Holy Saturday In Chartres (Remembered)

There are no lights, no candles, only hushed voices, and relative quiet in the cathedral on Holy Saturday.

All statues are covered during the time that Jesus was in the tomb

This year, due to COVID-19 the cathedral is empty, silent, and still–more like a tomb than a house of worship.

Today, with heavy hearts we honor the stillness of death. We are called to feel our deepest disappointments.

Remembering Jesus’s death invites us to open ourselves to the meanings of life, faith, desperation, and trust.

Ceiling vaults above the nave

Scriptural Touchstone

Joseph of Arimathea…went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. When Pilate learned from the centurion that Jesus was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.  Mark 15:43, 45-46 NRSV

My prayer

In the silence, in the grief, in the unknowing, help me to trust You, the Reality that I can not sense.

Remembering Jesus time in the grave, no prayer candles are lit on Holy Saturday

Invitation to prayer

What lament is in your mind and heart scares you?

Share it with the One who you fear is not there, who you fear doesn’t care, and you fear won’t help.

Images
All photographs are from the Chartres Cathedral in France. The two stained glass images are from the thirteenth century Typological Passion Window in the south ambulatory and the twelfth century Passion window in the west. The two sculptural scenes are Jesus placed in the tomb, Station #14 of the Stations of the Cross, and the Entombment of Jesus, west capital frieze (1145).

Holy Week Posts 2020
Palm Sunday (Remembered)
Holy Tuesday (Remembered)
Holy Wednesday (Remembered)
Maundy Thursday (Remembered)
Good Friday (Remembered)

Posts from recent blogs:
Images of Death in Chartres Cathedral
Life and Death
Talking about Death
Suffering
Hanging On Before Letting Go
Goodbye
Considering Our Lives
Possibilities in Times of Grief

Books by Jill that Relate to the Chartres Cathedral