MARY- THE CHURCH'S HOPE

Patricia Trudeau (New York)

HOLY SATURDAY  has been called the "Second Sabbath" after creation. The day should be the most calm and quiet day of the entire Church year, a day broken by no liturgical function. Christ lies in the grave, the Church sits near and mourns. After the great battle He is resting in peace, but upon Him we see the scars of intense suffering...The mortal wounds on His Body remain visible.  Even His enemies are cautious, attempting to obliterate any

Mary and the disciples are grief-stricken, while the Church must mournfully admit that too many of her children return home from Calvary cold and hard of heart. When Mother Church reflects upon all of this, it seems as if the wounds of her dearly Beloved were again beginning to bleed.

According to tradition, the entire body of the Church is represented in Mary: she is the "credentium collectio universa". Thus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, as she waits near the Lord's tomb, is an icon of the Virgin Church keeping vigil at the tomb of her Spouse while awaiting the celebration of His resurrection.

Grunewald- Isenheim Altarpiece, Colmar, France

While the body of her Son lays in the tomb and His soul has descended to the dead to announce liberation from the shadow of darkness to His ancestors, the Blessed Virgin Mary, foreshadowing and representing the Church, awaits, in faith, the victorious triumph of her Son over death.

Although we are still in mourning, there is much preparation during this day to prepare for Easter.
On Holy Saturday we remember Christ in the tomb, in silence, with hope.