Good Friday and Holy Saturday are my favorite days in the liturgical year, in part because they are the least commercial, which leaves us with time to think. And being able to pause between crucifixion and resurrection, to be able to reflect, as an adult, the reasons for one's faith strike me as the most important part of this time. When I was a child, of course, Holy Saturday seemed like a waste of time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. As an adult, I find common sense in having Holy Saturday between the two Holy days. It's a pause between attending the funeral and moving back into life; it's a moment to retreat into one's soul and question one's beliefs.
And so here is my poem for the day.
The pause in the calendar--
When mourners return home,
exhausted. Doubt greets them,
throwing open the door
as if it owned the place.
When mourners return home
every turn of the prayer beads
wrenches pain as though it poured
from the cross, or the wound
that made the man human
Every turn of the prayer beads--
decade by decade meditation,
returns souls to the moment
of the promise of Resurrection
and the calendar beyond life.
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