HOLY SATURDAY (B): Easter Vigil in the Night before Easter

MARCH 30, 2024 - SATURDAY
HOLY SATURDAY / BLACK SATURDAY
(Easter Vigil in the Night before Easter)
Lectionary: 41
CYCLE B - YEAR II

Reading I

Gn 1:1—2:2

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,

the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss,

while a mighty wind swept over the waters.

Then God said,

"Let there be light,"" and there was light.

God saw how good the light was.

God then separated the light from the darkness.

God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night."

Thus evening came, and morning followed—the first day.

Then God said,

"Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters,

to separate one body of water from the other."

And so it happened:

God made the dome,

and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.

God called the dome "the sky."

Evening came, and morning followed—the second day.

Then God said,

"Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin,

so that the dry land may appear."

And so it happened:

the water under the sky was gathered into its basin,

and the dry land appeared.

God called the dry land "the earth, "

and the basin of the water he called "the sea."

God saw how good it was.

Then God said,

"Let the earth bring forth vegetation:

every kind of plant that bears seed

and every kind of fruit tree on earth

that bears fruit with its seed in it."

And so it happened:

the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed

and every kind of fruit tree on earth

that bears fruit with its seed in it.

God saw how good it was.

Evening came, and morning followed—the third day.

Then God said:

"Let there be lights in the dome of the sky,

to separate day from night.

Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,

and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky,

to shed light upon the earth."

And so it happened:

God made the two great lights,

the greater one to govern the day,

and the lesser one to govern the night;

and he made the stars.

God set them in the dome of the sky,

to shed light upon the earth,

to govern the day and the night,

and to separate the light from the darkness.

God saw how good it was.

Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day.

Then God said,

"Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures,

and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky."

And so it happened:

God created the great sea monsters

and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems,

and all kinds of winged birds.

God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying,

"Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas;

and let the birds multiply on the earth."

Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.

Then God said,

"Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures:

cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds."

And so it happened:

God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle,

and all kinds of creeping things of the earth.

God saw how good it was.

Then God said:

"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,

the birds of the air, and the cattle,

and over all the wild animals

and all the creatures that crawl on the ground."

God created man in his image;

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

God blessed them, saying:

"Be fertile and multiply;

fill the earth and subdue it.

Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,

and all the living things that move on the earth."

God also said:

"See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth

and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;

and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air,

and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,

I give all the green plants for food."

And so it happened.

God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.

Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.

Since on the seventh day God was finished

with the work he had been doing,

he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.

Or

Gn 1:1, 26-31a

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,

God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,

the birds of the air, and the cattle,

and over all the wild animals

and all the creatures that crawl on the ground."

God created man in his image;

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

God blessed them, saying:

"Be fertile and multiply;

fill the earth and subdue it.

Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,

and all the living things that move on the earth."

God also said:

"See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth

and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;

and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air,

and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,

I give all the green plants for food."

And so it happened.

God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 13-14, 24, 35

R. (30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!

You are clothed with majesty and glory,

robed in light as with a cloak.

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

You fixed the earth upon its foundation,

not to be moved forever;

with the ocean, as with a garment, you covered it;

above the mountains the waters stood.

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

You send forth springs into the watercourses

that wind among the mountains.

Beside them the birds of heaven dwell;

from among the branches they send forth their song.

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

You water the mountains from your palace;

the earth is replete with the fruit of your works.

You raise grass for the cattle,

and vegetation for man's use,

Producing bread from the earth.

R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

How manifold are your works, O LORD!

In wisdom you have wrought them all—

the earth is full of your creatures.

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

R.  Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

or

Ps 33:4-5, 6-7, 12-13, 20 and 22

R.  (5b) The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

Upright is the word of the LORD,

 and all his works are trustworthy.

He loves justice and right;

 of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.

R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made;

 by the breath of his mouth all their host.

He gathers the waters of the sea as in a flask;

 in cellars he confines the deep.

R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,

 the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.

From heaven the LORD looks down;

 he sees all mankind.

R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

Our soul waits for the LORD,

 who is our help and our shield.

May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us

 who have put our hope in you.

R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

Reading II

Gn 22:1-18

God put Abraham to the test.

He called to him, "Abraham!"

"Here I am,"  he replied.

Then God said:

"Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,

and go to the land of Moriah.

There you shall offer him up as a holocaust

on a height that I will point out to you."

Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey,

took with him his son Isaac and two of his servants as well,

and with the wood that he had cut for the holocaust,

set out for the place of which God had told him.

On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.

Then he said to his servants:

"Both of you stay here with the donkey,

while the boy and I go on over yonder.

We will worship and then come back to you."

Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the holocaust

and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulders,

while he himself carried the fire and the knife.

As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham:

"Father!" Isaac said.

"Yes, son," he replied.

Isaac continued, "Here are the fire and the wood,

but where is the sheep for the holocaust?"

"Son," Abraham answered,

"God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust."

Then the two continued going forward.

When they came to the place of which God had told him,

Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.

Next he tied up his son Isaac,

and put him on top of the wood on the altar.

Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven,

"Abraham, Abraham!"

"Here I am!" he answered.

"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger.

"Do not do the least thing to him.

I know now how devoted you are to God,

since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."

As Abraham looked about,

he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.

So he went and took the ram

and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.

Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh;

hence people now say, "On the mountain the LORD will see."

Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:

"I swear by myself, declares the LORD,

that because you acted as you did

in not withholding from me your beloved son,

I will bless you abundantly

and make your descendants as countless

as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;

your descendants shall take possession

of the gates of their enemies,

and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing--

all this because you obeyed my command."

Or

Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

God put Abraham to the test.

He called to him, "Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied.

Then God said:

"Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,

and go to the land of Moriah.

There you shall offer him up as a holocaust

on a height that I will point out to you."

When they came to the place of which God had told him,

Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.

Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven,

"Abraham, Abraham!"

"Here I am," he answered.

"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger.

"Do not do the least thing to him.

I know now how devoted you are to God,

since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."

As Abraham looked about,

he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.

So he went and took the ram

and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.

Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:

"I swear by myself, declares the LORD,

that because you acted as you did

in not withholding from me your beloved son,

I will bless you abundantly

and make your descendants as countless

as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;

your descendants shall take possession

of the gates of their enemies,

and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing--

all this because you obeyed my command."

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11

R. (1) You are my inheritance, O Lord.

O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,

you it is who hold fast my lot.

I set the LORD ever before me;

with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,

my body, too, abides in confidence;

because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,

nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.

R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.

You will show me the path to life,

fullness of joys in your presence,

 the delights at your right hand forever.

R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Reading III

Ex 14:15—15:1

The LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me?

Tell the Israelites to go forward.

And you, lift up your staff and, with hand outstretched over the sea,

split the sea in two,

that the Israelites may pass through it on dry land.

But I will make the Egyptians so obstinate

that they will go in after them.

Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army,

his chariots and charioteers.

The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD,

when I receive glory through Pharaoh

and his chariots and charioteers."

The angel of God, who had been leading Israel's camp,

now moved and went around behind them.

The column of cloud also, leaving the front,

took up its place behind them,

so that it came between the camp of the Egyptians

and that of Israel.

But the cloud now became dark, and thus the night passed

without the rival camps coming any closer together

all night long.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,

and the LORD swept the sea

with a strong east wind throughout the night

and so turned it into dry land.

When the water was thus divided,

the Israelites marched into the midst of the sea on dry land,

with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.

The Egyptians followed in pursuit;

all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and charioteers went after them

right into the midst of the sea.

In the night watch just before dawn

the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud

upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic;

and he so clogged their chariot wheels

that they could hardly drive.

With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel,

because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians.

Then the LORD told Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea,

that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians,

upon their chariots and their charioteers."

So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,

and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth.

The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea,

when the LORD hurled them into its midst.

As the water flowed back,

it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh's whole army

which had followed the Israelites into the sea.

Not a single one of them escaped.

But the Israelites had marched on dry land

through the midst of the sea,

with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.

Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day

from the power of the Egyptians.

When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore

and beheld the great power that the LORD

had shown against the Egyptians,

they feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:

I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;

horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

Responsorial Psalm

Ex 15:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 17-18

R. (1b) Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;

horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

My strength and my courage is the LORD,

and he has been my savior.

He is my God, I praise him;

the God of my father, I extol him.

R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

The LORD is a warrior,

LORD is his name!

Pharaoh's chariots and army he hurled into the sea;

the elite of his officers were submerged in the Red Sea.

R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

The flood waters covered them,

they sank into the depths like a stone.

