, although it was a painful one. Her faith, her hope, and her most tender love for her Divine Son, would have brought her peace. She would have awaited the Resurrection with calm longing. Meanwhile, she would have recalled Jesusā last words: Woman, behold your son. And she would have begun to act as a mother to the men and women who had followed her Son from the beginning. She would have tried to revive the Apostlesā faith and hope, reminding them of what they had heard a little earlier from the Lord himself: The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day. The Lord had spoken very clearly so that in their time of difficulty they might recall his words with faith, although they could not see anything and were totally in the dark.
If you want to be faithful, be very Marian.
Our Mother, from the time of the Angelās message until her agony at the foot of the Cross, had no other heart, no other life, than that of Jesus.
Go to Mary with the tender devotion of a son, and she will obtain for you the loyalty and self-denial that you desire.
A ray of hope must have been lit up in the hearts of the Apostles and the holy women, as they listened to our Lady. What if it were true, what if Jesus had truly risen as he promisedā¦ ? Moreover, since they still loved Jesus, they would want to be together beside his Mother, as they had been close to her Son at other times.
Donāt let discouragement enter into your apostolate. You havenāt failed, just as Christ didnāt fail on the Cross. Take courage!ā¦ Keep going, against the tide, protected by Maryās Immaculate and Motherly Heart. Sancta Maria, refugium nostrum et virtus! You are my refuge and my strength.
Hold your peace. Be calmā¦ God has very few friends on earth. Donāt yearn to leave this world. Donāt shy away from the burden of the days, even though at times we find them very long.
When the women discovered that Jesus had risen, they gave the news to the eleven and to the rest. They may well have found them gathered that morning under the motherly care of our Lady, who was sustaining the unity of the new-born Church by her own hope in the Resurrection.
Let us go to our Mother at difficult times.
Our Lady sustained the perseverance of the early Christians. We must learn the lesson. On that first Holy Saturday, the Apostles were weak in their faith and were on the point of losing the spirit they needed to continue along the way. They were saved by their affection for our Lady. In their time of trial they turned to Mary, and with her, how easy it is!
Our life must also be a life of faith, not only when things work out without much difficulty, but also when they are very demanding, and when there are difficulties and moments of darkness. If the winds of temptation arise and you come up against the reefs of tribulation, look up at the star and call upon Mary. As our Father wrote, there is no storm that can cause Maryās heart to founder. Each of us will experience storms, but if we struggle and place ourselves within the safe refuge of Mary, we can be certain of safety. God chose her to be our advocate, to be our Mother and our sure path, so that we can find our way again in times of darkness: We go to Jesus, and we return to him, through Mary. If we are close to her, Virgo Fidelis, Spes nostra, Virgin most faithful, our hope, then our faith in the supernatural character of our vocation will grow, along with our hope in the means of formation and in the interior progress that our Lord grants us in the Work.
You will not lose the way if you follow her. You will not lose hope if you implore her aid. You will not be lost if you think of her. Whoever appeals to our Ladyās powerful intercession knows that āit is a thing unheard of that anyone ever had recourse to her protection and was left unaidedā, no matter how difficult their situation, no matter how great their soulās confusion.
Take a look now at Calvary. Jesus has died, and there is as yet no sign of his glorious triumph. It is a good time to examine how much we really want to live as Christians, to be holy. Here is our chance to react against our weakness with an act of faith. We can trust in God and resolve to put love into the things we do each day. The experience of sin should lead us to sorrow. We should make a more mature and deeper decision to be faithful and truly identify ourselves with Christ, persevering no matter what it costs, in the priestly mission that he has given every single one of his disciples. That mission should spur us on to be the salt and light of the world.
From our Ladyās hands we will gently receive what the Church requests for her children this evening at the start of the Paschal Vigil: that the light of Christ, gloriously risen, drive away all shadows from our mind and heart.