Today is a day like no other in the Church calendar. There are no liturgies or readings for today. We await the Easter Vigil.

On this day, we wait. Christ has died. We know he comes again. We know there will be the Resurrection. I was trying to imagine what this day was like for Mary, for the disciples and followers of Jesus. I am sure they believed in what he said. In the darkness of this time, in the sadness and grief, in that great hole of loss, I hope their faith offered a glimmer of hope and of light.

We fear death and sometimes have trouble coming to grips with our own mortality. That should serve as a touchpoint as we truly let the message and meaning of Christ’s death sink in: Jesus became fully human, yes, fully human and died for us so that we might live and that we might have everlasting life with him. That is our light and our hope.

In the darkness, on a day where our usual and comforting routine is no longer there, we can close our eyes and take a deep breath. God is here in the darkness. God is here. In this uncertain time, God, as I contemplate the mystery of death and the Resurrection to come, please give me the grace to let go and to believe that death has no power over me.