The gift of Holy Saturday

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Holy Saturday is one of the most overlooked days in the Christian year. It is a day that teaches that even in death, Jesus is still active doing His deep hidden work of love and redemption.

On the other hand, for the disciples it was a day of shattered hopes; none of them understood the events that had just happened the day before, on what we now call the ‘Good Friday’. None expected what was to follow, even though Jesus told them about it. Holy Saturday was a day where even God seemed silent; and how many of us had to live through days like that. Perhaps some of us have lived good chunks of our lives in the experience of ‘Holy Saturday’. 

And yet, that was also the day when deep healing happened, healing invisible to the eyes. God often works in us even when it appears that He is silent. In that working out of God’s love is our hope. What is more, not all the healing we experience in this life is going to be a ‘Resurrection-type’ of healing, where we will rejoice knowing what God has done. Some of it will be more like a ‘Holy Saturday healing’, deep, done in silence, gentle, hidden from our eyes but yet not any less real. 

The gift of the Holy Saturday is that all our shattered hopes, all the events of our lives that did not end as we had hoped they would, can now be buried with Jesus in the tomb. The working out of His grace in us can then gradually restore our inner being and give us peace, which is the fruit of the Resurrection. Holy Saturday in all its silence is the day through which true hope is born, the resurrection hope, which is rooted now not in our limited understanding, but rather rooted in God. And the Church’s mission is to offer this hope to the world, by allowing it to form our lives first.  

Iva Beranek
Dr Iva Beranek is the Ministry Facilitator for the CMH: Ireland

Out of the Silence, Alleluia will Rise

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Fire on the hill of Slane

At the beginning of our Lenten journey some of us stopped singing Alleluia, from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday; in our churches, at least. Lent reminds us of experiences in life that challenge us, I will call them ‘desert experiences’, through which desert areas of our hearts get exposed too. I think one of the reasons why we don’t sing Alleluia is that it is a bit hard to sing Alleluia in the desert or while going through a desert experience. Maybe we need to start with a less demanding, or at least a bit less joyful song. Perhaps in the silence that Lent provides, silence from words we often utter without pondering on their meaning, Alleluia might start to shape and deepen within us.

Yet there may be another reason why we fast from Alleluia. My little computer dictionary provides two meanings for Alleluia. It is “used to express praise or thanks to God”, but is also “used to express relief, welcome, or gratitude”. Are we really ready to sing Alleluia in the desert places, in all those experiences that break our hearts?! We need not only Lent, but more so the Holy Week to do their deep healing work in us before we can express relief and gratitude from within the exiled parts of our life. We need to let the wisdom of the desert to help us befriend the deserts we carry inside; otherwise our praises will be superficial. We need to let the fresh blossoms on the trees to slowly lead the way before our inner desert places are ready to blossom and sing. Alleluia has to rise out of the deep silence of our greatest sadness, only then it will be truly real. 

It takes time for the deepest sadness to be able to sing, time and healing, so perhaps it is good we fast from singing Alleluia for a while. Do you have something that you would call ‘your greatest sadness’? These are the days when we can bring that to Jesus during the liturgies of the Holy Week. I think it is helpful to think what we wish to bring to the Last Supper, into the first experience of the Eucharist, and into the Garden where Jesus asks His friends to pray with Him. It is good to reflect what we wish to bring to the way of the Cross, to the Golgotha where Jesus died and in the grave with Jesus. Then we will know how to wait in the silence of the Holy Saturday in which God seemed silent. Then we will know what in us has to die, so that we may rise with Him already in this life. I think if we approach the Holy Week in this way, our journey through it can be quite healing.

When we are aware of God’s presence on our journey and when we let God take our interior exiled places through the pain of the Good Friday, into the silence of the Holy Saturday, towards the Resurrection, we join our deepest sadness with His, so that He can join His deepest joy with us. Only then will our inner desert be able to exclaim on Easter Sunday the joy that empty grave brings, only then will our deepest sadness sing.

