It is the most sorrowful Holy Saturday we have ever seen in our lives. Because the sacraments have been taken from us. Our Blessed Lord is in the tomb truly, hidden from us. I went to pray on Good Friday at my church and the doors were locked. Reminds me of Don McLean’s lyrics:

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music
Used to make me smile
…But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
…Something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
…We sang dirges in the dark
...Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
...There we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
...No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan's spell
...I saw Satan laughing with delight
...I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
...Not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken

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And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singing

“Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry”

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Indeed, all the holy water fonts are dry. Our Catholic life wrenched from us overnight. As Our Lord said, like a “thief in the night.”

Today, many will be shouting their sins across 6 feet or out their car windows. What brought us to this hour? Even though the forces of darkness are “laughing with delight,” God’s hand is upon us. This is what it HAD to come to. The whole world should be shouting their sins in sackcloth and ashes. And those who, even THIS Easter, still believe it is all about bunnies and pretty eggs, God help them!

I know I said our focus here would be positive, but that doesn’t mean our heads can be in the sand. We must face squarely what is happening and why. Then move forward with a beautiful vision of the future we are creating together as God’s children, the Children of the Promise. So let us remain even more solemn this Holy Saturday. Let us give God our very best at this time and in the coming days, that He may look mercifully upon our world!