Wednesday within the Octave of Easter



“But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place...” (Luke 24:21.)

Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed during today’s Mass:

““We,” they said, “had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” O my dear disciples, you had hoped! So now you no longer hope? Look, Christ is alive! Is hope dead in you? Certainly, certainly, Christ is alive! Christ, being alive, found the hearts of his disciples dead, as he appeared and did not appear to their eyes. He was at one and the same time seen and concealed. I mean, if he wasn’t seen, how could they have heard him questioning them and answered his questions? He was walking with them along the road like a companion and was himself the leader. Of course he was seen, but he wasn’t recognized. For their eyes were restrained, as we heard, so that they wouldn’t recognize him. They weren’t restrained so that they wouldn’t see him, but they were held so that they wouldn’t recognize him.

Ah yes, brothers and sisters, but where did the Lord wish to be recognized? In the breaking of bread. We’re all right, nothing to worry about—we break bread, and we recognize the Lord. It was for our sake that he didn’t want to be recognized anywhere but there, because we weren’t going to see him in the flesh, and yet we were going to eat his flesh. So if you’re a believer, any of you, if you’re not called a Christian for nothing, if you don’t come to church pointlessly, if you listen to the Word of God in fear and hope, you may take comfort in the breaking of bread. The Lord’s absence is not an absence. Have faith, and the one you cannot see is with you. Those two, even when the Lord was talking to them, did not have faith, because they didn’t believe he had risen. Nor did they have any hope that he could rise again. They had lost faith, lost hope. They were walking along, dead, with Christ alive. They were walking along, dead, with life itself. Life was walking along with them, but in their hearts life had not yet been restored.” (Sermon 232)



Collect
O God,
Who gladden us year by year
with the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection,
graciously grant that,
by celebrating these present festivities,
we may merit through them to reach eternal joys.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.


Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen








Christ the source of resurrection and life



Ancient Christian Author
Anonymous

An excerpt from an Easter Homily

Wednesday within the Octave of Easter

Saint Paul rejoices in the knowledge that spiritual health has been restored to the human race. Death entered the world through Adam, he explains, but life has been given back to the world through Christ. Again he says: The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven and is heavenly. As we have borne the image of the earthly man, the image of human nature grown old in sin, so let us bear the image of the heavenly man: human nature raised up, redeemed, restored and purified in Christ. We must hold fast to the salvation we have received. Christ was the first fruits, says the Apostle; he is the source of resurrection and life. Those who belong to Christ will follow him. Modeling their lives on his purity, they will be secure in the hope of his resurrection and of enjoying with him the glory promised in heaven. Our Lord himself said so in the gospel: Whoever follows me will not perish, but will pass from death to life.

Thus the passion of our Savior is the salvation of mankind. The reason why he desired to die for us was that he wanted us who believe in him to live for ever. In the fullness of time it was his will to become what we are, so that we might inherit the eternity he promised and live with him for ever.

Here, then, is the grace conferred by these heavenly mysteries, the gift which Easter brings, the most longed for feast of the year; here are the beginnings of creatures newly formed: children born from the life-giving font of holy Church, born anew with the simplicity of little ones, and crying out with the evidence of a clean conscience. Chaste fathers and inviolate mothers accompany this new family, countless in number, born to new life through faith. As they emerge from the grace-giving womb of the font, a blaze of candles burns brightly beneath the tree of faith. The Easter festival brings the grace of holiness from heaven to men. Through the repeated celebration of the sacred mysteries they receive the spiritual nourishment of the sacraments. Fostered at the very heart of holy Church, the fellowship of one community worships the one God, adoring the triple name of his essential holiness, and together with the prophet sings the psalm which belongs to this yearly festival: This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. And what is this day? It is the Lord Jesus Christ himself, the author of light, who brings the sunrise and the beginning of life, saying of himself: I am the light of day; whoever walks in daylight does not stumble. That is to say, whoever follows Christ in all things will come by this path to the throne of eternal light.

Such was the prayer Christ made to the Father while he was still on earth: Father, I desire that where I am they also may be, those who have come to believe in me; and that as you are in me and I in you, so they may abide in us.



Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

 





Tuesday within the Octave of Easter



“Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father...”” (John 20:17.)

