Black Saturday: A time to mourn, reflect

BLACK Saturday is a day of mourning, deep reflection, and anticipation of the glorious miracle of Jesus rising from the dead on Easter Sunday.

San Jose de Trozo Church parish priest Fr. Peterson Tieng of the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society said that after His crucifixion, Jesus was taken to a nearby tomb where His body lay the entirety of Holy Saturday.

“I believe Jesus’ greatest suffering for us wasn’t Friday but Saturday. Whatever happened on that day for Jesus was far worse than anything we could ever imagine. And maybe the disciples’ silence on that day is evidence of their own torment,” said Tieng.

A MOTHER’S CALVARY The Blessed Virgin Mary holds the hand her dead son, Jesus Christ, after he was taken down from the cross in this scene from the Senakulo or the reenactment of Christ’s passion and death at Barangay Pio del Pilar in Makati City on Good Friday, March 29, 2024. PHOTO BY RIO DELUVIO

He noted that the Gospel told little about what happened the day after the crucifixion of Jesus at Calvary.

Based on the account of Luke, after Jesus died on the cross and His body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where His body was placed.

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Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint His body.

“One would imagine that the hours between arriving at the tomb must have been filled with tears of sorrow, yet glimmers of hope that indeed He would do as He said on Sunday,” said Tieng.

Jesus’ followers and family also held a vigil for Him outside his tomb, awaiting His foretold resurrection.

As the preparation of the hearts of those mourning after the death of Jesus, Tieng said the faithful too can prepare their hearts for the joy that is to come dawning Easter Sunday.

“Taking part in that joy can include leaning into what He has to share to our hearts on Holy Saturday,” he said.

He said as the activities on this day usually focus on preparing for the celebration of the resurrection on Easter Sunday, the faithful should take time to digest what Jesus may have gone through on that day.

Tieng said just as Jesus’ followers waited on Saturday to see what would occur Sunday, so the Christian world waited to see the hand of the Lord in their own lives during the Easter Vigil which is held during the hours of darkness between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Day.

“Black Saturday is a time for us to lean into being present in the Lord, placing our own agendas at the door, and coming before Him to simply be with Him. The Lord desires a relationship with us, and a requirement of a relationship is time together. Black Saturday is a great day not to ask for anything, but to simply spend time within the Spirit of the Lord,” said Tieng.

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