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Christ is in His tomb. Rather,
His Body is in the tomb, but when His Soul left His Body, He
descended into Hell to "free the captives." "Hell" here refers
to the place of the dead in general ("Sheol" in the Hebrew, or
"Hades" in the Greek), not to the place of torment with which
the word "Hell" is most usually associated with today. The
world "Hell" in the loosest, earliest sense
includes:
- the Limbo of the Fathers, the place for those who
were righteous by charity and faith in the coming Messias
and who died before His Coming
- the Limbo of Infants, where, possibly, those who are
sent who die without personal guilt but without Baptism
after the time of Christ, or who died without charity and
faith in the coming Messias before the time of Christ. This
would be a place of beautiful, natural happiness, no
punishment, and no sensible suffering.
- Purgatory, where righteous people go to be cleansed
of the temporal effects of their sins
- Gehenna, the "Hell of the Lost," the eternal place of
punishment for the damned, the place we usually refer to as
simply "Hell" today
It was to the Limbo of the Fathers that Christ
descended, a place of the dead that was emptied through His
Passion, Resurrection and Ascension, and no longer exists. By
this "Harrowing of Hell," as His Descent is sometimes called,
the doors to Heaven were swung open so that those who die in a
state of grace may enter in, alleluia! Adam, Eve, Noe,
Abraham, Moses, the good thief on the cross -- all the
righteous were illuminated by the Presence of Christ in the
place of death, making Sheol itself a paradise. They remained
there with Him until His Bodily Resurrection when the the
"bars of Hell" were broken down and they were later able to
enter into Heaven itself with His glorious Ascension.
Today a
great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great
stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. The
earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in
the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since
the world began... ..He has gone to search for Adam, our
first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit
those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he
has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve,
captive with him -- He who is both their God and the son of
Eve.. "I am your God, who for your sake have become your
son... ...I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create
you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am
the life of the dead." [Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday: PG
43, 440A, 452C; LH, Holy Saturday, OR]
Because of this great silence, today there will be no
Mass (until the Vigil Mass tonight, which technically is
Easter); instead, there is a solemn service. Today is
traditionally a day of abstinence in addition to being a day
of fasting, until the Vigil Mass, when the Lenten Fast ends.
Though this fasting requirement was abolished in the new Code
of Canon Law, traditional Catholics follow the traditional
practice. In some churches today, priests will bless Easter
baskets containing the foods eaten tomorrow (in other places,
the baskets will be blessed after the liturgy tomorrow).
Baskets bearing Easter bread, Easter eggs, meats, butter,
horseradish, and salt are brought to church, blessed, and
taken home to await the great feast tomorrow (see the Easter
Day page for more information).
As said, in the
evening -- very late in the evening -- there will be a true
Mass, the Vigil Mass that begins Easter -- a most joyous Mass
during which Catechumens are baptized into the Church (neither
the Creed nor Offertory are said) and the alleluia returns.
This is a Mass that must be experienced! It is a very long
service, but so beautiful, and when it is finished, Easter is
here and the somberness that began on Good Friday is over;
candles may be relit at home, music can be restored to the
house, etc. The Vigil Mass starts in darkness; the lights of
the church are extinguished. Then comes the Blessing of the
New Fire and Blessing of the Paschal Candle: outdoors, if
possible, the priest, wearing an amice, alb, stole and purple
cope, blesses the new fire with Holy Water and prayer. This
new fire is a symbol of Christ Who enlightens us.
The
acolyte will then fill the thurible with some of the coals
from the fire, and the priest will fill it with incense and
incense the new fire. The priest then carves into the wax of
the Paschal candle the following: a Cross, the Alpha and Omega
signs, and the year. 5 grains of incense symbolizing the 5
wounds of Christ are fixed into the candle, which is lit from
the new fire. These incisions in the wax will follow the
pattern below (see the page on Easter
Sunday for more information on the Paschal candle itself):
When we re-enter the church, we all light our own
candles from the Paschal Candle, which is then put in its
place in the sanctuary, incensed, and will remain in the
church until the Feast
of the Ascension. At this point, the deacon will sing the
joyous song of praise which is the Proclamation of Easter --
the Exúltet
(or "Praeconium").
Note that during the Exúltet,
you will hear the words "felix culpa," which mean "happy
fault." This refers to the line before it, "O truly needful
sin of Adam, which was blotted out by the death of Christ." It
means that without Adam's sin, we would've not been sent the
Redeemer. Adam and Eve would've lived in an earthly paradise
without death -- but also without Heaven and without being
able to share in the Divine life on earth. You will also hear
repeated the words "This is the night..." Note, too, the
beautiful praise of bees:
Therefore, on this sacred night, receive, holy
Father, the flame of this evening sacrifice, which holy
Church presents to Thee by the hands of Thy ministers  in the solemn offering of this
Candle of wax, the work of bees. Now we know the excellence
of this pillar, which the glowing fire enkindles to the
glory of God. Which, although divied into parts, suffers no
loss from its light being borrowed. For it is nourished by
the melting wax, which the mother bee produced for the
substance of this precious lamp.
