Episode Transcript  

One

What Jesus did during Holy Saturday

We say in the Apostles Creed that on this day, Holy Saturday, Jesus descended into hell. But Jesus did not descend into Hell to the place of the damned to deliver them. Instead, He went down into the place where all those who loved God but died before the Resurrection of Christ went before the gates of Heaven were opened to them. 

1 Peter 3:18 tells us, “In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life, and, in the spirit, he went to preach to the spirits in prison.” The CCC (633) tells us Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, but to free the just who had died before him and take them into heaven.  

What was death like before the Resurrection? To appreciate what Jesus did on Holy Saturday, we need to understand what death was like before Jesus and what it would be like without Him. 

We understand death as Christians now that Jesus has opened Heaven to us. We view death as being welcomed into Heaven by our relatives and friends who went before us, welcomed by our guardian angel, welcomed by Mary, and most importantly, welcomed by God into heavenly joy. But before Holy Saturday, well, that was a very different experience! 

Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) tells us what death was like before Jesus set the captives free. Death was absolute loneliness. He describes it this way, “In truth, one thing is certain: there exists a night into whose solitude no voice reaches; there is a door through which we can only walk alone—the door of death. In the last analysis, all the fear in the world is fear of this loneliness…Death is absolute loneliness.”

When you died, you were just alone, totally and completely alone, no friends, no relatives, no one. Separated from God, just alone, forever! And to me, that is the most frightening thing imaginable.

Two

Conquering Death 

Moses, Budha, Confucious, Mohammed, Neitze, Darwin and Stephen Hawking all died, and none of them could save those who dwelt in the realm of the dead, none of them could free the dead from their absolute loneliness by giving them a share in divine life, heavenly life. 

There is only One, Jesus Christ, who smashed the gates of our final loneliness and strode right into death. He went down into the abyss of our abandonment where no light and no voice could reach anyone, but there He is. By His presence, Death is conquered. Now there is divine life, eternal life in the midst of death.  

Now, only deliberate self-enclosure is hell or, as the Bible calls it, the second death (Rev 20:14, for example). But death no longer has to be the path into icy solitude. The gates of death have been opened. Let us praise Him and adore Him!

Three

The Hand that Saves Us

Pope Benedict gives a concrete example that may help to make this clearer, “When a child is alone in the darkness of night, he feels frightened, however convincingly he has been shown that there is no reason at all to be frightened. As soon as he is alone in the darkness, and thus has the experience of utter loneliness, fear arises, the fear peculiar to man, which is not fear of anything in particular but simply fear in itself…Here we come up against something much deeper, namely, the fact that where man falls into extreme loneliness he is not afraid of anything definite that could be explained away; on the contrary, he experiences the fear of loneliness, the uneasiness and vulnerability of his own nature, something that cannot be overcome by rational means…How then, we must ask, can such fear be overcome if proof of its groundlessness has no effect? Well, the child will lose his fear the moment there is a hand there to take him and lead him and a voice to talk to him; at the moment therefore at which he experiences the fellowship of a loving human being… This conquest of fear reveals at the same time once again the nature of the fear: that it is the fear of loneliness, the anxiety of a being that can only live with a fellow being. The fear peculiar to man cannot be overcome by reason but only by the presence of someone who loves him.” 

Can you imagine the sheer joy of those who had dwelt in that dark, solitary confinement for so long when the immense light that is Christ burst upon them, and He called their name and took them by the hand into the perfect joy of Heaven!

Four

Conquering Loneliness 

Every person is alone in some way. Every person longs to be known and understood and appreciated, yet no human person can do that to the degree that we need. No human person has access to the real depths of another. No one can really penetrate the innermost being of someone else. Every encounter, beautiful as it may seem, basically only dulls the incurable wound of loneliness. 

The importance of Holy Saturday is not limited to death. Jesus has not only descended into the realm of the dead, He descended into your soul by Baptism. The truth of the matter is that you are never alone. Jesus is within you. He said so Himself. If you will learn to enter into silence and solitude and remain there every day for some time, eventually you will meet Jesus and you will realize there is nothing to fear, you are never alone and more importantly, you will meet the only person who can know, understand and appreciate you to the depth you need. 

Five

The Second Day of the Divine Mercy Novena

Jesus said to St. Faustina, “Today bring to me the souls of priests and religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy.  It was they who gave Me the strength to endure My bitter Passion.  Through them, as through channels, My mercy flows out upon mankind.”

She responded, “Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in us, that we may perform worthy works of mercy, and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven. The Fountain of God’s love dwells in pure hearts, bathed in the Sea of Mercy, radiant as stars, bright as the dawn.”

“Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company [of chosen ones] in Your vineyard – upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing.  For the love of the Heart of your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation, and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end.  Amen.”

Suggested Resolutions:

Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you.

• In addition to your daily Rosary, say the Divine Mercy Chaplet in preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday.

• No friendship can satisfy us in the way that we desire to be fulfilled by God. Instead of getting frustrated with loved ones, let your frustrations be a reminder to stop a give gratitude to God, who can truly know you to your depths.

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