We read in an ancient homily on Holy Saturday, “Something strange is happening — there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep.”
Holy Saturday is one of the most mysterious and overlooked days of the Church’s year. After the intensity of Holy Thursday and the sorrow of Good Friday, the Church now enters a day wrapped in silence. It’s a pause — not empty or stagnant, but one brimming with anticipation.
In our Dominican houses, Holy Saturday begins quietly. The chanting is hushed, the prayers subdued, as if we, too, are keeping vigil outside the sealed tomb. As Father Vincent pointed out, even the friars aren’t quite sure what to do with themselves. There’s a sense of wandering, of waiting. But in this silence, something incredible is happening.
Silence begins to break
Christ is not idle. As one ancient homily for Holy Saturday proclaims, “Something strange is happening.” While His body lies in the tomb, His soul descends to the realm of the dead. This is the mystery of the harrowing of hell: Christ crashes through the gates of death itself to rescue the just who had long awaited their Redeemer. Tradition tells us that the first to be raised are Adam and Eve. Christ, the New Adam, takes our first parents by the hand and leads them into glory. The battle, begun on the Cross, continues and ends in this cosmic triumph.
One image that speaks powerfully to this day is the Shroud of Turin. Whether or not one believes in its authenticity, the shroud draws us into the reality of Christ’s passion. The wounds on the man of the shroud are visible, the signs of His love etched into linen. On Holy Saturday, I think of the shroud. I think of the stillness of the tomb, of the Lord’s body resting, of the great silence that surrounds the victory He has won.
And then, that silence begins to break.
Awaiting Christ’s arrival with joy
At the Easter Vigil, everything shifts. We enter the church in darkness, and then — light. The Exsultet is sung. The readings unfold the story of salvation. And then the Gloria bursts forth. Bells ring, the organ thunders to life, and the Church proclaims that Christ is risen! Catechumens are baptized, the sacraments flow, and grace pours into the world.
This is the joy that waits on the other side of the tomb.
So today, let us keep vigil with Christ. Let us wait with hope. The silence will soon give way to song.