Your right hand, O LORD, magnificent in power,

your right hand, O LORD, has shattered the enemy.

R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

You brought in the people you redeemed

and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance

the place where you made your seat, O LORD,

the sanctuary, LORD, which your hands established.

The LORD shall reign forever and ever.

R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

Reading IV

Is 54:5-14

The One who has become your husband is your Maker;

his name is the LORD of hosts;

your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,

called God of all the earth.

The LORD calls you back,

like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,

a wife married in youth and then cast off,

says your God.

For a brief moment I abandoned you,

but with great tenderness I will take you back.

In an outburst of wrath, for a moment

I hid my face from you;

but with enduring love I take pity on you,

says the LORD, your redeemer.

This is for me like the days of Noah,

when I swore that the waters of Noah

should never again deluge the earth;

so I have sworn not to be angry with you,

or to rebuke you.

Though the mountains leave their place

and the hills be shaken,

my love shall never leave you

nor my covenant of peace be shaken,

says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

O afflicted one, storm-battered and unconsoled,

I lay your pavements in carnelians,

and your foundations in sapphires;

I will make your battlements of rubies,

your gates of carbuncles,

and all your walls of precious stones.

All your children shall be taught by the LORD,

and great shall be the peace of your children.

In justice shall you be established,

far from the fear of oppression,

where destruction cannot come near you.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13   

R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear

and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.

O LORD, you brought me up from the netherworld;

you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.

R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,

and give thanks to his holy name.

For his anger lasts but a moment;

a lifetime, his goodwill.

At nightfall, weeping enters in,

but with the dawn, rejoicing.

R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;

O LORD, be my helper.

You changed my mourning into dancing;

O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Reading V

Is 55:1-11

Thus says the LORD:

All you who are thirsty,

come to the water!

You who have no money,

come, receive grain and eat;

come, without paying and without cost,

drink wine and milk!

Why spend your money for what is not bread,

your wages for what fails to satisfy?

Heed me, and you shall eat well,

you shall delight in rich fare.

Come to me heedfully,

listen, that you may have life.

I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,

the benefits assured to David.

As I made him a witness to the peoples,

a leader and commander of nations,

so shall you summon a nation you knew not,

and nations that knew you not shall run to you,

because of the LORD, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.

Seek the LORD while he may be found,

call him while he is near.

Let the scoundrel forsake his way,

and the wicked man his thoughts;

let him turn to the LORD for mercy;

to our God, who is generous in forgiving.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.

As high as the heavens are above the earth,

so high are my ways above your ways

and my thoughts above your thoughts.

For just as from the heavens

the rain and snow come down

and do not return there

till they have watered the earth,

making it fertile and fruitful,

giving seed to the one who sows

and bread to the one who eats,

so shall my word be

that goes forth from my mouth;

my word shall not return to me void,

but shall do my will,

achieving the end for which I sent it.

Responsorial Psalm

Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6

R. (3) You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

God indeed is my savior;

I am confident and unafraid.

My strength and my courage is the LORD,

and he has been my savior.

With joy you will draw water

at the fountain of salvation.

R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;

among the nations make known his deeds,

proclaim how exalted is his name.

R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;

let this be known throughout all the earth.

Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,

for great in your midst

 is the Holy One of Israel!

R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

Reading VI

Bar 3:9-15, 32--4:4

Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life:

listen, and know prudence!

How is it, Israel,

that you are in the land of your foes,

grown old in a foreign land,

defiled with the dead,

accounted with those destined for the netherworld?

You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!

Had you walked in the way of God,

you would have dwelt in enduring peace.

Learn where prudence is,

where strength, where understanding;

that you may know also

where are length of days, and life,

where light of the eyes, and peace.

Who has found the place of wisdom,

who has entered into her treasuries?

The One who knows all things knows her;

he has probed her by his knowledge--

The One who established the earth for all time,

and filled it with four-footed beasts;

he who dismisses the light, and it departs,

calls it, and it obeys him trembling;

before whom the stars at their posts

shine and rejoice;

when he calls them, they answer, "Here we are!"

shining with joy for their Maker.

Such is our God;

no other is to be compared to him:

he has traced out the whole way of understanding,

and has given her to Jacob, his servant,

to Israel, his beloved son.

Since then she has appeared on earth,

and moved among people.

She is the book of the precepts of God,

the law that endures forever;

all who cling to her will live,

but those will die who forsake her.

