Hell Trembles With Fear

Today is Holy Saturday, 2014.

Jesus has lived, died, and is now in the tomb. "Darkness covers the earth."1

Nearly 2,000 years later, we know that the tomb could not contain Him. We know that the shrouded Light rose from the bowels of the earth, shedding His brilliant Light upon a sleeping, no, dead world shrouded by sin.

The grieving and mourning of those that loved Him must have been unbearable. Yet, Liturgically speaking, that is where we also find ourselves.

Mourning and grieving over our participation in the sufferings of a God who loves us so much that He became one of us. Mourning and grieving in our trials and sufferings as well.

But there is a peace in knowing that this is not the end of the story; for Christ, nor for us.

Just as we are now able to see the tomb containing Him Whom was present at the Creation, knowing that His Resurrection, His Victory is merely moments away, we learn to seek and to find joy a midst our trials and sufferings.  We know that we too share in that Resurrection and Victory. This helps us to "get through", helps us to endure and to go on.

We do not belong to this world. We belong to Christ. He offers new and everlasting life.

This, my friends, makes hell tremble.

Oh; tonight is the Easter Vigil. It is my favorite Liturgy, rich in Scriptural readings (17 counting the Responsible Psalms) that recount God's plan of salvation through history. We'll see Baptisms, First Communions, Professions of Faith, and Confirmations too!

The Second Reading in today's Office of Readings is from "an ancient Homily on Holy Saturday."  Here it is:

The Lord descends into hell

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. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.
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1 Isaiah 60:2

Holy Week 2014: Who Are YOU?

I did not set out to give up blogging for Lent, but it turns out that it's taken me from Ash Wednesday to Holy Week to get one in here. (I'm currently quite busy with some very important work, and blogging is just low on the list of priorities at the moment.) Even this post will be a "cheat" since it is just a re-working of one of my favorite reflections:

We have now entered Holy Week of 2014.

During this Holy Week we will have many opportunities to spiritually walk with Jesus.

Yesterday, Palm Sunday,  we began this walk with Him as He was received with shouts of "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"

The Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, or the Easter Vigil) is one liturgical celebration. If you have never participated in all three consecutively, I encourage you to do so.

On Holy Thursday, we will be with Jesus as He institutes the Eucharist and the ministerial Priesthood; we will be invited to stay and pray or to fall asleep in His darkest hour.

On Good Friday, we will walk with Him as He is betrayed, reflecting perhaps upon the ways we too have betrayed Him. We will follow Him as He is deserted, beaten, illegally tried, condemned, inhumanely tortured, spit upon, and ridiculed. We will be there as the shouts turn to "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"

We will witness Him carrying the cross, falling under the weight of the cross, crawling under the weight of the cross; already so near death that Simon is forcibly pressed into service to help Him. Perhaps for a moment, we will reflect upon the opportunities we have to help Him as well.

We will witness Him take our sins upon Himself so that the chains of sin can be broken.

Adam and Eve ate of the tree of life thus bringing death into the world. Jesus, the Lamb of God, hung on a tree of death bringing the gift of everlasting life to a world that does not deserve Him, desperately needs Him, and obstinately rejects Him.

We have the opportunity to be present as our Lord gives us to His mother and gives His mother to us; to be there as He gives up His Spirit, dies for us, and is laid in the tomb.

On Holy Saturday, I will blog about that day. However, today I want to encourage you to see yourself through the eyes of the witnesses.

Who are YOU in the Passion of the Christ?

The Pharisees – Knowledgeable of religion, its practices and traditions, but unable to see that God is in our midst…so busy with what we think is important that we are deaf to what Jesus is telling us is really important.

Judas - When we grow weary that the mission of Jesus may not be what we want it to be. We become self-absorbed, thinking that we know better than God. In choosing our own will over God's Will, we betray Him.

Peter – When we allow fear to overwhelm us. When we are afraid to stand up for what is right and true. When we are afraid to proclaim or even acknowledge our Faith. When, although we have walked with Jesus, touched Him, spoken with Him, seen the wonders He has done…right in front of us; we run away at the most critical of times.

The crowd – When we close God out and listen to others and allow them to influence us to accuse others wrongly or to shout for blood.

Herod – Reducing Jesus to some small wonder-worker or looking for some magical sign.

Pilate – When we give in to the crowd telling us what to do, pressuring us to do something…even when we know it isn't right. Or when we are so caught up in ourselves and our own worries that we attempt to create our own truth or deny there is such a thing as truth…even when THE TRUTH, Christ is there before us.

The soldiers – When we continue to sin, although our sins tear at, bruise, scourge, and pierce our Lord…all while He is pleading for us, "Father, forgive them." Here, the word He uses is ABBA, a word that was really used by young children when addressing their fathers. A word that may be better translated as "Daddy". "Daddy, forgive them."

The scoffing criminal crucified next to Jesus – When we allow ourselves to become so angry and bitter that we are actually angry and bitter with God.

Perhaps we are like some of these people. Perhaps we are like all of these people. One thing is for sure though. We are, each and every one of us;

Barabbas – the notorious sinner who truly deserved to die, and in fact had already been condemned to death…but instead, Jesus, our God who humbled Himself and became one of us, took our place on the cross and died for us so that we might live.

