Santo Sabato (Holy Saturday)

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Santo Sabato, or Holy Saturday, is the final day of Holy Week and the traditional Paschal Fast. A day of mourning, the sacred altar is bare and there is no Mass prior to sundown and the lighting of the Paschal candle, which symbolizes the light of Christ coming into the world. Commemorating the body of Jesus lying in the sepulcher until his resurrection on Easter Sunday, Holy Saturday is a time to meditate on Our Lord’s Passion, death, and descent into Hades (Sheol). Often referred to as the Harrowing of Hell, Jesus liberates the righteous captives in the underworld who died before His Coming (e.g. Adam, Eve, the good thief, etc.). In commemoration, I’m posting a Prayer for Holy Saturday. The accompanying photo of the Dead Christ with Our Lady of Sorrows was taken at the Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood (113 Baxter St.) in Little Italy, New York.

Prayer for Holy Saturday

All-powerful and ever-living God, your only Son went down among the dead and rose again in glory. In your goodness raise up your faithful people, buried with him in baptism, to be one with him in the eternal life of heaven, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.