The second day of the Triduum. Nothing much happens. It is the Sabbath when all work ceases. Before Friday’s sunset, the body of Jesus has been hurriedly removed and laid in a borrowed tomb. No anointing or dressing can take place until after Saturday’s sunset, although the practical light of Sunday’s dawn suggests a more suitable time for this urgent task.
So this second day is a day of silence.
A silent empty cross stands on Golgotha.
A silent tomb holds the lifeless corpse of Jesus.
A silent Sabbath enfolds the thoughts and despair of grieving friends and followers.
A day of pause is necessary to grasp the enormity of disorientation, dashed hopes, shame at failure, and despair at the loss of what might have been.
We never made much of Easter Saturday. The ancient tradition that, with modern management efficiency, Christ took the opportunity of bodily absence to visit Hades and deliver trapped souls from captivity did not much catch our imagination.
Holy Saturday remains a day of pause, and this is of benefit. One does not rush easily from Crucifixion to Resurrection. The Third and Final day of the Triduum begins sometime after the sun sets on the Sabbath, Saturday night.
Wondering Pilgrim 