Turn, O Jacob, and receive her:

walk by her light toward splendor.

Give not your glory to another,

your privileges to an alien race.

Blessed are we, O Israel;

for what pleases God is known to us!

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11 

R. (John 6:68c) Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The law of the LORD is perfect,

refreshing the soul;

the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,

giving wisdom to the simple.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The precepts of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the command of the LORD is clear,

enlightening the eye.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the LORD are true,

all of them just.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

They are more precious than gold,

than a heap of purest gold;

sweeter also than syrup

or honey from the comb.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

Reading VII

Ez 36:16-17a, 18-28

The word of the LORD came to me, saying:

Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their land,

they defiled it by their conduct and deeds.

Therefore I poured out my fury upon them

because of the blood that they poured out on the ground,

and because they defiled it with idols.

I scattered them among the nations,

dispersing them over foreign lands;

according to their conduct and deeds I judged them.

But when they came among the nations wherever they came,

they served to profane my holy name,

because it was said of them: "These are the people of the LORD,

yet they had to leave their land."

So I have relented because of my holy name

which the house of Israel profaned

among the nations where they came.

Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD:

Not for your sakes do I act, house of Israel,

but for the sake of my holy name,

which you profaned among the nations to which you came.

I will prove the holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations,

in whose midst you have profaned it.

Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,

when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.

For I will take you away from among the nations,

gather you from all the foreign lands,

and bring you back to your own land.

I will sprinkle clean water upon you

to cleanse you from all your impurities,

and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,

taking from your bodies your stony hearts

and giving you natural hearts.

I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,

careful to observe my decrees.

You shall live in the land I gave your fathers;

you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 42:3, 5; 43:3, 4

When baptism is celebrated.

R.  (42:2) Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God.

Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

R. Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God.

I went with the throng

and led them in procession to the house of God,

Amid loud cries of joy and thanksgiving,

with the multitude keeping festival.

R. Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God.

Send forth your light and your fidelity;

they shall lead me on

And bring me to your holy mountain,

to your dwelling-place.

R. Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God.

Then will I go in to the altar of God,

the God of my gladness and joy;

then will I give you thanks upon the harp,

O God, my God!

R. Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God.

Or 

Is 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

When baptism is not celebrated.

R. (3) You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

God indeed is my savior;

I am confident and unafraid.

My strength and my courage is the LORD,

and he has been my savior.

With joy you will draw water

at the fountain of salvation.

R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;

among the nations make known his deeds,

 proclaim how exalted is his name.

R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;

let this be known throughout all the earth.

Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,

for great in your midst

 is the Holy One of Israel!

R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

or

Ps 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19

When baptism is not celebrated 

R. (12a) Create a clean heart in me, O God.

A clean heart create for me, O God,

and a steadfast spirit renew within me.

Cast me not out from your presence,

and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.

Give me back the joy of your salvation,

and a willing spirit sustain in me.

I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners shall return to you.

R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.

For you are not pleased with sacrifices;

should I offer a holocaust, you would not accept it.

My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;

a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.

EPISTLE

Rom 6:3-11

Brothers and sisters:

Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus

were baptized into his death?

We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,

so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead

by the glory of the Father,

we too might live in newness of life.

For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his,

we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.

We know that our old self was crucified with him,

so that our sinful body might be done away with,

that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.

For a dead person has been absolved from sin.

If, then, we have died with Christ,

we believe that we shall also live with him.

We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;

death no longer has power over him.

As to his death, he died to sin once and for all;

as to his life, he lives for God.

Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin

and living for God in Christ Jesus.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

R. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

for his mercy endures forever.

Let the house of Israel say,

“His mercy endures forever.”

R. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;

the right hand of the LORD is exalted.

I shall not die, but live,

and declare the works of the LORD.

R. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

By the LORD has this been done;

it is wonderful in our eyes.

R. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

GOSPEL
Mark 16:1-7

When the sabbath was over, 

Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome 

bought spices so that they might go and anoint him.

Very early when the sun had risen,

on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb.

They were saying to one another, 

“Who will roll back the stone for us

from the entrance to the tomb?”

When they looked up,

they saw that the stone had been rolled back;

it was very large.

On entering the tomb they saw a young man

sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe,

and they were utterly amazed.

He said to them, “Do not be amazed!

You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified.

He has been raised; he is not here.

Behold the place where they laid him.

