In the last night

“Considering the events of the 20th century, to be concerned with the Holy Shroud, the day in which God is silent, seems more timely than ever”, declared the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. His Eminence delivered a reflection on the mystery of Holy Saturday past April 12 in the Dome of Turin, on the occasion of the Exposition of the Shroud (ongoing until May 23rd), delving into the significance of Christ’s ‘descent’ into hell. “Christ ‘experienced’ death to redeem mankind, as the Shroud impressively expresses”. Today “it is not easy to understand this article of faith”, since the idea of a hell that contains the souls of the dead, “seems completely remote from our contemporary rational conscience”. His Eminence points out that we must “make an effort to understand precisely when the questions appears complex and obscure”.Dwelling, not eternal damnation. “Kingdom of death”, “inferior world” and “hell” “do not indicate the place of eternal damnation – the Cardinal said. – Rather, they are the dwellings of the dead”. The Biblical accounts “confirm Christ’s descent to the dead as the real experience of death, as the expression of deep solidarity with mankind”. Also for Church Fathers, “In death Christ shoulders the destiny of mankind and experiences the separation of the soul from the body. He is dead in the body, while his soul descends to hell, within the redeeming vision of God”.Like Esther. “Nocturnal dialogue” is a brief play written by Edith Stein in 1941 for the name-day of her Prior, Mother Antonia, in the Dutch convent of Echt. The drama by St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, the philosopher and Carmelitan nun killed in Auschwitz, focuses on the figure of queen Esther, who appears before the Prior, and along with other righteous of the Ancient Covenant, experiences Christ’s “descensus ad inferos”: “We dwelled in peace but with no light; always longing for light… that night the Cross disappeared, but a new light suddenly shone in the darkness…And within moments He was amidst us”.Eastern Church icons. Adam, Christ and a male nude figure lay on the ground. These are the main characters of the most ancient depictions of the Easter icons in the Eastern Church. The icon is titled “Anastasis”, resurrection. Differently from the Western Church, which links the theme of resurrection to the image of Christ risen over his tomb – explained Cardinal Schönborn – the Eastern Church “depicts the intimate relationship that exists between the Passion and the Resurrection of Christ and human redemption: through the Passion of the Redeemer human passion comes to an end. In his descent to the dead, he calls out the fallen to the light of life”.Silence and Expectation. “”The silence of Holy Saturday, of which the Shroud speaks to us in such an imposing way, is the attitude of expectation of the whole earth”, His Eminence said. “It recalls the silence that preceded the Creation, when everything awaits the powerful works of God. Death fails to keep the Son of God dead. His descent to the world of hell is triumphant”.Abandonment and glory. According to Hans Urs von Balthasar, who tackled the theme of the descent to hell – also since the visions of Adrienne von Speyr had a “strong impact on him” – “at the centre of death lies the experience of God’s abandonment of Jesus”. “Only then did Jesus truly suffer human death”. “On Holy Saturday, Christ’s death does not bear in itself, in the first instance, any triumphalism” – the Cardinal underlined – “A glance at the Shroud confirms this; we experience it in the liturgy of Holy Saturday which is extremely simple, without any Eucharistic celebration”. “At first the death of Christ leaves the disciples and all the Church in consternation, affliction and fear. The faithful are called to silence, recollection and adoration. The Salvation accomplished in the descent to hell on Holy Saturday is still concealed, death still preserves its power, which it will be stripped of thereafter”. Cardinal Schönborn highlights another aspect: glory. Jesus Christ has truly died, but he did so to “seize men from death and lead them to the Most High”. The descent to hell, His Eminence said, quoting from the Meditations on the Holy Week of Cardinal Ratzinger, “means that also on the last night in which no word penetrates, in which we are all like children crying, abandoned, there is a voice that calls us, there is a hand that takes us and guides us. The insurmountable loneliness of the human person has been overcome”.