Pope Saint Leo the Great offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel proclamation:

“The Son of man and Son of God, therefore, dearly beloved, then attained a more excellent and holier fame when he returned to the glory of the Father’s majesty. In an incomprehensible way, he began to be nearer to the Father in respect of his Godhead after having become distanced in respect of his manhood. A better instructed faith then began to draw closer to a conception of the Son’s equality with the Father without the necessity of handling the corporeal substance in Christ. As a result of this [substance], he is less than the Father, since, while the nature of the glorified body still remained, the faith of believers was called on to touch not with the hand of flesh but with the spiritual understanding the Only Begotten, who was equal with the Father. And this is why the Lord said to Mary Magdalene (who represents the church), when she hurriedly approached and touched him, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father,” that is, I would not have you come to me as to a human body or recognize me by fleshly perceptions. I want you to wait for higher things. I prepare greater things for you. When I have ascended to my Father, then you shall handle me more perfectly and truly, for you shall grasp what you cannot touch and believe what you cannot see.” (Sermon 74)



Collect
O God,
Who have bestowed on us paschal remedies,
endow Your people with heavenly gifts,
so that, possessed of perfect freedom,
they may rejoice in heaven
over what gladdens them now on earth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.



Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 


It was necessary that Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory



Saint Anastasius of Antioch
Bishop

An excerpt from his Oration 4

Tuesday within the Octave of Easter

Christ, who has shown by his words and actions that he was truly God and Lord of the universe, said to his disciples as he was about to go up to Jerusalem: We are going up to Jerusalem now, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the Gentiles and the chief priests and scribes to be scourged and mocked and crucified.

These words bore out the predictions of the prophets, who had foretold the death he was to die in Jerusalem. From the beginning holy Scripture had foretold Christ’s death, the sufferings that would precede it, and what would happen to his body afterward. Scripture also affirmed that these things were going to happen to one who was immortal and incapable of suffering because he was God.

Only by reflecting upon the meaning of the incarnation can we see how it is possible to say with perfect truth both that Christ suffered and that he was incapable of suffering, and why the Word of God, in himself incapable of suffering, came to suffer. In fact, man could have been saved in no other way, as Christ alone knew and those to whom he revealed it. For he knows all the secrets of the Father, even as the Spirit penetrates the depths of all mysteries.

It was necessary for Christ to suffer: his passion was absolutely unavoidable. He said so himself when he called his companions dull and slow to believe because they failed to recognize that he had to suffer and so enter into his glory. Leaving behind him the glory that had been his with the Father before the world was made, he had gone forth to save his people. This salvation, however, could be achieved only by the suffering of the author of our life, as Paul taught when he said that the author of life himself was made perfect through suffering. Because of us he was deprived of his glory for a little while, the glory that was his as the Father’s only-begotten Son, but through the cross this glory is seen to have been restored to him in a certain way in the body that he had assumed. Explaining what water the Savior referred to when he said: He that has faith in me shall have rivers of living water flowing from within him, John says in his gospel that he was speaking of the Holy Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified. The glorification he meant was his death upon the cross for which the Lord prayed to the Father before undergoing his passion, asking his Father to give him the glory that he had in his presence before the world began.


Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 






Monday within the Octave of Easter



“Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.” (Acts 2:14.)

In commenting on these verses from today’s First Reading, Saint John Chrysostom writes:

“What is meant by “with the eleven”? They expressed themselves through a common voice, and he spoke for everyone. The eleven stood by as witnesses to what he said. “He raised his voice,” that is, he spoke with great confidence, that they might perceive the grace of the Spirit. He, who could not endure the questioning of a poor girl, now discourses with such great confidence in the middle of people all breathing murder upon him. This in itself became an indisputable proof of the resurrection. He spoke [among] people who could deride and make a joke of such sort things! For wherever the Holy Spirit is present, people of clay are changed into people of gold. Look at Peter now, if you would, and scrutinize the timid one, the man without understanding (as Christ said, “Are you also still without understanding?”). This is the man who was called Satan after that marvelous confession. Consider also the unanimity of the apostles. Of their own accord they yielded to him the office of speaking, for there was no need for them all to speak. So “he raised his voice and addressed them” with every confidence.” (Homilies On the Acts of the Apostles, 4)



Collect
O God,
Who give constant increase
to Your Church by new offspring,
grant that Your servants
may hold fast in their lives
to the Sacrament they have received in faith.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.


Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 




The Easter praise of Christ



Saint Melito of Sardis
Apostolic Father of the Church, Bishop and Martyr

An excerpt from his Easter Homily

Monday within the Octave of Easter

We should understand, beloved, that the paschal mystery is at once old and new, transitory and eternal, corruptible and incorruptible, mortal and immortal. In terms of the Law it is old, in terms of the Word it is new. In its figure it is passing, in its grace it is eternal. It is corruptible in the sacrifice of the lamb, incorruptible in the eternal life of the Lord. It is mortal in his burial in the earth, immortal in his resurrection from the dead.

