From an ancient homily for Holy Saturday.
What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled.
Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam’s son.
The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: ‘My Lord be with you all.’ And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.
‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise.
‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.
‘For you, I your God became your son; for you, I the Master took on your form; that of slave; for you, I who am above the heavens came on earth and under the earth; for you, man, I became as a man without help, free among the dead; for you, who left a garden, I was handed over to Jews from a garden and crucified in a garden.
‘Look at the spittle on my face, which I received because of you, in order to restore you to that first divine inbreathing at creation. See the blows on my cheeks, which I accepted in order to refashion your distorted form to my own image.
‘See the scourging of my back, which I accepted in order to disperse the load of your sins which was laid upon your back. See my hands nailed to the tree for a good purpose, for you, who stretched out your hand to the tree for an evil one.
`I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side, for you, who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side healed the pain of your side; my sleep will release you from your sleep in Hades; my sword has checked the sword which was turned against you.
‘But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I make the cherubim worship you as they would God.
“The cherubim throne has been prepared, the bearers are ready and waiting, the bridal chamber is in order, the food is provided, the everlasting houses and rooms are in readiness; the treasures of good things have been opened; the kingdom of heaven has been prepared before the ages.”
The Angels Hovering Over the Body of Christ in the Sepulcher” (1805)
Medium: pen, ink, and watercolor on paper, 42.0 x 32.4 cm
Artist: William Blake (1757-1827)
Location: The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
h/t Lucille at Stella’s Place
My Lord, today all is silent. You have given Your precious life for the salvation of the world. You died a horrific death, poured out all Mercy from Your wounded Heart, and now You rest in peace in the tomb as the soldiers keep vigil.
Lord, may I also keep vigil with You as You sleep. I know that this day ends with Your glorious triumph, Your victory over sin and death. But for now I sit quietly mourning Your death.
Help me, dear Lord, to enter into the sorrow and the silence of this Holy Saturday. Today no Sacraments are celebrated. Today the world waits in mourning in anticipation of the glory of new life!
As I keep vigil, awaiting the celebration of Your Resurrection, fill me with hope. Help me to look forward to the celebration of Your Resurrection, but also to look forward to the hope of my own share in the new life You won for the world. I entrust my whole being to You, dear Lord, as You lay lifeless and still. May Your rest transform the brokenness of my own soul, my weaknesses, my sin and my frailty. You are glorious and You bring the greatest good out of Your apparent defeat. I trust in Your power to do all things and I entrust my life to You. Jesus, I trust in You
Amen . Our Only Hope comes at Dawn . Jesus I live for you , Jesus I die for you , Jesus I am yours in life and in death , may Thy Kingdom come !
Beautifully written. It rained here today — as the world mourned. Blessings to all, and thank you, dear Jesus, for all you have suffered for our sins.
Amen. To You Jesus, be all the Glory forever and ever.
Amen🙏
Amen
He will rise, our Lord of Lords, King of Kings….we pray in His name.
Why do they sing that loudly when someone is lying in state?
They wish to awaken the dead?
Thank you for posting this! Unbeknownst to me, this is how I learned how to pray as just a wee one.
Only in later years did I grasp the desperate pleading when the tenors kick in at volume in Lacrimosa.
This Easter Triduum had been unlike past years as far as my prayers of intercession, as well as the prayers of intercession during Holy Thursday and Good Friday masses.
Light is being shed accross the world and evil is being exposed. I have much hope for the future and I truly believe all things will come right.
God bless you and yours during this Easter season.
That’s fascinating. Same here. In fact, I was transfixed and in the middle of reading this stunning homily when a good friend texted me the first paragraph and said it was one of his favorite readings of the year. Something wonderful is happening.
Thank you for your thoughts. Hope springs as spring brings hope.
Very powerful post at a most appropriate time of the year.
The day the Lord went to Hell to free the previously imprisoned souls from time immemorial.
What a great post, Menagerie!
This may be the best post I’ve ever seen from you.
Reminding or revealing to everyone a very little discussed or known aspect of Christ’s descent into Hell after his death and before the Resurrection!
Bless you and have a Happy Easter!
Beautiful.
thank you for sharing this.
I did a quick drive by over at Stella’s Place. A nice respite from the intensity of politics.
It’s a great site. Stella has such a variety of posts. It’s alway entertaining, and she has a variety of interesting commenters.
I used to drop in and visit but over time, I had drifted away. I will be going there more often.
The post about the dogwood is a very touching post. Apparently, the picture of the dogwood flowers is an actual painting…truly gorgeous.
Another favorite of mine:
https://morningbrayfarm.com/2011/04/17/legend-of-the-donkeys-cross/
The little story before the donkey goes to the new Master, is a touching one.