But go and tell his disciples and Peter, 

‘He is going before you to Galilee; 

there you will see him, as he told you.’”

REFLECTION:

Holy Saturday is a day of grief and mourning, of patient waiting and hoping. With Mary and the disciples, we grieve the death of the most important member of our Christian community. The faith of Mary and the disciples was strongly challenged on that first Holy Saturday as they awaited the resurrection.

When the full impact of the death of friends and loved ones fully hits us, it has the potential to stun, dull, and crush the human heart. It can immobilize us from action and thought. If we are people without faith and hope, the experience of confusion, grief and loss has the potential to kill us.

Today we reflect on that period of confusion and silence, between the sadness of the cross and the joy of Easter. From the bewilderment of Jesus’ disciples to the great faith of Mary, we examine our own lives in light of the great “Sabbath of Time” and draw courage from Mary’s example to face the future with deep hope, patience, love, and interior peace.

At the end of this long day of waiting, we celebrate the mother of all liturgies, a true feast for the senses. The Church gathers in darkness and lights a new fire and a great candle that will make this night bright for us. We listen to our ancient Scriptures: stories of creation, Abraham and Isaac, Moses and Miriam and the crossing of the sea, poems of promise and rejoicing, and the story of the empty tomb. We see, hear, taste, feel the newness of God in Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. In the “Mother of all liturgies,” the past and present meet, death and life embrace and life are triumphant; we reject evil and renew our baptismal promises to God.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank You for Your life & sacrifice. As we reflect on your death & burial, may we be comforted knowing the certain hope of the resurrection. AMEN.

HOLY WEEK REFLECTIONS FOR BLACK SATURDAY: JESUS ACCEPT US WHATEVER WE MAY BE

"If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised."

- 1 Corinthians 15:13

WHY DID JESUS DIE?

When I look at Jesus on the Cross, I ask, "Why? .. Why, You, Lord, What did You do to deserve such a cruel death?" I feel ashamed and guilty, because, I know that it was my place that Jesus took. My place on the Cross. It was my suffering that He bore. It was my Cross that He carried.

JESUS' DEATH IS AN OUTPOURING OF IMMENSE LOVE

Jesus' human heart was filled with the Father's love. All through His lifetime, Jesus reflected God's love for the people by the mercy and kindness He showed them, even to the end. It is this love that enabled Him to give His life freely for all. For "greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

Jesus' sacrifice also expresses His loving communion with the Father. "The Father loves me, because I lay down my life", said the Lord, "I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father" (John 10:17; 14:31).

JESUS' DEATH IS IN FULFILLMENT OF DIVINE PURPOSE AND PROPHECY

The death of Christ was accomplished in the mind of God before creation. Jesus' violent death was not the result of chance in an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances but is part of the mystery of God's plan. Christ is the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8).

Jesus' salvific death fulfills Isaiah's prophecy of the Suffering Servant (Is 53:7-8). St. Paul professes that "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures." St. Peter explains to the Jews of Jerusalem in his first sermon on Pentecost: "This Jesus [was] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God."

Thus, Jesus's death is the very purpose of the Incarnation. It is the reason that Christ came into the world in the first place. From the first moment of His Incarnation, the Son embraces the Father's plan of divine salvation in His redemptive mission: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work" (John 4:34).

JESUS DIED FOR THE SINS OF ALL MANKIND

Jesus paid our sin debt in full. Matthew 26:28 says Jesus' blood would be shed for many "for the remission of sins".

At the end of the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus recalled that God's love excludes no one: "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that not one of these little ones should perish." He affirms that he came "to give his life as a ransom for many". The Church, following the apostles, teaches that Christ died for all men without exception: "There is not, never has been, and never will be a single human being for whom Christ did not suffer."

JESUS DIED THAT ALL MAY HAVE ETERNAL LIFE

Genesis 2:17 tells us that the effect of eating the forbidden fruit was spiritual death (for all mankind) and the penalty for disobedience to God was eternal separation from Him. We have earned eternal death but God in His mercy provided a means for us to be reconciled back to Him and to enjoy life eternal - through the death of His Son Jesus (Romans 6:23).

In the Old Testament, the Hebrews were instructed to sacrifice a lamb as an atonement for their sins. They would have to do this often. This lamb sacrifice was a substitute which was looking forward to God’s true lamb sacrifice: His Son Jesus, sinless and blameless, who would be crucified on the cross for all of man’s sins in the past, the present, and the future. "God laid on him the sins of us all" (Is 53:6).

