Does death always have the last word?
No, since Jesus redeemed the darkest places of our human existence.
Pope Leo XIV reflected on Jesus’ descent into the underworld on Holy Saturday to bring light to the darkness of human existence. That day, everything seemed immobile and silent, while in reality an invisible action of salvation was being fulfilled: Christ descended into the realm of the dead to bring the news of the Resurrection to all those who were in darkness and the shadow of death.
It is not enough to say or to believe that Jesus died for us: it is necessary to recognize that the fidelity of his love sought us out where we ourselves were lost, where only the power of a light capable of penetrating the realm of darkness can reach.
Jesus’ descent into the “underworld” – after His Crucifixion and before His Resurrection – is the most profound and radical gesture of God’s love for us.
The underworld is not so much a place as a condition, where life is depleted, and pain, solitude, guilt, and separation from God and others reign.
Descending into hell, Christ enters, so to speak, in the very house of death, to empty it, to free its inhabitants, taking them by the hand one by one. It is the humility of a God who does not stop in front of our sin, who is not afraid when faced with the human being’s extreme rejection.
In this act, we can see that, with God, death is never the last word.
This descent of Christ is not only something of the past, but must touch the life of every one of us, now. The underworld is not only the condition of the dead, but also of those who live in death as a result of evil and sin.
It is also the daily hell of loneliness, shame, abandonment, and the struggle of life. Christ enters into all these dark realities to remind us of the love of the Father.
Not to judge, but to set us free. Not to blame, but to save us. He does so quietly, on tiptoe, like one who enters a hospital room to offer comfort and help.
When man is lost, the Lord descends where man has hidden, out of fear, and calls him by name, takes him by the hand, raises him up, and brings him back to the light.
He does so with full authority, but also with infinite tenderness, like a father with the child who fears he is no longer loved.
Heaven visits earth. The descent into the underworld shows us that nothing can be excluded from His redemption, not even our nights, not even our greatest faults, not even our broken commitments. There is no past so ruined, no history so compromised that it cannot be touched by mercy. Nothing can be left untouched by God’s compassion.
This is the silent embrace with which Christ presents all creation back to the Father to restore it to His plan of salvation.
Oct 18 Sat