In my dog world, some have their own herds of sheep for ‘herding’….and keep a few donkeys mixed with the flock of sheep…for protection against the coyotes. Those donkeys protect the flock and are incredibly good at what they do. The idea of protecting ‘sheep’, touches me deeply. Next time I am there, I will check for the cross on the back.
And so the silence goes on on, today…
Jesus ‘descended to the dead’. While being the Son of God he also, as Man, experienced life as we would. Lots to meditate on today.
what is or where is Stella’s Place?
It’s here, Queens:
https://stellasplace1.com/
I attended my church’s Tenebrae Vespers service last evening. Very stark and somber. Psalm 22 is especially moving.
👍🙏💕
My heart swells with joy in all of this season because I know the outcome!!!! I understand the need for the somberness and seriousness, but HE IS RISEN is just all over and in me! Nothing trumps that and I am about to burst!
thank you for sharing this Menagerie. These posts have been such a blessing.
Never heard this until this AM on the Hallow app. Nice story!!!
Thank you Menagerie.
Your posts assist in me “getting out of myself”
Cheers!
Who is “he?” Do you mean “He,” Sundance?
Thank you Menagerie
You always help bring it back to point
Thank you Menagerie for your faithfulness. I’m not Catholic, and have had very little exposure to Catholicism so I’m completely unfamiliar with this story. Thank you. Generally, as a habit during this time of reflection of Christ’s suffering, death, and burial I mentally repeat a single phrase I heard in a sermon 47 years ago; “Sunday’s coming!”
God bless you.
I heard this for the first time on Go: “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s Coming.” It was amazing!
Well, my post was supposed to say that I heard this on Good Friday, not that I heard it on Go!
Menagerie, thank you for posting this.
Also, do you have a link for Stella’s place. I search for it and get restaurants, apartments etc as results.
Thanks.
it’s over at WordPress; a wonderful place to visit (I simply lurk there, guess that’s the word, read it but never comment, it’s a nice change of pace from all the politics)
https://stellasplace1.com/
Thank you.
Thank you. I will check it out, given it’s glowing praises here.
Thanks for sharing that!
Thanks for the link Bessie.
Beautiful.
Praise the Lord!
There is an eerie quiet about this day. The day Jesus died was preparation day–preparation for the Sabbath. We read that the women went home and prepared spices, but they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. In our method of dividing calendar days we observe Maundy Thursday, followed by Good Friday, Holy Saturday and finally Easter Sunday. We divide calendar days at midnight, but not so in Jesus’ day. The day ended at sundown or approximately 6 pm on our clocks. That is why there was a rush to get Jesus body into the tomb, and why the usual anointing of the body had to wait. But there is more to the story. Here is an obscure passage from the third chapter of the prophet Zechariah:
8 “‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.’
All of the events we observe, from the Last Supper in the upper room, including the foot washing, the prediction of the betrayal and denial, the extended teachings John records, Jesus High Priestly prayer, Gethsemane, the arrest and trials before the High Priest, Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod, and back to Pilate, the condemnation and crucifixion, words on the cross, death and burial happened in a single day when the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world as the prophet said. The next day, the Sabbath Day, parallels the original Sabbath Day when God finished creation and declared everything was very good. So he rested from his work of creation. Now Jesus rested from his work of our redemption, just as he said, “It is finished.” We are also told of the tearing of the temple curtain that separated us from coming into the presence of God. In the Old Testament temple, only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement, and then only with the blood of the sacrifice.
In other discussions we have been reminded that the first step for engaging in the war against the evil we see so clearly in our world is that we get right with our God. That has been accomplished for us, and we receive it by faith. Faith has two parts, first that we believe what God says about sin, and clearly the world and the forces of evil reject everything God says about sin, and the second part of faith is what God says about the redemption from the guilt of sin that he worked when:
He was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
This faith produces also love which again has two parts. First is love for God which is willing to suffer anything including death for his sake. The second part is that we love our neighbor and do whatever we can to help them be right with God and enjoy their daily bread.
We are in the last days of the battle against evil–spiritual forces in high places. When we ask who will lead us, the answer lies right before us: He is risen, he is risen indeed.
Thank you Menagerie, absolutely beautiful!
I have always wondered what Jesus did after his body was prepared by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus and laid in the garden tomb. I have thought that as soon as the stone was sealed He arose, in the flesh and went to preach the Gospel to the captives in hell and never returned to that tomb.
https://biblehub.com/acts/13-34.htm
When Jesus sees Mary in the garden on Sunday, He had been very busy preaching to the captives and things only He knows. He had his physical, resurrected body, but as we are told had not ascended to The Father in Glory, therefor told Mary not to cling to Him.
https://biblehub.com/john/20-17.htm
This scripture makes me burst into Praise and tears of joy!
Menagerie,
Your words are worth of profound meditation.
