Holy Saturday, after the wait there’s light at the end of darkness (Video/ photos)

Following sunset on Holy Saturday hundreds of the faithful and Cardinal Jospeh W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, gathered around a blazing fire in front of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark on March 28, marking the banishment of the darkness of sin at the end of the Paschal Triduum.   

Over the three days — Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday — the Last Supper was held, and Jesus died on the cross and descended into Hell before rising on Easter Sunday. Holy Saturday celebrates the 40-hour vigil or wait that the Jesus’ apostles and followers held after Christ’s death and burial on Good Friday and before his resurrection on Easter. Confused they didn’t know when that wait would end, but today the faithful have the gift of hope knowing that there is light at the end of the darkness. 

Holy Saturday or the Easter Vigil is also when the catechumens who signed the signed the Book of the Elect at the Rite of Election celebrated by the Archbishop at the Basilica the first weekend in Lent are baptized.  

Before entering the dark church, the parishioners and the catechumens watched as the large Paschal Candle was brought forward and lit from the flames, conveying that Christ is the light of the world. According to the Missale Romanum, the Rubrics for the Easter Vigil, the candle symbolizes the “light of Christ, rising in glory,” scattering the “darkness of our hearts and minds.”  

The faithful then lit their own candles and entered the dark basilica as the priest sang out “The light of Christ,” responding with “Blessed be to God.” The lights were slowly turned on, and the Paschal Candle was placed in the sanctuary.  

During the Mass, the history of salvation was recounted through seven readings from the Old Testament and two readings from the New Testament.  

After the agony on Holy Thursday and suffering and death on Good Friday, “this night the story leads a vigilant heart finally to the women at the entrance at the tomb peering inside. One can make out the burial shroud and the clothe that covered His face, unmistakenly the evidence of the agony of Thursday and the defeat of Friday,” Cardinal Tobin said. “But it is evidence that suffering and defeat do not have the final word. The empty tomb has then final word.”  

During the Liturgy of Baptism, the 18 catechumens were called to the baptismal font, where they bowed their heads and had blessed water poured over them by Cardinal Tobin. They were then given white garments to wear, anointed with the oil of catechumens, and confirmed by Cardinal Tobin.  

Cardinal Tobin commemorated the baptism with sprinkling the people with Holy water. 

On Holy Saturday, the 18 catechumens received the three sacraments of initiation into the Catholic Church — baptism, confirmation, and the first Communion. 

In the morning, the faithful awake, after 40 days of waiting, to the resurrection of Our Lord on Easter Sunday. 

“The baptized have looked into that tomb and believe that Jesus is alive and that suffering, and death do not have the final word,” Cardinal Tobin said. 

This year the largest number of Archdiocese of Newark Catechumens in over a decade were baptized on Holy Saturday at their local parishes. 

In February, 445 Rite of Election catechumens throughout the Archdiocese of Newark signed the book of Elect at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.  

The Elect then experienced The Scrutinies during Mass at their local parishes during the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent. It was a period of purification and enlightenment in preparation for baptism.  

The other catechumens who were not confirmed during the Cathedral Basilica’s Easter Vigil became full Catholics at their parishes on the same evening.  

Photos and video by Julio Eduardo Herrera