Holy Saturday
Love’s Patient Hope
Reflection By Gary Manning
[Love] believes all things, hopes all things.
- 1 Corinthians 13:7
Holy Saturday is when the Church remembers Jesus in the tomb. For plenty of us, though, today is a day of busy preparation for the celebration of Easter tomorrow. Because we “know how the story ends,” it’s virtually impossible for us to identify with what this day must have been like for Jesus’ disciples. That said, I’m guessing many folks reading these words are well acquainted with the feelings of loss and grief that flood our days in the aftermath of a loved one’s death.
As a priest, I’ve helped plenty of families plan funeral liturgies. Some of the most moving moments of those planning sessions have been when family members started sharing stories of their loved one’s life. Inevitably amidst the tears there is also laughter. On more than one occasion, I’ve had a family member say to me, “Who knew planning a funeral could feel so hopeful?”
After all, Holy Saturday is not Hopeless Saturday. While Holy Saturday urges us, implores us, and compels us to pause and remember the fragility of life, today also offers us the life-giving and life-altering promise that death does not have the final word over us. We have hope, not because we choose to ignore the facts of life. We have hope because we trust that God will open a way forward, even when we cannot see one, or are unable to open a way forward for ourselves. We have hope because God’s love is stronger than death, and fiercer than any tomb.
Making it Personal: How do you maintain hope when you have experienced a crisis or loss that makes it hard to see a way forward?
Listen To Our Lent Podcast Episodes
We also invite you to listen to the Living Compass Spirituality and Wellness Podcast hosted by Scott Stoner. This is a year-round, weekly podcast; however, during Lent, there will be two new episodes each week to enrich your experience of our Lenten readings on Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit.
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