Life and death are great mysteries for us. Mainly because we cannot understand neither the designs nor the will of God.
You wrote simple, straight sentences. But, for me, they are full of mystery and I think that your Life is full of unenlightenment.
Thank you, but I did not write those words. They are from an ancient homily, and the author is unknown.
As I wrote, “full of unenlightenment”.
You knew that homily and send it to us. It is a clear form of evangelization.
Please, from which century, and written in which language originally? Could you provide a source?
No, I can’t. All I found was that it was a sermon from the early church fathers for Holy Saturday.
Thank you for sharing! Lovely!🙏💕
https://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/media/articles/holy-saturday-he-descended-into-hell-2/
It was a famous ANONYMOUS Homily from 4th Century. During that era particularly, Jesus’ descent into hell was popularized in hymns and sermons. You can read similar themes from the likes of St. John Chrystostom in particular from that same era.
How ironic, the pastor of my parish read this exact same homily yesterday. Bravo for posting it is a truly wonderful homily. Praise be to God.
GMoney,
In my way, it is not ironic. We must evangelize by all means we can access (use).
God will care of us. Our lives can be not the lives we desire, but is the lives that we need.
Sobering, humbling and yet, JOY follows! We are not worthy and yet, we are saved in spite of our unworthiness.
Thanks for posting!
A Historian Explains the Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus (Dr. Gary Habermas) – Video
https://commoncts.blogspot.com/2023/04/a-historian-explains-evidence-for.html
That was beautiful. Like the Stations of the Cross, it changes you.
These words are breath and life for us all. Praise God.
A favorite for Holy Saturday….
This article, too, references the ancient homily, as well as St. Thomas Aquinas:
The Harrowing of Hell ~ The Imaginative Conservative
Holy Saturday, Apr 8 – Day 02 Solemn Novena of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
Bring to Me souls of priests and religious
Our priests and religious need for our prayers and support; even if they don’t get to ask every one in their parishes themselves.
I take this as a general explanation of “He descended into Hell (Hades)”. Seems to be drawn from St Augustine’s Letter 164 to Evodius concerning 1 Pet 3:18-21, in particular from the Vulgate where Christ is preaching to those “qui in carcere erant”.
Once u are cast into hell u will be there for all eternity. No one of any stature can pray u out if perform a religious service to limit your time there.
Thank you.
telelestai: an ancient accounting term. The words of Jesus from the Cross. It is finished, paid in full-John 19: 28, 30. The mankind’s debt was wiped away completely and forever. Also the old prophecies were fullfilled, and satan and sin had no more power over God’s creation if they believe, by faith in Jesus Christ and what He did at the Cross! Think about that!
EASTER HALLELUJAH LYRICS
A crown of thorns placed on His head
He knew that He would soon be dead
He said did you forget me Father did you?
They nailed Him to a wooden cross
Soon all the world would feel the loss
Of Christ the King before His Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
He hung His head and prepared to die
Then lifted His face up to the sky
Said I am coming home now Father to you
A reed which held His final sip
Was gently lifted to his lips
He drank His last and gave His soul to glory
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
The soldier who had used his sword
To pierce the body of our Lord
Said truly this is Jesus Christ our Savior
He looked with fear upon his sword
Then turned to face his Christ and Lord
Fell to his knees crying Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Took from his head the thorny crown
And wrapped him in a linen gown
And laid him down to rest inside the tomb
The holes in his hands, his feet and side
Now in our hearts we know he died
To save us from ourselves oh hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Three days went by again they came
To move the stone to bless the slain
With oil and spice anointing hallelujah
But as they went to move the stone
They saw that they were not alone
But Jesus Christ has risen Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
(do not confuse this Easter Hallelujah with leonard cohen’s version. that version is demonic)(IMO)
&fb_obo=1&utld=ytimg.com&stp=c0.5000×0.5000f_dst-jpg_flffffff_p500x261_q75&ccb=13-1&oh=06_AbFDCLZ8APoIX0QrxXrRewnpkFdoO9ThsEVI930hpohGlA&oe=64334F61&_nc_sid=abe532
From the visions of Ann Catherine Emmerich who inspired Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ .
thank you Managerie
that was very nice.
and thank you for this wonderful website
peace in Christ
MT. 12:
40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Eph. 4:8-10
Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
MT. 27:
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
My brother, who is a priest, said he recognized this from his breviary as part of the office of readings. Thank you for finding and posting this. It elevated my holy Saturday. I have always felt that the world was in abeyance on this day, as if the world was holding its breath. Really, a beautiful reading.
Joel 2:13 Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
–
That is one of the best things I have ever read. Thank you.
If any of you go to London, go to the Tate Gallery and see the marvelous works of William Blake and J.M.W. Turner.
The Blake reminded me of that wonderful gallery.