D is for Darkness [A to Z Challenge 2015]

  "There is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silent because the King is asleep....God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.... This is the day when our Savior broke through the gates of death."   -- Ancient Catholic Homily for Holy Saturday [PG 43, 440A, 452C; LH, Holy Saturday, OR]

I've long known the importance of Holy Thursday and Good Friday, but this is the first year that I feel I more fully understand the solemnity of Holy Saturday. It is not just a time of waiting for Easter Sunday - it has its own vital place in Holy Week. Jesus did not just lie in the tomb. He continued his messianic work. It is a dark day for us, still, but also a day of hope, pregnant with the coming joy of the completion of our salvation.

This is my first A to Z Challenge participation which landed on Easter happenings. I wanted something appropriate for the day. I found the following beautiful hymn, written by Fr. Tomás Luis de Victoria, a 16th century Spanish priest and composer.

I'll see you all again next week. Until then, have a most blessed and joyous Easter!

Recessit Pastor Noster  (Our Shepherd Has Departed)

Recessit Pastor Noster,
Fons aquae vivae,
Ad cuius transitum,
Sol obscuratus est.

Our Shepherd has departed,
The fount of living water,
And at His passing,
The sun has darkened.

Nam et ille captus est,
Qui captivum tenebat primum hominem.
Hodie portas mortis et seras pariter,
Salvator Noster disrupit.

But now that one was made a prisoner,
He who held prisoner the first man.
Today the gates of death along with its locks,
Were broken asunder by Our Savior.

Destruxit quidem claustra inferni,
Et subvertit potentias Diaboli.

He has indeed destroyed the barriers of Hell,
And has overthrown the powers of the Devil.

Nam et ille captus est,
Qui captivum tenebat primum hominem.
Hodie portas mortis et seras pariter,
Salvator Noster disrupit.

But now that one was made a prisoner,
He who held prisoner the first man.
Today the gates of death along with its locks,
Were broken asunder by Our Savior.