HOLY SATURDAY, April 4
Romans 8:1-11

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. — Romans 8:1-4

When I was a Novice, I was talking to one of the Sisters in the hallway outside our chapel, asking a question about the schedule. It was Holy Saturday, and we were supposed to be in the Great Silence, but I thought that by whispering softly, I would not be breaking the silence. Just then, a senior Sister came whipping around the corner, her black habit flapping in the whirlwind of her indignant momentum, and stage-whispered with great intensity, “He is IN the TOMB!!!!”

Well, that shut us up. I was so mortified that I must have turned purple from head to toe. The other Sister put her finger to her lips, and I did not utter a peep for the rest of that day. As embarrassing as that was, it taught me a lesson about the Great Silence on Holy Saturday. He is in the tomb. We must bear that truth in mind all day. Jesus’ flesh lies in the sealed darkness of the tomb, in silence. We keep silent with him.

Paul’s letter to the Romans describes to us the importance of Jesus’ sacrifice and reminds us that when the flesh fails, we are sustained by the Spirit. As Jesus lies in the tomb, his disciples start to lose heart. They have suffered the agony of watching him suffer and die, and even though he told them death would not be the end, they still wonder if his words are true. The hours of Holy Saturday tick away slowly as they are plunged further and further into despair. Is this the end?