The Law indeed is old, but the Word is new. The type is transitory, but grace is eternal. The lamb was corruptible, but the Lord is incorruptible. He was slain as a lamb; he rose again as God. He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, yet he was not a sheep. He was silent as a lamb, yet he was not a lamb. The type has passed away; the reality has come. The lamb gives place to God, the sheep gives place to a man, and the man is Christ, who fills the whole of creation. The sacrifice of the lamb, the celebration of the Passover, and the prescriptions of the Law have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Under the old Law, and still more under the new dispensation, everything pointed toward him.

Both the Law and the Word came forth from Zion and Jerusalem, but now the Law has given place to the Word, the old to the new. The commandment has become grace, the type a reality. The lamb has become a Son, the sheep a man, and man, God.

The Lord, though he was God, became man. He suffered for the sake of those who suffer, he was bound for those in bonds, condemned for the guilty, buried for those who lie in the grave; but he rose from the dead, and cried aloud: Who will contend with me? Let him confront me. I have freed the condemned, brought the dead back to life, raised men from their graves. Who has anything to say against me? I, he said, am the Christ; I have destroyed death, triumphed over the enemy, trampled hell underfoot, bound the strong one, and taken men up to the heights of heaven: I am the Christ.

Come, then, all you nations of men, receive forgiveness for the sins that defile you. I am your forgiveness. I am the Passover that brings salvation. I am the lamb who was immolated for you. I am your ransom, your life, your resurrection, your light, I am your salvation and your king. I will bring you to the heights of heaven. With my own right hand I will raise you up, and I will show you the eternal Father.



Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen









THE SACRED PASCHAL TRIDUUM
Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord
At the Mass During the Day



“So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and
arrived at the tomb first...” (John 20:3-4)
Saint Gregory of Nazianzus reflects on these verses from today’s Gospel:

Let us become Peter and John;
as they hastened to the tomb and the resurrection,
so let us hasten to the bath, running together,
racing against each other,
struggling to receive the blessing first.
And do not say,
“Go away, come back and I will be baptized tomorrow,”
though you could receive the blessing today.
“Let my mother be with me, let my father be with me,
my brothers and sisters, wife, children, friends,
all whom I value, and then I will be saved;
but now is not yet the time for me to be made radiant.”
For there is a risk that you will receive
as sharers in mourning those you hoped would be sharers in joy.
If they are present, be pleased,
but if they are absent, do not wait.
It is shameful to say,
“Where is the offering I will make at my illumination?
And where is the baptismal robe in which I will be made radiant?
And where are the means to greet my baptizers,
that through this I may be esteemed?”
For all these things, as you see it,
are necessary, and apart from this the grace will be diminished.
Do not quibble about great things,
do not allow yourself such ignoble thoughts.
The mystery is greater than visible things.
Offer yourself, clothe yourself with Christ,
feed me by your way of life;
thus I rejoice to be entertained,
and thus also does God, who gives the greatest gifts.
On Holy Easter, Oration 45


Collect
O God,
Who on this day,
through Your Only Begotten Son,
have conquered death
and unlocked for us the path to eternity,
grant, we pray, that we who keep
the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection
may, through the renewal brought by Your Spirit,
rise up in the light of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.





Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen





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Go to Galilee ... now!



εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

“After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake;
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven,
approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.
His appearance was like lightning and
his clothing was white as snow.
The guards were shaken with fear of him
and became like dead men.
Then the angel said to the women in reply,
“Do not be afraid! I know
that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.
He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples,
‘He has been raised from the dead, and
he is going before you to Galilee;
there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.”
Then they went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.””


θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

While other Evangelists give reasons for the women’s journey to the tomb of Jesus, Saint Matthew presents no explanation why “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary” went to the tomb in the dawning hours of the “first day of the week.” Yet they are there and it is through their eyes that Saint Matthew chronicles the unfolding of events with language grounded in Jewish apocalyptic and eschatological imagery.

As is the case in this Gospel, ἰδοὺ (idou, translated “behold” and employed close to 50 times in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew) often signals a divine intervention because of a limit situation facing humanity. In these occurrences, humanity struggles with finitude and the realization that, in spite of intellect and great advances, we ultimately do not control the ‘horizontal and vertical of life.’ And so, a classic theophany (God showing) breaks the silence and the hope-filled coloring of the dawning day – an earthquake shakes the very pillars of creation and the very grounding of human life. The Old Testament does not pen many earthquakes, but the ones recorded occasionally view them as a response to Israel’s lack of obedience to the demands of convent living such as the ones in Ezekiel 38 and in Isaiah 29. Yet earthquakes are also a theophany of presence, a theophany of encounter. The earthquake Elijah lived through was a preparation for encountering the Lord in the gentle whisper (1 Kings 19). Regardless of the reason, a biblical earthquake alerts one of a particular intervention of God in the created order. Such intervention is intensified with the actions of the “angel of the Lord” who “rolled back the stone and sat upon it.” The angel’s appearance and guard’s reaction evoke connections with the Book of Daniel as well as other apocalyptic sections of Scripture that boldly proclaim the final triumph of all that is good. This does not mean that humanity completely understands what happens in the present moment. Both Marys are silent and listen attentively to the angel’s words and then act immediately on those words thus demonstrating their true and genuine discipleship.


