Holy Saturday~~the waiting day

Holy Saturday (in Latin, Sabbatum Sanctum ), the 'day of the entombed Christ,' is the Lord's day of rest, for on that day Christ's body lay in His tomb. We recall the Apostle's Creed which says "He descended unto the dead." It is a day of suspense between two worlds, that of darkness, sin and death, and that of the Resurrection and the restoration of the Light of the World. For this reason no divine services are held until the Easter Vigil at night. This day between Good Friday and Easter Day makes present to us the end of one world and the complete newness of the era of salvation inaugurated by the Resurrection of Christ.

Now it's time to prepare our hearts, our homes and our meals for the greatest celebration of the year, Jesus Christ's triumph over death and message of hope, salvation and glory to us!!

Bet you're ready for this now, another passage from the little book on Mother Teresa:

"Some people came to Calcutta, and before leaving, they begged me: 'Tell us something that will help us to live our lives better.' And I said: 'Smile at each other; smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other - it doesn't matter who it is - and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other.' And then one of them asked me: 'Are you married?' and I said: 'Yes, and I find it difficult sometimes to smile at Jesus.' And it is true, Jesus can be very demanding also, and it is at those times when He is so demanding that to give Him a big smile is very beautiful."

When my three children were very little, they had a restriction on when they could have candy...it could only be on week-ends, so when another little neighborhood girl asked about it, I said that it made it very special for them because they had to wait and got excited. Even though this girl could have candy any time she wanted, she said "I think my momma might make us wait and have a special day too." We need special days.

My oldest daughter, Ria (short for AnaMaria) had a special day and got some money. We went to the nearest convenience store (on a week-end)and she walked slowly up and down and slower yet, up and down the candy aisle, checking every piece of candy and gum they had there. Finally, she couldn't stand and she squeezed her money and her little 6 year old hands together and said "I'm so excited, I'm just so excited." THIS is what Holy Saturday SHOULD be for us!!! Let's get excited and show it, fellow christians!!!

THE CROSS

The cross is the hope of Christians

the cross is the resurrection of the dead

the cross is the way of the lost

the cross is the savior of the lost

the cross is the staff of the lame

the cross is the guide of the blind

the cross is the strength of the weak

the cross is the doctor of the sick

the cross is the aim of the priests

the cross is the hope of the hopeless

the cross is the freedom of the slaves

the cross is the power of the kings

the cross is the water of the seeds

the cross is the consolation of the bondsmen

the cross is the source of those who seek water

the cross is the cloth of the naked.

We thank you, Father, for the cross.

~~Thank you God for the blessing of The Cross and thank you for our crosses that we may be better people because of them.

P.S. Yesterday at our church service, I was given the honor of one of the long reading parts of the passion of Jesus. Since Good Friday services always make me cry, I was worried about doing a good job for God. Guess what? God decided to keep me in total control until the part where we kneel down after announcing that Jesus died (but no one saw me and that is good or if they did then that is good too!)