It may be recalled that John the Baptist, after agreeing to baptize Jesus along with the sinners, looked at Jesus and pointed Him out as the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." By doing so, he reveals that Jesus is at the same time the suffering Servant (Is 53:7-8) who silently allows Himself to be led to the slaughter and who bears the sin of the multitudes; and also the Paschal Lamb, the symbol of Israel's redemption at the first Passover.

JESUS DIED TO "HAND OVER HIS SPIRIT"

Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (1 Cor 15:45)

After Jesus' death and just before His ascension, Jesus promised His disciples: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Jesus, after being exalted at the right hand of God, received the promise of the Holy Spirit and poured out the Spirit on His disciples.

This is the same Spirit that Christians receive at Baptism. Thus they are aided and receive power through the Holy Spirit. They can abound in hope through His power. "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).

PRAYER :

RAISED UPON THE CROSS, O MASTER,

THROUGH THE WOOD YOU QUENCHED THE FLAME OF SIN!

SUFFERING DEATH BY YOUR OWN CHOICE,

YOU HAVE SLAIN THE ENEMY!

THEREFORE I ENTREAT YOU:

PUT TO DEATH MY SINFUL WAYS;

ENLIVEN MY MISERABLE HEART, 

CLEANSING ME FROM ALL DEFILEMENT; 

FOR YOU ARE THE MERCIFUL ONE! 

 WHY WAS JESUS LIFTED UP ON A CROSS?

"My Suffering Jesus: Why the Cross? Why did You die such a shameful and painful death?" Every time I look at You on the Cross, I imagine Your anguish and Your excruciating pain, yet only You knew what it was to suffer it. My Sweet Jesus, how terrible must my sins be, for You to have suffered so much!"

Christ humbled himself in His death, having been betrayed by Judas, forsaken by His disciples, scorned and rejected by the world, condemned by Pilate, and tormented by His persecutors; having also conflicted with the terrors of death, and the powers of darkness, felt and borne the weight of God’s wrath, He laid down His life as an offering for sin, enduring the painful, shameful, and cursed death of the cross... For this Word would be fulfilled: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself" (Jn 12:32).

What is it that "draws" us to the Condemned One in agony on the Cross? How is it that, generation after generation, this appalling sight has drawn countless hosts of people who have made the Cross the hallmark of their faith? Hosts of men and women who for centuries have lived and given their lives looking to this sign?

The Cross. The instrument of a shameful death. It was not lawful to condemn a Roman citizen to death by crucifixion: it was too humiliating. The moment that Jesus took up the Cross in order to carry it to Calvary marked a turning point in the history of the Cross. The symbol of a shameful death, reserved for the lowest classes, the Cross became a sign of victory and a crown of glory!

The Cross is a divine lesson in obedience and humility. Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Phil 2:6-8). For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous (Romans 5:19). By submitting to death, Jesus had destroyed its power, thereby making eternal life available to everyone. The Cross, an emblem of suffering and shame became the centerpiece of God’s plan of redemption. Christ suffered to leave us a divine example of every virtue which we could imitate - love, charity, humility, obedience, patience, and forbearance.

St. Luke notes: "When the days for his being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem" (Lk 9:51). While he "ascends" to the Holy City, where his "exodus" from this life will be accomplished, Jesus already sees the goal, Heaven, but He knows that the path that brings him back to the glory of God passes through the Cross, through obedience to the divine plan of love for humanity. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "the lifting up of Jesus on the cross signifies and announces his lifting up by his Ascension into heaven, and indeed begins it" (n. 661). We too must be clear in our Christian life, that to enter into the glory of God requires daily fidelity to His will, even when it requires sacrifice. The Ascension of Jesus actually happened on the Mount of Olives, near the place where He had retired in prayer before His passion to be in profound union with the Father; once again we see that prayer gives us the grace to faithfully live out God's plan for us.

Jesus offers us His Cross as our lifeline of hope and salvation. He gave Nicodemus a sign that he could not miss. Jesus tells him: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness (Numbers 21:9), so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." (John 3:14-16)

Let us examine Numbers 21:7-9 -- And the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. --

In like manner, Jesus had to be lifted up on the Cross so that He could heal us of our sins. Just as the brass serpent was raised on the pole for the healing of Israel, so Jesus was raised on the Cross for the healing of the world. When Nicodemus saw Christ on that Cross he understood and believed.

