FIRST SATURDAY

• St. Isidore of Seville (636). Bishop, Doctor of the Church. (Current, Traditional)

HOLY SATURDAY.

THREE hours after Jesus Christ had uttered His last sigh on the cross, two of His disciples, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, went to ask Pilate for the body, that they might give it burial. Having obtained it, they embalmed it according to the custom of the Jews, and deposited it not far from the place of Calvary, in a tomb hewn in the rock, wherein no one had yet been laid. Pilate caused the entrance to be sealed up, and placed a guard over it, lest the body should be taken away. The Saviour thus remained from nightfall on the Friday till the first rays of dawn on the Sunday. He had himself said that He was to pass this time in the tomb, and had quoted as an example the abiding of the prophet Jonas for the same space of time in the whale’s belly. It was then a real death that was associated with these signs and precautions, and the sacrifice had been consummated and was irrevocable. Well might we then marvel at such excess of love, covering ourselves with confusion at the thought of how feebly we love Him who hath so greatly loved us, and of how little we do for Him who hath accomplished so much for us. But we would enter upon another consideration. With Jesus Christ died both the ancient world with its hideous worship; the synagogue with its symbols and mysteries; and the man of sin, the old Adam, with its concupiscences-yea, even death itself, which had been inflicted on man in punishment for sin. With Jesus Christ died sin, and sin was placed in the tomb with Him; for, according to the beautiful expression of the Apostle, the Saviour fastened the sins of men to the cross. 

Now the cross itself was buried on the spot where Christ had suffered, as was the custom among the Jews, and as was fully shown by the finding thereof in conjunction with those of the two thieves, three centuries later, by St. Helen; whence it follows that among us Christians, the disciples, that is, of Christ, and regenerated by His death, there ought never to lurk any shadow of Jewish superstition or pagan morals, any remnant of the old Adam or man of sin. Concupiscences, disorderly passions, and love of the world should no longer exist but as the memory of a time that is no more.

REFLECTION: “For we are buried together with Him by baptism unto death; that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of His Father, so we also may walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also of His resurrection. Knowing this, that the old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, and that we may serve sin no longer.”

ST. ISIDORE, ARCHBISHOP.

ISIDORE was born of a ducal family, at Carthagena in Spain. His two brothers, Leander, Archbishop of Seville, Fulgentius Bishop of Ecija, and his sister Florentina, are Saints. As a boy he despaired at his ill success in study, and ran away from school. Resting in his flight at a roadside spring, he observed a stone, which was hollowed out by the dripping water. This decided him to return, and by hard application he succeeded where he had failed. He went back to his master, and with the help of God became, even as a youth, one of the most learned men of the time. He assisted in converting Prince Recared, the leader of the Arian party; and with his aid, though at the constant peril of his own life, he expelled that heresy from Spain. Then, following a call from God, he turned a deaf ear to the entreaties of his friends, and embraced a hermit’s life. Prince Recared and many of the nobles and clergy of Seville went to persuade him to come forth, and represented the needs of the times, and the good he could do, and had already done, among the people. He refused, and as far as we can judge, that refusal gave him the necessary opportunity of acquiring the virtue and the power which afterwards made him an illustrious Bishop and Doctor of the Church. On the death of his brother Leander, he was called to fill the vacant see. As a teacher, ruler, founder, and reformer, he labored not only in his own diocese, but throughout Spain, and even in foreign countries. He died in Seville on April 4th, 636, and within sixteen years of his death was declared a Doctor of the Catholic Church.

REFLECTION: The strength of temptation usually lies in the fact that its object is something flattering to our pride, soothing to our sloth, or in some way attractive to the meaner passions. St. Isidore teaches us to listen neither to the promptings of nature nor the plausible advice of friends when they contradict the voice of God.

WORD OF THE DAY

ANNIHILATION. The act of wiping out the existence of something. According to the Christian faith, as God has freely created the whole universe, he is also free to annihilate any or all of it through withdrawing of his preserving influence and so allow it to relapse into nothingness. However, revelation teaches that, in point of fact, God has no intention of annihilating what he made. Even the material universe, it is believed, will not be put out of existence but will only be drastically changed.

Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon SJ (Get the real one at Eternal Life — don’t accept an abridged or edited version of this masterpiece!)

HOLY WEEK MEDITATIONS

Special meditations focused on Holy Week: HOLY SATURDAY

LENT MEDITATION DAY 46

Enjoy daily meditations this lent from Fr. Richard Clarke, SJ. Short and powerful, written in 1880 for busy lay people to reap rewards through lent. (includes audio): Lent Day 46: Easter Eve — The Entombment.