It's hard to accept that we are like many of these people, that we hurt the Lord by our actions. But it's important to remember that while we are not perfect, we are not totally imperfect either. It gives me hope to see myself in some of the other witnesses as well. Maybe we are like:

Simon - Yes, at first reluctant to carry the cross, but picking it up anyway; and certainly transformed by that journey to Golgotha and seeing a forgiving Christ praying and offering Himself for all...for you.

Veronica - When we see Jesus in the poor, the weak, the innocent yet condemned of the world; and we don't just stand by...we act!

Mary - When we love our children so much; knowing that they are really a part of us; feeling, really feeling the pain that they suffer; wishing that we could make the hurt go away....submitting to the Will of God, no matter how painful.

The penitent thief - When we accept what we truly deserve but find the Grace and the courage to rely on Divine Mercy...and receive it!

God bless you. +++

Who Have YOU Been During Holy Week?

Today is Holy Saturday of Holy Week 2013.

During this Holy Week, the Lord has provided us with many opportunities to spiritually walk with Him.

We have had the opportunity to be with Him as He was received with shouts of "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"; as He instituted the Eucharist and the priesthood; to stay and pray or to fall asleep in His darkest hour.

We have walked with Him as He was betrayed...even betraying Him ourselves perhaps; followed Him as He was deserted, beaten, illegally tried, condemned, inhumanely tortured, spit upon, and ridiculed. We were there as the shouts turned to "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"

We have witnessed Him carrying the cross, falling under the weight of the cross, crawling under the weight of the cross; already so near death that Simon is forcibly pressed into service to help Him. Perhaps for a moment, we helped Him as well.

We have witnessed Him take our sins upon Himself so that the chains of sin can be broken.

Adam and Eve ate of the tree of life thus bringing death into the world. Jesus, the Lamb of God, hung on a tree of death bringing the gift of everlasting life to a world that does not deserve Him, desperately needs Him, and obstinately rejects Him.

We had the opportunity to be present as our Lord gave us to His mother and gave His mother to us; to be there as He gave up His Spirit, died for us, and was laid in the tomb.

This is where we find ourselves today.

I set out last week to blog about the Passion of Jesus through the eyes of the witnesses. When I stated that goal, I thought that I would use material I have written in the past and posted in other locations. Well, let's just say that it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, and almost all of the material had to be re-thought, re-written, etc. It turns out that this was good for me though, and it made for a more reflective Holy Week for me than it would have been.

One last thing, before I conclude; while I tried to capture the experience of many of the witnesses, the series is certainly not all-inclusive. We can and should identify with many of these and other witnesses of the events of that first Holy Week.

Who are YOU in the Passion of the Christ?

The Pharisees – Knowledgeable of religion, its practices and traditions, but unable to see that God is in our midst…so busy with what we think is important that we are deaf to what Jesus is telling us is really important.

Judas - When we grow weary that the mission of Jesus may not be what we want it to be. We become self-absorbed, thinking that we know better than God. In choosing our own will over God's Will, we betray Him.

Peter – When we allow fear to overwhelm us. When we are afraid to stand up for what is right and true. When we are afraid to proclaim or even acknowledge our Faith. When, although we have walked with Jesus, touched Him, spoken with Him, seen the wonders He has done…right in front of us; we run away at the most critical of times.

The crowd – When we close God out and listen to others and allow them to influence us to accuse others wrongly or to shout for blood.

Herod – Reducing Jesus to some small wonder-worker or looking for some magical sign.

Pilate – When we give in to the crowd telling us what to do, pressuring us to do something…even when we know it isn't right. Or when we are so caught up in ourselves and our own worries that we attempt to create our own truth or deny there is such a thing as truth…even when THE TRUTH, Christ is there before us.

The soldiers – When we continue to sin, although our sins tear at, bruise, scourge, and pierce our Lord…all while He is pleading for us, "Father, forgive them." Here, the word He uses is ABBA, a word that was really used by young children when addressing their fathers. A word that may be better translated as "Daddy". "Daddy, forgive them."

The scoffing criminal crucified next to Jesus – When we allow ourselves to become so angry and bitter that we are actually angry and bitter with God.


Perhaps we are like some of these people. Perhaps we are like all of these people. One thing is for sure though. We are, each and every one of us;

Barabbas – the notorious sinner who truly deserved to die, and in fact had already been condemned to death…but instead, Jesus, our God who humbled Himself and became one of us, took our place on the cross and died for us so that we might live.


It's hard to accept that we are like many of these people, that we hurt the Lord by our actions. But it's important to remember that while we are not perfect, we are not totally imperfect either. It gives me hope to see myself in some of the other witnesses as well. Maybe we are like:

Simon - Yes, at first reluctant to carry the cross, but picking it up anyway; and certainly transformed by that journey to Golgotha and seeing a forgiving Christ praying and offering Himself for all...for you.

Veronica - When we see Jesus in the poor, the weak, the innocent yet condemned of the world; and we don't just stand by...we act!

Mary - When we love our children so much; knowing that they are really a part of us; feeling, really feeling the pain that they suffer; wishing that we could make the hurt go away....submitting to the Will of God, no matter how painful.

The penitent thief - When we accept what we truly deserve but find the Grace and the courage to rely on Divine Mercy...and receive it!
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