After four (very, very) long readings, called
the Lessons, which are a basic review of salvation History,
any catechumens are baptized, and all the previously baptized
renew their Baptismal promises. It begins when we recite the
Litany
of the Saints, but stop halfway through, after the prayer
to "All ye holy Virgins and Widows, All ye holy Saints of God"
(you can download this Litany, in Microsoft Word .doc format,
in English
or in Latin).
At this point, the Baptismal waters are
blessed, with the Easter Candle being dipped into it three
times, and the priest blowing his breath over it three times
in the shape of the Cross. This breathing over the waters
recalls the Spirit over the waters at Creation, and the Spirit
(wind, breath, "ruach") causing the waters of Noe's flood to
subside, and how the Spirit was manifest as a dove over the
waters of the Jordan at Christ's
Baptism.
Then follow the Baptism of the
Catechumens and the renewal of the baptismal promises of the
already-baptized. We renew those promises by answering the
questions (as a group) posed in the Renunciation of Satan and
in the Profession of Faith in the Baptismal
Rite. The Pater is recited, followed by a prayer that God
keeps us in Christ. This is followed by a sprinkling of the
congregation with the baptismal waters, and then finishing the
Litany of All Saints.
After this, the end of Lent is
signalled: the Gloria and alleluia return -- and when they do,
the statues are unveiled, the church lit up, the bells, said
to have flown to Rome on Maundy Thursday, now have begun to
finish their flight home and peal wildly... It is a truly
glorious moment!
The building of
great fires, the lighting of candles, and other means of
illumination are the greatest symbol of Christ after the
Vigil. If possible, relight the candles you have burning
before icons on your family altar with fire from the New Fire,
and keep the flame alive all year until next Good Friday. If
you can't make it to the Vigil Mass, praying around bonfires
is the next best thing. This poem by the poet Prudentius (b.
348) sums up the Christian attitude toward light as a symbol
of Christ on this night and on Easter Sunday:
Inventor rutilis
Eternal God, O Lord of
Light,
Who hast created day and night:
The sun has
set, and shadows deep
Now over land and waters
creep;
But darkness must not reign today:
Grant us the
light of Christ, we pray.
Customs
In some places, a ceremony is made of having a mock
funeral for Lent on this day after the Vigil. In Poland, for
example, a real or wooden herring is "mourned" and buried in a
"good riddance!" gesture that acknowledges the end of Lent and
the return of feasting! 1 In other places, Judas is burned in effigy
-- often life-sized -- in these Easter fires or is blown up by
pyrotechnics, as in some parts of Mexico! On a purely natural
level (and though this isn't a "Catholic custom" per se), it
might be a reassuring practice for families to write down
their cares, problems, bad memories, past hurts, and such, and
toss them into the flames, too.
Also, parishes and
families who've literally "buried the alleluia" on Septuagesima
Sunday now dig it up again.
As to foods, a fun
cookie to make tonight to eat tomorrow morning are
Resurrection Cookies, a cookie that will help your children
get a "hands-on" Bible lesson. Below is the recipe as taken
from the Internet and "Catholicized":
Resurrection Cookies
1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp vinegar, plus some for your children to taste
3
egg whites
pinch salt, plus some for your children to
taste
1 cup sugar, plus some for your children to
taste
Tools: rolling pin or wooden spoon, plastic
baggie with a zipper-lock, scotch tape, Douay-Rheims Bible
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. (this in important -
don't wait until you are halfway done with the recipe!)
Place pecans in the plastic baggie and let children beat
them with a rolling pin or wooden spoon to break into small
pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested He was beaten
by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3: "And they came to
him, and said: Hail, king of the Jews; and they gave him
blows."
Let each child smell and taste some vinegar.
Put vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was
thirsty on the cross He was given vinegar to drink. Read
John 19:28-30. "Afterwards, Jesus knowing that all things
were now accomplished, that the scripture might be
fulfilled, said: I thirst. Now there was a vessel set there
full of vinegar. And they, putting a sponge full of vinegar
and hyssop, put it to his mouth. Jesus therefore, when he
had taken the vinegar, said: It is consummated. And bowing
his head, he gave up the ghost."
