Living in the In-Between

Holy Thursday
Good Friday
Holy Saturday
Easter Sunday

"Lamentation at the Tomb" icon.

I've always found Holy Saturday kind of weird.  We find ourselves in a liminal space, an in-between time.  At a spiritual level, we have remembered the death of Jesus, and he is now in the tomb.  At the same time, we know, fortunately, how the story ends.  But we can't really go to the empty tomb, yet.  It's just not the right time.  On a more personal level, our Friday of fasting and abstinence is over and we need to start making plans for the grand feast tomorrow.  But we can't really start to celebrate, yet.  It just might not seem right.  In both of these, tt just seems that we should wait.

I think that Holy Saturday is about waiting.  In the liturgical life of the Church, that's what we do - we pause and wait for a bit.  There are no liturgies today, other than the regular chanting of the psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours.  There's no morning mass or special service until the night falls.  We are invited to sit at the tomb, to see the stone still rolled in front, and just wait.  In fact, maybe that's all we can do.

"Jesus is Laid in the Tomb" by Gwyneth Leech

Friday evening, I attended a Way of the Cross with the Community of Sant'Egidio, a lay organization committed to works of justice and peace.  It took place on a hill that sits just above the Colosseum and a very busy section of the city.  The meditation began with noticing that as we prayed we would encounter the noise of the city below - the traffic, tourists, trams, ambulance sirens, and even the choir practicing for the Pope's Way of the Cross later in the evening.  But, we were also asked to encounter the noise that is within ourselves.  While we can't do anything about the incessant noise that is Rome, we can do something about the noise from within.  It was an invitation to pause and quiet ourselves so as to enter into the mysteries upon which we would reflect.

I think there is a lesson here for us on Holy Saturday.  Today is an opportunity among all the preparations for tomorrow and the daily noise we encounter every day to pause and to quiet ourselves.  Today is an invitation to sit outside the closed tomb and ponder the great mysteries which we have experienced and will still experience.

Mosaic of the burial of Jesus

The Gospel of Luke tells us the story of the boy Jesus being lost in Jerusalem and finally found in the Temple.  For three days, Mary and Joseph waited.  I can't imagine that they were too calm or quiet during those days.  But at the end of the story we are told that "Mary pondered all these things in here heart."  Mary, once again, is our model - of quieting ourselves and reflecting on our experiences in our hearts.  In her Stability, she shows us how to be quiet, to sit and ponder, to pause and take in everything that has happened.

"Mary, Seat of Wisdom" pondering.

At the Way of the Cross, the final song was quite touching, and I think it encapsulates our invitation to ponder and wait in this in-between moment.

Non piangere, Madre di Dio,                                     Do not cry, Mother of God,

presso la croce del Signore                                        standing near the cross of the Lord

e gioisci perche` egli e` risorto.                                   but rejoice because he is risen.

Nel suo corpo e` nascosto                                         In his body is hidden

tutto il riscatto e la salvezza                                        all the redemption and salvation

d'ogni uomo.                                                             of every person.

Blessed Triduum, my dear friends.

Ciao!