Holy Saturday notes and reflection
by Fred Schaeffer, OFS 

Today is Holy Saturday 2024. Jesus suffered and died for us to reveal God's love for us. In our experience of serving others, we often see His suffering face in theirs. Sundays are good days to reflect on God's wishes for us. He wants us to become holy in our daily lives. As Catholics we promise to love God and our neighbor (that means everyone) as ourselves.  We can stop sin in our lives. We have that power with the help of the Holy Spirit. God has given us a free will, so let us exercise that free will for the better. Heaven is not something you will earn five minutes before you breathe your last breath, if you have neglected it all your life. But God is merciful and compassionate. Heaven is earned by a lifelong pursuit of prayer and comparable action. People who pray and pray, and every time they meet other people act foolishly, sinfully, are hypocrites. They are simply not acting upon God's goodness. So, we may pray for them, by simply asking God to bless them and make their hearts like His. That they may live in His presence now. "As a deer yearns for running streams, so I yearn for you, My God. In you is the source of life, by your light we see light." (cf. Ps. 42) God's love brings us to full blossom. With God's love, we can, in His name, accomplish almost anything. His love nurtures us as it does a most exquisite flower. Don't shut Him out but prepare each day to make Him welcome in your life and your soul. Be joyful and grateful when He visits and be Christ to everyone you meet every day. Saint Francis of Assisi told us: “Let us begin again, for until now we have done nothing.” Francis said this as he was nearing his death, knowing that conversion is never a single moment but a lifelong journey.

"If you truly want to help the soul of your neighbor, you should approach God first with all your heart. Ask him simply to fill you with charity, the greatest of all virtues; with it you can accomplish what you desire." St. Vincent Ferrer

May the Lord bless you and keep you. Wishing you a Blessed Easter.

Fred Schaeffer, OFS
2012 rev. 2024 

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