April 8, 2023
For you this week:
- Reflection for Saturday: What was Jesus doing while he waited for resurrection?
- Inside the Ministry: Happy Easter from the GNM staff!
- This week’s WordBytes faith-builder: “Be not afraid” to speak the truth
- Special video reflection: From the Cross to Easter Joy in Daily Life
This week’s Trivia Challenge: Why is there no Catholic Mass on Holy Saturday? (Note: The Easter Vigil Mass of Saturday night is part of Sunday, not Saturday.) Check your answer at the end of this newsletter.
Reflection for Holy Saturday:
What was Jesus doing while he waited for resurrection?
While his dead human body lay in the tomb, was Jesus doing anything?
It’s impossible for God to do nothing. While you’re waiting for him to answer your prayers or to heal broken relationships or to rescue your nation from unholy politicians — or whatever it is that desperately needs divine intervention — if he seems deaf or distant or disinterested in your prayer requests, know this: He is not. He is always listening. He is very near to you. He is totally interested in everything you say to him.
It was impossible for Jesus to cease existing while his body lay in the tomb. He did not wait for the resurrection idly, inactively. Whenever there is anything at all that can be done for the sake of bringing his salvation to more people, he is doing it.
In the Apostles Creed we say that after his crucifixion, “He descended into Hell”.
The word “Hell”, in the days of the first Apostles, did not mean the eternal fire of damnation for demons and unrepentant sinners. A better translation is Hades. It was the temporary realm of righteous souls who had died awaiting the Messiah. The Old Testament patriarchs and prophets and other holy people did not yet have access to Heaven because Jesus had not yet been crucified for their sins.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls Jesus’ descent into the realm of the dead “the last phase of Jesus’ messianic mission” (para. 634) during which he “opened Heaven’s gates for the just who had gone before him” (para. 167).
This is very important to know because, in our own tomb-times of waiting, this is what he wants us to do, too. We are to unite our pre-resurrection periods of waiting to his Holy Saturday. When all hope has apparently died, we are to participate in the on-going messianic mission of Christ.
God is not sitting idly by, ignoring our prayers. Nor is he saying “no” to our prayer requests, leaving us to suffer in the misery of feeling like he doesn’t care or he doesn’t understand what we understand.
He is saying, “Yes, I care very much, even more than you do. Yes, I am taking action, working a plan — a plan for good and not disaster — because you love Me. Yes, the situations that worry you are in My almighty hands. Yes, the way I answer your prayers will look very different than what you’re hoping for because I want it to turn out much, much better. And now, while you wait for the manifestation of My Divine Will to happen in My perfect timing, stop focusing on what evil is doing, and spend your tomb-time doing what I have gifted and called you to do: Serve My Kingdom.”
Waiting is always easier when we’re busy doing something that makes a difference for the Kingdom of God.
Inside the Ministry:
Happy Easter from the GNM staff!
The Good News Team and I pray that every cross you carry is turned into a victory through Christ.
With love from Graciela (Assistant Director) and Fernando (Spanish Media Assistant) Ramos, Lily Cañón Valverde (Social Media Manager), Kathy Taylor (Donor Relations Assistant), and Ralph and me (co-founders).
We all greatly appreciate being connected to you through Good News Ministries. A special thank-you goes out from our hearts to those who support our work through prayers and donations. We can’t do it without you!
P.S. If you haven’t recently joined us in the mission, please make an Easter gift at gnm.org/donate.
This week’s recommended faith-builder:
“Be not afraid” to speak the truth
Are we supposed to stay silent about the truths of the Catholic Faith when we’re with those who have fallen prey to worldly thinking and the false teachings of Satan?
…. Plant the truth like seeds. Don’t argue. Don’t get caught up in a debate. Just speak what the Holy Spirit puts peacefully into your mind to share and then silently pray. Although most of the seeds will fall on hard ground, God is tilling their soil by using the hardships in their lives to get their attention. Your calling is to sow the truth and water the seeds with your prayers. Christ will do the rest.
For more on this, visit wordbytes.org/holyspirit/be-not-afraid-to-speak-the-truth.
WordBytes is a library of Catholic faith-building articles by Good News Ministries. Come on in and explore! Visit WordBytes.org today.
Special Presentation:
From the Cross to Easter Joy in Daily Life (video reflection)
Easter joy comes not only from accepting what Jesus did for us on the cross but also from continuing the journey with Jesus, united to his ministry of helping others grow in their eternal relationship with God. In this, we face the cross again and again. There is no gain in salvation without the pain of sacrificial love. But oh the victory gained!
Watch the video @ gnm-media.org/joy-in-daily-life-is-triumph-of-the-cross
Answer to this week’s Trivia Challenge:
Why is there no Catholic Mass on Holy Saturday? Holy Saturday is a solemn day of silence. Just like the disciples who did not have Jesus present among them while his body lay in the tomb, we somberly reflect on the absence of Jesus. We cannot encounter his holy presence on the altar nor in the tabernacle until we celebrate his resurrection. We appreciate the empty tomb of Easter more joyously after we’ve spent Holy Saturday remembering the emptiness of life without Christ.
God bless you!
Every morning, I lift up in prayer everyone who helps Good News Ministries in any way (donors, volunteers, prayer supporters, etc.) and all the prayer requests posted on our site. What can I cover in prayer for you? Post your prayer request.
How else can the team and I serve you today? Visit our homepage.
Thank you for reading this newsletter.
Your servant in Christ,
Terry Modica, Executive Director
Good News Ministries
gnm.org
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