There is such a sacred pause in this day. Holy Saturday lives in that space between grief and rebirth. For those of us in the modern Church, it represents HOPE. It is the faith in that which we can not see. In many ways we, as Christians, are living Holy Saturday everyday. We live in the space between darkness and light.
Anyone who has ever been part of a choir in a Catholic Church knows that Holy Week is our "Superbowl". Outsiders always extend to us their blessings of energy at Christmas, but insiders know it's Easter when we need it most.
The Sacred Liturgy of Holy Thursday is a pouring out of ourselves, the way the water is poured into the basin to wash the disciples feet.
Good Friday music requires an abundance of control, from a technical perspective, and an emotional one as well. We must express the agony of witnessing the crucifixion of Our Lord, and remove ourselves from feeling it.
Holy Saturday day is a storing up. It is a gathering of all that we have, by the grace of God, to fulfill, in the evening, our sacred mission of sharing the Good News of the Gospel at the pinnacle of our corporate celebration, The Easter Vigil. The Vigil is a marathon.
But after the marathon comes a celebration, and in many ways, the choir is still a co-host to that party on Easter morning! We may have run a marathon into the night, but we need to get up early and keep running!
I know I am not alone when I say that music ministers everywhere are feeling a deep sense of loss. People are hungrier, now more than ever, for what this day represents, HOPE. This year, most music minsters aren't able to be a part of that sharing. So to every choir, sitting on the bench, waiting for their moment to sing God's praises again, I wish you HOPE in the quiet of this day. I wish you a deeper sense of God's presence with you, and an emboldening sense of your mission to sing a new song.
Take your song into your homes this Easter, and know that God can transform everything. He makes all things new. His mercies are new every morning.
Enjoy this AMAZING zoom shot of the St. Paul Choir steadfast and rehearsing!
