Holy Saturday

We pray through Holy Saturday and let Passover’s question shape our Easter Vigil faith: why this night is different, and why it still matters now. We hold the sealed tomb and the Paschal Candle together until hope becomes personal, because Christ is risen and no longer lets sin and death name our story. 
• opening prayers and offering the day through Mary 
• Ma Nishtana and the meaning of a different night 
• Passover liberation fulfilled in Christ’s victory over sin 
• the Exultet and salvation history through the Red Sea 
• the Paschal Candle as light that leads us home 
• Resurrection hope that restores innocence and drives out hatred 
• the sealed tomb, the guarded stone, and the broken gates of death 
• baptismal union with Christ toward eternal life 

If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org.

Transcript

Morning Offering And Intentions

Passover Question For The Vigil

Exultet Night Of Deliverance

Paschal Candle And Promised Land

Rejoice Christ Is Risen

The Tomb Sealed And Guarded

Breaking The Gates Of Death

Prayer For Baptismal New Life

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SPEAKER_00 0:03

Holy Saturday, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen. With these words, the Jewish people begin their yearly celebration of Passover. Ma Nishtana, which means, why is this night different from every other night? We can apply this same question to our vigil this evening. Why is the Easter Vigil different from every other night of the year? Why do we gather here after a long lent and solemn celebration of Good Friday, a celebration of the death of Christ? The liturgy of this most holy night gives the answer. And it happened on this night, as we heard no less than seven times in the ancient chant of the Exultate just months ago. This is the night when once God led our forebears, Israel's children, from slavery in Egypt and made them pass dry shod through the Red Sea. The yearly Passover then celebrates the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt and the cruel hand of Pharaoh. It is the anticipated celebration of liberation from sin which Christ won on the cross just yesterday. This is the night that with a pillar of fire banished the darkness of sin, and led the people of Israel through the darkness of the wilderness to the promised land. So too we were led into this church from the darkness of the world by a pillar of fire, this candle which overcomes the darkness of our hearts and spreads its light to each of us, just as does the risen Christ Jesus in each of our hearts, as he leads us to the true promised land of heaven. This is the night that even now throughout the world sets Christians apart from worldly vices and the glooms of sin, leading them to grace and joining them to his holy ones. By this night and what we celebrate, we know we are Christians, followers one with another of Christ, who once was slain but now lives gloriously forever. Indeed, he is risen, as he said. He no longer sleeps the sleep of death, for this is the night when Christ broke the prison bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld. We have hope then, my dear friends in Christ, for Christ is alive. We have hope that the sanctifying power of this night dispels wickedness, washes away faults, restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners, drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty, who set themselves against Christ and his kingdom. This night is not something that simply happened those many years ago in an empty tomb. It happens here and now, before our very eyes, as we gaze upon the crucifix and upon the paschal candle. Rejoice then, I say it again, rejoice. The hour of darkness has not won, but has been defeated, for Christ is risen, and we are no longer slaves to sin. He lives and calls us to himself, where he may heal us from our sins, faults, hurts, and failings, and give us the one true thing that alone will satisfy our many longings and desires. Amen. They buried the Lord and sealed the tomb by rolling a large stone in front of it. They stationed soldiers there to guard it. The chief priests asked Pilate for a guard. They stationed soldiers there to guard it. Our shepherd, the source of the water of life, has died. The sun was darkened when he passed away, but now man's captor is made captive. This is the day when our Savior broke through the gates of death. He has destroyed the barricades of hell, overthrown the sovereignty of the devil. This is the day when our Savior broke through the gates of death. All powerful and ever-living God, your only Son went down among the dead and rose again in glory. In your goodness, raise up your faithful people, buried with him in baptism, to be one with him in the eternal life of heaven, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen. All that I have and all that I am, I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at the Christeros.org.