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March 30, 2024Something strange is happening. Today we do not reflect on Mass readings but instead sit in silence with the buried Lord. Yet beneath the silence, something is happening. An ancient homily for this day describes Christ’s descent to the underworld to rescue those who have eagerly awaited his incarnation and resurrection. In the silence of this day, Christ breaks the chains of death, imploring us to rise. “Rise,” he says to Adam and Eve, to the prophets, and to all those who slept in faith, “and let us leave this place.”
In the silence, we can hear Jesus speaking these words to us. “Rise, let us leave this place.” He does not shame us for our sins, he is not angry, nor does he forget us; he finds us deep in the silence of our hearts and bids us to rise. To leave behind the pain of sin, the anxiety of fear, and the weight of anything keeping us from his love. “Rise,” he says. Rise to be who we were made to be by leaving this place of darkness. In the silence, the world will not listen to Jesus’ words. But he continues to speak them, nevertheless. If we have the ears to hear, we will hear the message: salvation. Rise, and let us leave this place.
[click here for the readings of the day]
