By fr Antony Christy, SDB –
April 20: No Eucharist Celebration this day!
The Lord rests in the tomb this day…everything is silent! There will be a dawn very soon…but until then we are invited to Remain Silent, Remain Patient and Remain Waiting.
Discussing, a youngster once asked, what happened after Jesus died and before he rose? What was he going through? What did he do: He was silent! He was waiting! He just remained! This is the call of this unique day of the year in the Church: this is the only day in the whole of the Church when no Eucharist is Celebrated…the altar remains stripped, the tabernacle remains empty and the Church remains silent: waiting in patience to see what is going to happen next.
It is not so easy to remain silent in a moment of crisis. Multitudes of questions, thousands of thoughts will pass by our mind breaking our silence. Only the one who has an unwavering faith in the Lord can remain silent at these moments.
We have grown slaves to instant results. We seem to have have lost the natural patience of our forefathers, in the name of development and technology. Only the one who hopes in Someone greater than oneself, can remain patient and see things happen.
Compare waiting for a public utility, may be a transport or one’s turn in a crowded office, with waiting for one’s beloved! While former seems irritating, the latter looks exciting. The difference is the love that is involved: Only the one who loves the Lord immensely, remains waiting, for the Lord to act on his or her behalf.
Today is the day to remain…to remain silent, to remain patient, to remain waiting, because the Lord is getting something beautiful ready for us!
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005, who has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (Specialisation in Catechetics). He is currently pursuing his doctoral research in Theology at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the Young towards a World of Peace and Dialogue is the passion that fires him.