Holy Saturday
The day after the Cross — Holy Saturday.
It is the Sabbath — the day of rest — a day without work.
Yesterday, Jesus was crucified, died, and was laid in the tomb.
The disciples have fled in fear and gone into hiding.
Everything seems over.
The world holds its breath:
no miracles,
no voices,
no light,
as if God has disappeared.
Today, nothing seems to happen… and yet — it is precisely here that something happens which no one sees.
On the outside, we see nothing — that is true. But where the world falls silent, God is fully at work. Work that is not yet visible — preparation.
Descendit ad inferos — also known as the descent into the realm of the dead. . Christ descends into the realm of the dead (not to be confused with hell). There, He breaks through death from within. There, He raises up the righteous. In the depths of death, life is being prepared. And tomorrow… tomorrow it will be revealed.
What does this mean? Jesus went to the underworld — the realm of the dead — not hell.
The realm of the dead is Sheol in Hebrew, Hades in Greek. It is the place where all the dead reside — both the righteous and the unrighteous — awaiting redemption. You can understand it as a state of waiting, before redemption.
The high priests have the tomb sealed and place guards, convinced that the final chapter has been closed. The stone, the seal, and the watch seem to make everything definitive.
Yet it is precisely here, in this human attempt at control, that the mystery of God begins to unfold — hidden and untouchable 👉🏻
What remains hidden to the eye unfolds in the deepest reality: Jesus steps out of His tomb — the victory over death. While the world is silent, the foundation for Easter is laid.
The Templars lived from this certainty — that the true battle is not visible, but fought in the spirit 👉🏻
Redemption had to touch everything: not only the living, but also the dead, the past — all of humanity. He leaves nothing behind.
Because He truly became man. He dies as a man. He goes where every human being goes.
How does it work exactly? Heaven — full communion with God — was not yet opened,
because redemption had not yet been completed. Heaven did exist, but no one was there except God. Redemption comes through the death of Jesus. So ALL people who had died until that moment remained in the realm of the dead — from Adam to Abraham… to…
Within that realm, a distinction was made:
1) The righteous (Abraham, Adam, the prophets…) remained in a state of rest — also called Abraham’s bosom (sinus Abrahae).
2) The unrighteous remained in a state of separation and darkness.
Did those people have to wait for centuries? Yes — and no. Yes, they waited for centuries.
But they were in a state of rest — as if asleep, in complete peace. When you sleep, you do not notice the passing of hours. You are not aware of time passing. And for God, centuries are but a single moment.
So no — because it is not experienced as waiting. You can see it this way: our time and God’s time are not the same. What is a century to us is not the same for God. We have a clock — ticking seconds, days, years… God’s time lies outside of ours — no clock. Our centuries are, for God, a moment.
Now that Jesus has died, He enters death. Not as a victim like all others, but as a Victor!
And now it happens: He already holds the banner of victory in His hand — the vexillum crucis Christi, radiating light.
Often depicted as a cross-banner — white with a red cross — mounted on a staff or lance.
It is not an ordinary banner. It is the sign of victory. Not like a king who conquers a land —
but victory over death, victory over hell, victory over sin.
👉🏻 In other words: He enters the realm of the dead with the victory already in His hand.
The banner of completed victory — before anyone sees it. The banner is not a promise,
but already a reality. It is already decided.
He breaks open the gates of the realm of the dead and calls the righteous — those who remained faithful to God. Adam is not asked — he is taken by the hand. And so are the others. And He leads them into the light.
And on earth… everything is still silent.
The high priests and Pharisees have asked Pilate to place soldiers at the tomb. Certainty.
No risk. No movement. Everything seems under control.
But they do not see what has already taken place.
The Easter Vigil approaches. The Sabbath is drawing to a close. After the Sabbath — after sunset — the women buy fragrant spices: myrrh, aloe, precious ointments —
not to heal… but to lovingly care for His body. To honour what they believe they have lost.
Still in mourning, they go to the tomb. They know nothing yet. But in the night… everything will change.
This is the night of reversal. The Paschal candle is lit — light breaks through the darkness.
Tomorrow it will be revealed. What is hidden today will shine tomorrow…