As we prepare for Easter, can you see Jesus on that Cross? Look at him on that Cross. Be like Nicodemus - understand and believe. He was lifted up on that Cross for you, He was lifted up on that Cross for me. He was lifted up on that Cross to heal us from all our sins.

PRAYER :

BY YOUR OWN FREE CHOICE, COMPASSIONATE CHRIST,

YOU ENDURED A SHAMEFUL DEATH UPON THE CROSS.

WHEN YOUR MOTHER SAW YOU, SHE WAS WOUNDED IN HER HEART.

BEATING HER BREAST. SHE LAMENTED WITH MOTHERLY SORROW!

AT HER PRAYERS, THROUGH YOUR TENDER MERCY,

HAVE PITY ON THE WORLD ,

AND SAVE US; HEAL US FROM OUR SIN! 

THE CROSS - A SIGN OF CONTRADICTION

Every time I look at the Cross, it gives me courage and hope. When I look at Jesus on the Cross, my heart is filled with all that is beautiful - Truth, Justice, Beauty, and Love. I cry out from the depth of my being, "My Sweet Jesus, how can I ever repay Your Goodness?"

The Cross of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is a sign of contradiction to the values and principles of the world. It shows how God can bring good out of evil, order out of chaos, meaning out of absurdity, and life out of death. God's infinite power comes to us in the human powerlessness of Jesus Christ born wrapped in swaddling clothes at the beginning of His life on earth, and in His powerlessness in being nailed to the Cross at the end of His life here on earth. The Cross stands at the very summit of Christ's saving entrance into our humanity - and it stands at the very bottom of Christ's degradation. The Cross confounds non-believers, it frightens the proud, it is an object of scorn and ridicule for the evil mind.

And yet the Cross of Jesus Christ is a sign of peace, a sign with which we bless ourselves, our children, our homes, and all things we hold dear. Pre-eminently the Cross is proof of how far it is that God our Father has gone to prove His love for you and me. Strangely, mysteriously, and in a seemingly contradictory way, the Cross is a sign of Love. No. It is not merely a sign or a symbol, it is the ultimate proof of God's love for us.

The Cross summons us to change the way we see things. It urges us, challenges us, and demands us to look at the world in a vision and in a way that departs from the vision we might have under a different and secular perspective. It calls us to look at our relationships with others, to look at life, and to see death in ways that are inside-out and upside-down from those who have no faith, and who are forced to see them through the eyes of fear.

Death, under the Cross, is not an ending, it is a beginning. Suffering, pain and loss under the Cross, are no longer things that separate us from God, they unite us to Him. Tragedy under the cross is not ultimate, it is only temporary. Sin under the cross no longer alienates us from God, it occasions His coming to us in the midst of our sins in His merciful love.

Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, is a victim no more. Why, then, should we consider ourselves to be victims? Under the Cross, there are no more victims! For the wood of the Tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden and the wood of the crib in Christ's nativity in Bethlehem has become the wood of the Cross that overcomes all that would separate us from the loving Presence of God in Christ. Christ, the victim no more, reigns triumphant from the Cross.

PRAYER :

JESUS, LORD, AND LOVER OF MANKIND, 

INTERCEDE FERVENTLY BEFORE THE FATHER FOR US -

THAT OUR PRAYERS MAY BE ACCEPTED 

AS PURE AND SWEET-SMELLING INCENSE; 

THAT WE MAY ALL BE ACCOUNTED WORTHY 

TO VENERATE THE LIFE-GIVING CROSS 

AND TO BEHOLD IT WITH REVERENCE AND LOVE.

SEND DOWN ON US, THEN, YOUR MERCY, O SAVIOR,

AS THE LOVER OF MANKIND. 

CONCLUSION:

Do you ever wonder why the Church keeps the body of Christ represented on the Cross? Well, it is because on it humanity remains naked and exposed. Humanity has not yet fully received the Holy Spirit, the Spirit that Christ handed over when He died on the Cross. Humanity has not yet allowed itself to be raised in glory by the power of God. Until that day comes, we, the children of Adam and Eve, know that we are naked. We need to see ourselves up on that Cross. Until that day comes the silence of the angels will continue and heaven will wait in the stillness of expectation, holding its breath for our response.