The angelic instruction, crucial on that first Resurrection Sunday, is equally crucial for the present-day disciple:

1. “Do not be afraid.” While a natural and understandable human response to this command is often, “easier said than done,” Scripture is filled with this potent command. Whether fear is primordial (see Psalm 91) or fear from a potential invading foe or army, the Word of God remains consistent, “Do not be afraid.” Fear triggers the fight-flight mechanism that is woven into our DNA for survival. In the face of a perceived threat to life, “I” begin to think of ways to preserve life, a natural and needed action. Yet sometimes that thinking can become somewhat solitary, disconnecting one from living life relationally. God’s Word that summons one not to fear is grounded in the reality that we have been created in the image and likeness of God, the same God Who says, “I will never forget you. See, upon the palms of my hands I have engraved you.” (Isaiah 49:15-16) This will also be the final word spoken by the Risen Incarnate Word prior to His Ascension, “… And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20).

2. “… you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for He has been raised…” The “angel of the Lord” is clear. Jesus has been raised; in other words, He has NOT been resuscitated. He is resurrected. The difference, if one can use that term, between resuscitation and Resurrection is at the very heart of the Good News of Christianity. The Resurrection of Jesus makes the sacred Texts of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John Gospel: no Resurrection, no Gospel; no Resurrection, no Christianity. Resuscitation involves a work that brings one back to living this life with all of its finite, limited joys and sorrows. Resurrection is more properly a birth to a new way of existing. Resurrection (see Catechism of the Catholic Church) is a radical transforming of soul AND BODY wherein the limits of human existence are re-created and freed to be without limit when it comes to our ultimate purpose: perfect loving relationship with God, others, the true self and all of creation. This is one of the reasons why the Gospels capture episode after episode of the Risen Jesus appearing in places despite locked rooms. In His Risen, glorified human manner of existing, there are no limits. And because finite and limited existence has been transformed gloriously, sin and death no longer have any power over human living. Humanity is free to love fully, selflessly and unconditionally. That is Good News!


3. “… He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him.” The words of the “angel of the Lord” recall Jesus’ own words at the Last Supper, “This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed’; but after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee.” (Matthew 26:31-32) With Supper finished, they went to the Mount of Olives and Jesus spoke these somber and hope-filled words. No doubt, Jesus’ quoting of the Prophet Zechariah caused distress. They knew the significance of the Old Testament shepherd imagery and more significantly, they knew Jesus to be the “Good Shepherd.” Talk of striking Him, the Shepherd, moved Peter to assert that his faith in Jesus yet it was not a faith that could withstand witnessing to Jesus in the hours to come. However, the somber predictions were not final as Jesus pronounced a word of hope: Galilee. Galilee? How is Galilee a word of hope? For the saintly Evangelist Matthew, Galilee is both the place and the occasion of encounter. It was in Galilee that the crowds encountered a Preacher and Teacher Who declared blessedness where there was none. It was in Galilee that the crowds encountered One-Who-spoke-parables to form a whole new way of living within and among humanity known as the Kingdom of God (also Kingdom of Heaven). It was in Galilee that the sick, blind, mute, etc … encountered the Divine Healer Who restored wholeness to broken and ailing humanity. It was in Galilee that hungry crowds encountered the Divine Host Who provided an abundance of food for soul and body. It was on the waters of Galilee that Jesus walked and beckoned Peter to do the same. It was in the waters of Galilee that Peter encountered the Saving Hand of Jesus Who pulled him to safety. It was in Galilee, atop a mountain, that Peter, James and John encountered a glimpse of the Glory of Jesus as Son of God in His Transfiguration. It was in Galilee that the crowds encountered Jesus as the New Moses who taught, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least, you did for Me.’ It was in Galilee that humanity encountered and came to know Jesus. It will be in Galilee that Jesus shows Himself Risen to a new way of life. Filled with that message, the Marys make haste to tell the disciples Jesus is Risen and to go to Galilee.

