Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. (Mark 15:33)
Father, we pray all those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, that you will give them the light of Jesus to see by and guide their feet into the way of peace. (See Luke 1:79)
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)
Jesus, come into the heart and mind of all those who feel abandoned by God and bring them to a new beginning in you. Flood them with your Holy Spirit and help them live the hope of the resurrection.
Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, he is calling for Elijah!” (Mark 15:35)
Holy Spirit, help us accurately hear what Jesus is saying to us.
Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to him to drink, saying, “Let him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take him down.” (Mark 15:36)
Father, bless all those who do deeds of kindness and compassion to your little ones — for they do them to Jesus as well.
And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed his last. (Mark 15:37)
Thank you, Jesus, for the finished work you have done for us on the cross.
Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (Mark 15:38 )
Jesus, thank you that by your cross and resurrection you have made a way for us into the Holy of Holies — into the presence of your father.
So when the centurion, who stood opposite him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39)
Holy Spirit, we pray for your witness to the hearts of those who are in our military and police forces: bless them with the knowledge of who you are.
There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed him and ministered to him when he was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. (Mark 15:40-41)
Father, bless the witness and prayers of the Daughters of the King and the Sisters of St. Mary and all those women who minister to Jesus and who stand watch with him. Thank you.
A word received: Pray for my righteousness and peace for this nation.
Saturday: 30, 32 * 42, 43; 1 Kings 12:1-20 James 5:7-12,19-20 Mark 15:33-39
Sunday: 63:1-8(9-11), 98 * 103; 1 Kings 12:21-33 Acts 4:18-31 John 10:31-42
HC: 119:33-48 or 119:33-40; Ezekiel 33:(1-6)7-11; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 18:15-20
Albany Intercessor
A Holy Saturday meditation on death and sin from Orthodox theologian John Meyendorff:
Death and sin are inseparable cosmic realities in fallen creation, because “through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, and thus death passed unto all men” (Rom. 5:12). According to the prevailing patristic exegesis of that passage, then, it is this universal mortality that makes personal sinfulness inevitable. Dominated by suffering, fear of death,
and insecurity, man came under the power of an instinct for SELF-protection and SELF-preservation. He began to struggle for his OWN survival, at the expense of his neighbor, even if this survival could be only temporary (and
therefore illusory), since “death reigned from Adam to Moses, even upon those who did not sin as Adam did” (Rom. 5:14). Indeed, it still reigns, in spite of all human efforts to conquer it, except by Jesus, the Christ.
Mortality is, therefore, the ultimate condition of fallen man. It keeps him enslaved, dependent, and inevitably concerned about his threatened self, with a tendency to use others for his own selfish interests.
The vicious circle of death and sin, however, was BROKEN by God Himself, who came “to serve, and not to be served,” who said that it is “better to give, than to receive,” and “who gave Himself for the salvation of many.” In a world where struggle for survival at the expense of others is the law, He showed that death for others is the ultimate act of love. And when this act was performed by God Himself, a new life indeed came into the
world.
This “redemption” brought by Christ defies rational explanation, yet its significance
is overwhelming. It is an event that took place in history, that, like all historical events, took time: the time of Jesus’ earthly life, and the three days of His burial.
–John Meyendorff, The Time of Holy Saturday, from ORTHODOX SYNTHESIS: The
Unity of Theological Thought, edited by Joseph J. Allen
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The Eastern Churches’ Traditional understanding of the Mysteries of Faith:
The Mysteries of Faith are like the sun, you cannot gaze directly into them; but they illuminate all else.
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Favorite Quotes
“All religious reality begins with what the Biblical religion calls the “Fear of God.” It comes when our existence between birth and
death becomes incomprehensible and uncanny, when all security is shattered through the mystery. This is not the relative mystery of that which is inaccessible only to the present state of human
knowledge and is hence in principle discoverable. It is the essential mystery, the inscrutableness of which belongs to its very nature; it is the unknowable. Through this dark gate (which is only
a gate and not, as some theologians assert, a dwelling) the believing man steps forth into the everyday which is henceforth hallowed as the
place in which he has to live with the mystery.”
– Martin Buber (Eclipse of God)
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“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed. It was the experience of mystery — even if mixed with fear — that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds: it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity. In this sense, and only this sense, I am
a deeply religious man… I am satisfied with the mystery of life’s eternity and with a knowledge, a sense, of the marvelous structure of
existence — as well as the humble attempt to understand even a tiny portion of the Reason that manifests itself in nature.”
–Albert Einstein (The World as I See It)
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Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking.
–Kahlil Gibran
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“You can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it.”
– G.K. Chesterton
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“Revelation can be either doubted or affirmed but neither denied or proved.”
– Abraham Joshua Heschel, 1907-1972
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Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.
–Elton Trueblood
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Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
—Hebrews 11:1
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Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Live the questions now.
Perhaps you will find them gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.
–Rainer Maria Rilke