by Sr. Jo Anne Kelly MMM                          Ireland                                          19.04.2025

“What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps” This is a quotation from an ancient homily in the Office of Readings for Holy Saturday.

On Holy Saturday morning in our village in Nigeria where we care for patients with leprosy, there is a silence, a quietness.  Yesterday, Good Friday, we spent time with Jesus in His passion following Him to Calvary and keeping Vigil with Him until late in the night.

This morning we are up shortly after sunrise, to pick flowers in preparation for the Easter Vigil Mass.  It is important to pick them while there is still a coolness in the air, and to keep them in water in the coolest place we can find.

The mood is sombre as the village people prepare for the evening. Women and young girls are in the church, sweeping, scrubbing and cleaning. The young men and boys keep them supplied with buckets of water from our new borehole, and help with moving of benches or any other heavier work. Older men collect palm fronds for decoration for the pathway to the church door. Others get branches and sticks of dry wood for the paschal fire, piled high some distance from the church door. All work according to their ability and mobility.

Later everyone will add some small stick, branch or twig to make that fire. The children are around everywhere finding ways to play and occupy themselves, older ones looking after younger ones.

The Sacristan has the privilege of preparing the Altar and Tabernacle, dressing them with freshly laundered linings, linens and drapes and other simple decorations. She and her flower girls will arrange the flowers later when the hot midday sun has passed. When fully prepared the church looks as beautiful as we could make it.

About mid – morning we have a visitor, a monk from the nearby Cistercian monastery. For his meditative morning walk he followed the course of the river, walking the banks through fields, fences and hedges eventually reaching the end of our village road. After a drink of refreshing cold water he wished us a happy Easter and took an easier way back to the monastery to get ready for the ceremonies he will lead for the Cistercian sisters.

We planned how all our people will be there for the ceremony. Most will come on foot, on crutches or in wheelchairs but some will need a car ride. All will be there. The fire will be lit early, a huge bonfire. Preparations continued and the mood lightened as we anticipated the beautiful ceremony, the music and singing and all that was to come. The children became more excited thinking of their new clothes and the big fire.

Just after dark we all gather. The children are fascinated with the big fire and delighted at the sparks flying high into the night sky. One little fellow, with his head back to look into the sky went too far and fell back.  Luckily his older brother caught him before he hit the ground.  With solemn ceremony the priest blesses the fire and from it lights the Paschal Candle, our sign and symbol that Jesus has risen, He is alive, our King no longer sleeps.

It is a night of Easter joy. With all our candles lighted we process to the church to celebrate Jesus our Risen Lord and King, who is here, Who loves us and is forever present to us.