Map
Yet again the question, Galilee? The Marys and the other disciples are in Jerusalem. Galilee, at best, is a 3-day journey and, if the truth be told, most probably a 5-day journey on foot. True, Jesus appears to the women ‘on the way’ (an important Gospel phrase describing where a genuine disciple must be) and that certainly filled them with a wondrous joy. His action is one of grace, one of gift that strengthened and emboldened them to continue on the mission of proclaiming His Resurrection and directing the disciples to go to Galilee where they will now encounter Jesus a way transcending all previous encounters. They will, because of His gift to them, encounter Him Who IS Resurrection and Life.

What did the disciples experience on those days journeying from Jerusalem to Galilee? Scripture, admittedly, is silent. Yet in the prayerful communion of the Body of Christ, we might be drawn by the same Holy Spirit Who inspired the Sacred Evangelist to consider our own journey.

Like the Marys and the other disciples journeying to our Galilee is a time for reflection. Participating in the Sacramental life of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a life ‘on the way’ to the Galilee of Encounter. It is helpful, therefore, to ask how I have used the graces and gifts previously received to allow the depth of Jesus’ life to transform my heart to be in communion with Him. All is temporary, even the Sacraments. What is not temporary is the life-giving relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This relationship is the very being and purpose of our existence born of our graced-encounter with the Person, Jesus. Perhaps this is the Easter each resolves to receive graciously all that is given to us a gift (especially the Sacraments), seize the opportunities when they occur (no procrastinating) and use them to respond to the Risen Savior Jesus permitting Him to form deeply within each of us His life that pulsates into eternity.





He descended into Hell ...
From the Orthodox Liturgy of
Saint Basil the Great:
Holy Saturday Morning



εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

“For Christ also suffered for sins once,
the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,
that he might lead you to God.
Put to death in the flesh,
He was brought to life in the spirit.
In it He also went to preach to the spirits in prison,
who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited
in the days of Noah during the building of the ark,
in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water.”


θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

As an ancient homily powerfully states, “something strange is happening” today. There is no celebration of the Eucharist today, Holy Communion may only be given this day as Viaticum, and the Altar remains bare following the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord. In some parishes, the communal, prayerful celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours and the Preparation Rites for the Elect challenge all to keep this as a day of prayer and fasting. Such prayer and fasting directs us to continued meditation on Jesus’ Passion and Death as well as His descent into Hell.


While not found in the Nicene Creed, the earlier Symbol of Faith known as the Apostles’ Creed expresses an ancient Christian belief and practice that Holy Saturday (not to be confused in anyway with The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night despite how parishes erroneously and sadly present schedules) is the time of Jesus’ journey to the abode of the dead to bring all the holy women and men of antiquity with Him into the realm of Heavenly salvation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that Jesus’ descent into Hell (Sheol or Hades) is the event of the life-saving Gospel proclamation to the saintly ones who died before the historical event of Jesus’ redemptive act of love on the Cross. In the silence and strangeness that is Holy Saturday, pondering the Church’s catechetical words in light of Sacred Scripture will prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection in a unique way.

Consider also, these words from the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great for Holy Saturday in the Greek Orthodox tradition. During the Morning Liturgy, the following is chanted:


“For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption; and He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”
Today Hades cried out groaning: 
“Would that I had not received 
the One born of Mary; 
for He came upon me and loosed my power. 
He shattered the gates of brass; the souls, 
which I held captive of old as God He raised up. 
Glory O Lord to Your Cross and Your Resurrection.

“Praise the Lord, all you nations; raise him all you people.”
Today Hades cried out groaning: 
"My authority is dissolved; I received a mortal, 
as one of the mortals; but this One, 
I am powerless to contain; 
with Him I lose all those, over which, 
I had ruled. For ages I had held the Dead, 
but behold, He raises up all.” 
Glory O Lord, to Your Cross and Your Resurrection.

“For His mercy is ever more and more upon us: and the truth of the Lord endures forever.”
Today Hades cried out groaning: 
“My power has been trampled on; 
the Shepherd has been crucified, 
and Adam He raised up. 
I have been deprived of those, over whom I ruled; 
and all those, I had the power to swallow, 
I have disgorged. 
He, Who was crucified has cleared the tombs. 
The dominion of Death is no more.” 
Glory O Lord, to Your Cross and Your Resurrection.


 






The Lord descends into hell



Ancient Christian Author
Anonymous

An excerpt from Homily on Holy Saturday

THE SACRED PASCHAL TRIDUUM: Holy Saturday
Liturgy of the Hours: Office of Readings

Something strange is happening — there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.


He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.



Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

 

 






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