Iva Beranek
Dr Iva Beranek is the Ministry Facilitator for the CMH: Ireland

Out of the Silence, Alleluia Will Rise

A Journey through Holy Week

Please join us next Tuesday evening in Christ Church Cathedral as we gather ourselves for the sacred journey through Christ’s death towards Resurrection. From 7pm to 9pm, Dr Iva Beranek will lead us in an evening of guided reflection on the mysteries of Holy Week, with space for silence and personal contemplation.

There is no charge for admission, though donations will be gratefully received. Entrance is via the Chapter House, and all are warmly welcome. 

A Mirror of God’s Love

You are invited to a day of rest, reflection and encouragement in the midst of this Lenten season. Led by our Ministry Facilitator, Dr Iva Beranek, A Mirror of God’s Love is a quiet day inspired by the life of St Patrick and appropriately being held on Saturday, 14th March 2015.

The day will begin in St Peter’s Parish Centre, Kiltegan, at 10.30am and will end at 3.30pm. Participants should bring a packed lunch, but coffee and tea will be provided.

To confirm your attendance or enquire further, please contact Canon Stella Durand (059 6473368).

Watching, Waiting & Walking: A Quiet Day

The Dublin & Glendalough Diocesan Committee invite you to a quiet day of reflection led by the Ven Susan Watterson. The Quiet Day will take place on Saturday, 7th March 2015, from 10am to 3pm at The Mageough, Cowper Road, Rathmines.

Soup, tea & coffee will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring a sandwich or other food to complete their lunch.

Please contact diocesan representative Felix Blennerhassett (mob: 087 214 9400, e: felixblen@eircom.net) to enquire further or to register your attendance. There is no charge for admission, though any donations will be gratefully received.

Finding health in the midst of illness

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drop on the leaf - by Iva B.

We are just at the start of the New Year, which can be a good time to examine what our hopes for the coming year are, and what we learned or gained in the past year. Every ending is a new beginning, so now we have a chance of a new beginning. In Genesis we read “in the beginning God created heaven and earth”; so we can be sure that God is present in our beginnings too. Think now for a moment, what hope have you for this year? Is there a situation where you need to ask God for help and healing?

“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3) When we invite God into our reality, when we become aware of His presence with us, light appears. It is good to remind ourselves that we do not go on this journey into a new year alone, Jesus accompanies us.

Recently we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord, when Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist. With our baptism we claimed our belonging to a community of faith, and perhaps Jesus with His baptism affirms that He is one of us; in a way whatever He is doing, it is to show us that He came to bring us life, and a new beginning. In the Gospel of Mark we read: “And just as [Jesus] was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased’.” (Mark 1:10-11) 

Jesus mirrors to us who we are as well. Each one of us is a beloved of God. It is much easier to embark on this journey of life knowing God is on our side. Maybe you have been crying out to God about a situation in your life, asking healing, asking help, maybe you are finding it hard at the moment. If you have, I hope that the words of Jean Vanier will bring you some encouragement, perhaps even some hope: 

In order “to be cured one needs to be rid of one’s disease. 
But to be healed one needs to learn how to live well with it. 
Healing has to do with finding health in the midst of illness. 
Healing has to do with finding wholeness, inner beauty, unity and peace.” 
(Jean Vanier)

I wish you a wellspring of God’s goodness to accompany you this year.

Iva Beranek
Dr Iva Beranek is the Ministry Facilitator for the CMH: Ireland

Communicating Your Vocation in a Changing World

Facilitated by Bishop Richard Henderson and hosted by The Church of Ireland Theological Insitute, this ‘mini-retreat’ is intended for those involved in lay ministry in the Church of Ireland. This includes diocesan and parish readers, lay pastoral assistants and prayer ministers.

Designed to allow those who exercise an authorised lay ministry an opportunity to reflect on their vocation amidst a changing world, this retreat will offer time and space for biblical reflection, discussion and prayer.

The retreat begins Friday, 20 February 2015 at 7pm and ends Saturday, 21 February at 2pm and costs €50/£40 per person for residential guests and €25/£20 for non-residential.

All bookings should be made through the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. To reserve your place, please email David Brown, Coordinator of Lay Training, at davidbrown@theologicalinsitute.ie.  Reservations must be received by 12 noon Tuesday, 16 February 2015.