Add egg whites to
vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His
life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11 "The thief cometh
not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am
come that they may have life, and may have it more
abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth
his life for his sheep."
Sprinkle a little salt into
each child's hand. Let them taste it as you put the tsp.
salt into the bowl and explain that this represents the
salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of
our own sin. Read Luke 23:27 "And there followed him a great
multitude of people, and of women, who bewailed and lamented
him."
Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15
minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color
white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose
sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaias 1:18, " And
then come, and accuse me, saith the Lord: if your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be
red as crimson, they shall be white as wool."
So far
the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add the sugar to
the egg whites, and give some for your children to taste.
Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus
died because He loves us He wants us to know and belong to
Him. Read Psalm 33:9 (34:8 in Bibles with Masoretic
numbering) and John 3:16. "O taste, and see that the
Lord is sweet: blessed is the man that hopeth in him...
...For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten
Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but
may have life everlasting."
Then read John 3:1-3,
"And there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a
ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night, and
said to him: Rabbi, we know that thou art come a teacher
from God; for no man can do these signs which thou dost,
unless God be with him." Fold in broken nuts. Drop by
teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet (do not use a
baking stone!). Explain that each mound represents the rocky
tomb where Jesus' body was laid.
Read Mathew
27:57-60 "And when it was evening, there came a certain rich
man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was a
disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate, and asked the body of
Jesus. Then Pilate commanded that the body should be
delivered. And Joseph taking the body, wrapped it up in a
clean linen cloth. And laid it in his own new monument,
which he had hewed out in a rock. And he rolled a great
stone to the door of the monument, and went his
way."
Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the
door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape
and seal the oven door.Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.
Read Matthew 27:65-66 "Pilate saith to them: You
have a guard; go, guard it as you know. And they departing,
made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting
guards."
GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad
to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers
were in despair when the tomb was sealed.
Read John
16:20-22 "Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and
weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made
sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A
woman, when she is in labour, hath sorrow, because her hour
is come; but when she hath brought forth the child, she
remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born
into the world. So also you now indeed have sorrow; but I
will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your
joy no man shall take from you."
On Easter morning,
open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked
surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the
first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb
open and empty.
Read Matthew 28:1-9 "And in the end
of the sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day
of the week, came Mary Magdalen and the other Mary, to see
the sepulchre. And behold there was a great earthquake. For
an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and coming,
rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. And his countenance
was as lightning, and his raiment as snow. And for fear of
him, the guards were struck with terror, and became as dead
men. And the angel answering, said to the women: Fear not
you; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is
not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come, and see the
place where the Lord was laid. And going quickly, tell ye
his disciples that he is risen: and behold he will go before
you into Galilee; there you shall see him. Lo, I have
foretold it to you. And they went out quickly from the
sepulchre with fear and great joy, running to tell his
disciples. And behold Jesus met them, saying: All hail. But
they came up and took hold of his feet, and adored him."
CHRISTUS
RESURREXIT! HE HAS RISEN!
Reading
From
an ancient homily for Holy Saturday
Something strange is happening -- there is a great
silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The
whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The
earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in
the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since
the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles
with fear.
He has gone to search for our first
parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those
who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone
to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve. The Lord
approached them bearing the Cross, the weapon that had won
him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he
had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to
everyone: 'My Lord be with you all.' Christ answered him:
'And with your spirit.' He took him by the hand and raised
him up, saying: 'Awake, o sleeper, and rise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.'
I am your God, who
for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and
your descendants I now by my own authority command all who
are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness
to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order
you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a
prisoner in Hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of
the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in
my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in Me
and I in you; together we form one person and cannot be
separated.
For your sake I, your God, became your
son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, Whose home is
above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the
earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a
man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you,
who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden,
and I was crucified in a garden.
See on My Face the
spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I
once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I
received in order to refashion your warped nature in my
image. On My back see the marks of the scourging I endured
to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See
My hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly
stretched out your hand to a tree.
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 has
healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your
sleep in Hell. The sword that pierced Me has sheathed the
sword that was turned against you.
Rise. Let us
leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly
paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but will
enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only
a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one
with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are
guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne
formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager.
The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the
eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of
all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been
prepared for you from all eternity.
Footnotes:
1
All over Spain, a similar custom prevails -- but on
Ash Wednesday. The "entierro de la sardina" -- "burial of the
sardine" -- takes place as a mock funeral for the end of
Carnival. A sardine, either a real one, a small mock
one, or a large effigy, is burned, buried, or thrown into the
river after a funeral procession consisting of black-clad
"mourners" who dramatically "cry" and keen all the way. Sadly,
these days, this custom, like most Carnival customs, is marked
by debauchery.  |
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