Meditation for Holy Saturday 04/04/26

Prayer Before and Prayer After

 

MEDITATION FOR HOLY SATURDAY

JESUS IS LAID IN THE SEPULCHRE

“And after these things, Joseph of Arimathea besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave leave. He came, therefore, and took away the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pounds. They took, therefore, the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths, with the spices, as it is the custom with the Jews to bury. Now there was in the place where He was crucified, a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein no man yet had been laid. There, therefore, because of the parasceve of the Jews, they laid Jesus, because the sepulchre was nigh at hand” (John 19, 38–42).

First Prelude: Behold the Blessed Virgin and the disciples, reverently preparing the Body of Christ for the sepulchre.

Second Prelude: O my beloved Saviour, grant me grace to prepare for Thee an agreeable resting-place in my heart, and to love, esteem and practice the interior, hidden life.

FIRST POINT

THE SACRED BODY OF JESUS IS PREPARED FOR THE SEPULCHRE

At the death of Jesus, a great change was wrought. In life, He had not whereon to lay His head; in His passion, He was denied a drop of water to allay His thirst; but hardly had He expired, than He no longer lacked the love and sympathy of His own, neither the faithful service of His disciples, nor the honor of a respectable grave. Joseph and Nicodemus wrapped His sacred Body in costly linens; pious women brought aromatic balsam and precious ointments, and tired not in manifesting their love and veneration for the sacred Body. Well might we envy the holy women their happiness in being permitted to bestow their loving services on our Blessed Lord! But are we not more privileged than were these holy women? Does not the Body of our dear Lord repose in the Tabernacle as in a grave? Yes, here we have His sacred Body and His holy Soul in all the glory of His resurrection. Here, too, loving hearts render Him the tenderest service, frequently visit and console Him in His Eucharistic grave, and offer Him loving sympathy, as did the friends of our Lord of old. Holy Church procures the best, the costliest and most precious that earth can produce, gold and precious gems, for the adornment of His holy sepulchre, and incessantly pays homage to her glorified Saviour in hymns of praise, love, adoration and thanksgiving. Of the Tabernacle, also, the words of the prophet were spoken: “His sepulchre shall be glorious” (Is. 11, 10).

Let us bring the most precious ointments to the tomb of our dear Lord and rejoice in being able to testify our love by self-immolation and the practice of every virtue. Let us unite our poor prayers and canticles of praise with those of the angels, who form a continuous guard of honor before the holy sepulchre. As Mary, who, though compelled to retire from the grave, remained in spirit, so will we persevere in the company of our dear Lord with all the love of which our hearts are capable, while discharging external duties. Through such interior union with our Divine Saviour, our hearts will become worthy abodes, glorious sepulchres for our Divine Bridegroom, and we will be made worthy to participate in the special graces of His glorious resurrection. Let us beg the Sorrowful Mother to teach us how to show our love, our fidelity, our gratitude to Jesus and to surrender ourselves wholly to Him.

SECOND POINT

OUR LIFE SHOULD BE HIDDEN IN CHRIST

In imitation of our Blessed Mother of God, interior souls desire to follow Jesus on the Way of the Cross, and to die spiritually with Him. They either choose His adorable Heart for their grave, or they pray Jesus to take up His abode in their heart. This was the pious practice of St. Gertrude, whom Jesus assured that He would seal the doors of her senses and put on guard sentiments of a holy fear and love, to defend her against the attacks of all inordinate inclinations. Let us strive more and more to die to the world and to live solely for Jesus. We will endeavor to curb our evil tendencies, to lead a life opposed to nature, and thus tend to intimate union with Christ. What happiness and what peace will be the portion of souls who have conceived the value of such a union! They desire to be seen by God alone, known by Him alone, guided by Him alone, and rewarded solely by Him. Desirous of concealing their actions from the eyes of men, they communicate with the world only in so far as obedience and the honor of God demand it. Mindful of danger, they place a guard upon their eyes and restrain them even in lawful things. They desire no knowledge but to advance in perfection, and, far from all thoughtlessness, are saving of their words. They rejoice when lowly, apparently insignificant tasks are assigned them, which afford them opportunity, by the exercise of humility and self-denial, for closer union with God. Thus, as it were, their heart is a new grave in which no other love reigns than the love of Jesus.

O hidden life, how lavishly do you endow the soul with graces, and how preeminently are you a foretaste of the life of future glory! How powerfully do you put to naught the works of death, and remove our faults and imperfections! Do I tolerate in my heart any other inclination than the love of God? Am I solicitous to conceal my actions from the eyes of the world, that they may be the more pleasing to God?

Affections: O blessed sepulchre, worthy of all veneration and esteem, let me enter thee with pious reverence, devotion, and love. O my beloved Saviour, I pray Thee, transform my heart and make of it an agreeable and holy resting place for Thee. Teach me to die to self that I may rest with Thee in the grave of recollection, silence and seclusion. With all my heart, I will love the silence and repose of the Tabernacle, wherein Thou dwellest, as once in the sepulchre, hidden from the eyes of men. I will deposit at Thy feet every victory achieved over my evil tendencies and corrupt nature, and entreat Thee to renew and confirm more and more, through every Holy Communion, the new life of grace and love within my heart. My dear Mother of Dolors, let me share thy sorrow and thy love, that like thee, dead to all things, I may live solely in Jesus, with Jesus, and for Jesus.

Resolution: In close union with my holy Mother, I will prepare in silence and holy recollection for the glorious feast of the resurrection of our Blessed Lord.

Spiritual Bouquet: “You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Prayer: Soul of Christ. . .