We could imagine that, for the disciples, the day after Jesus' crucifixion must have been one of excruciating grief, overwhelming fear, and utter confusion about what lay ahead. For us, however, Holy Saturday is a time of quiet anticipation, for we know that the stone is about to crack. We know that Christ rose and hope returned. We know that death did not have the last word!

 

 

Our reflections this Lent have been about living as resurrected beings in the midst of the world's crosses. Our relationship to the crucified of our day - those carrying crosses of illness or exclusion or those living under the crushing impact of poverty, violence, racism or war - has been one of positioning ourselves at the foot of the cross. Not unlike when we genuflect to venerate the cross on Good Friday and kiss the caked blood on Jesus' wounds, something happens when we draw close to the pain of others. Our hearts break. Our tears fall. They fall, however, into the chalice that Jesus holds out to catch the blood and tears of all who suffer. In that mingling, and with the kiss of his love on our human suffering, something in our hearts is transformed. At the foot of the cross, gestures of love may be all we have left to share. Maybe it's everything....

 

To read the entire reflection, click here.