The Holy Saturday message is we are never abandoned by what seems to be the silent love of God.

We are in the midst of the great Easter Triduum as we remember and as we celebrate our sharing in the paschal mystery of the Lord Jesus  -- our sharing in the dying and the rising of Jesus.  On Holy Saturday,  remembering that Christ is now buried in the tomb, we gather in silence and in expectation between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

On Good Friday, we celebrated the depth of the Lord’s saving love for us.  He died out of love for us.  His death on the cross expresses the limitless love of God.  In giving up his spirit on the cross, Jesus said:  “It is finished.”  The words of Jesus do not convey the defeat of death; rather “it is finished” communicates that the saving mission of Jesus for our forgiveness and reconciliation is complete.  The mission of our salvation has been accomplished by Jesus.

On Easter Sunday, we celebrate our sharing in the new life of Christ Jesus.   We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.  Jesus Christ is Risen.    All of creation shouts with joy.

But back to Holy Saturday morning, we are in-between.  We are buried with Christ in the tomb.  It is time of silence.  It is time of expectation. It is a time of faith.  God does not abandon us in the experience of grief, of loss, and of death. 

Holy Saturday is about real life when it seems that God is too silent for us.  We can be overcome with grief, despair, and with fear. 

Yet, we called to believe in the silent love of God who grieves with us, who is buried in the tomb with us, who has a solidarity with all who feel helpless and are vulnerable.

But the clear Holy Saturday message is that we are never abandoned by the silent love of God.  We are called to trust in Christ Jesus, to trust that death is the pathway to life, to a sharing in the fullness of the Risen life of Jesus.

In this prayer, we celebrate with our elect from the parish who will celebrate the Sacraments of Initiation this evening during the great Easter Vigil   This is a most beautiful and inspiring liturgy.   It is the mother of all vigils.

Our chosen elect will share in the risen life of Jesus in the celebration of the sacraments of initiation.  We pray for our elect and we pray for all of us, even those of us who have washed in the waters of baptisms many, many moons ago.   We gather in silent expectation on this Holy Saturday to prepare in prayer and in silence to celebrate our baptismal grace of being God’s beloved and to commit ourselves to bear witness to the love of Jesus in all that we say and do.