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| The Dead Christ by Mantegna |
On Holy Saturday the Church waits at the Lord's tomb,
meditating on His suffering and death.
The painting above by Mantegna is a compelling image,
confronting us with the reality of Jesus' death...
On this day, the altar is left bare, Mass is not celebrated.
Only after the solemn vigil during the night,
held in anticipation of the resurrection,
does the Easter celebration begin with a spirit of joy
that overflows into an Easter season of fifty days.
A Prayer for Holy Saturday
This is the hardest time to pray:
after the drama and catastrophe,
before the angels and the big reveal.
The passion, the agony, the desperate grief
have given way to numbness
and absence
in this time in between.
God seems to be offstage,
preparing for the final scene,
taking care of ancient souls in other worlds
or clothing the hidden, broken body
in resurrection glory.
So let our prayer this day be plain
and to the point:
May God be with us in the waiting,
and may we wait with hope,
today
and every time in between.
Amen.
- by Kerry Greenhill
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