# Holy Saturday: New Life Stronger Than Death
*2020-04-10*

> Bill Young reflects on the significance of Holy Saturday, shares how to observe Divine Mercy during the pandemic, and offers a prayerful meditation on Jeremiah 29:12‑14 and the promise of new life.

## Holy Saturday in the Time of COVID‑19

Good afternoon, I’m Bill Young. Yesterday was Good Friday, and tomorrow is Easter Sunday, the day of the Resurrection. This year, because of the pandemic, many of the usual ways we receive the sacraments—Mass, confession, communion—are unavailable to us at home. Father Chris Lauha, a Marian priest from the Divine Mercy shrine in Massachusetts, showed me a way to celebrate Divine Mercy even while staying inside. He recorded a video that walks us through the essential steps: two prayers, a brief rosary meditation, and an act of personal contrition. The beauty of this is that anyone can participate, even those who are not Catholic, because the gift of Divine Mercy is offered to all who seek it with a sincere heart.

## The Promise of New Life

Today's meditation is titled “The New Life Stronger Than Death.” It is grounded in Jeremiah 29:12‑14: “When you call upon me and pray to me, I will hear you. When you seek me with all your heart, you will find me, says the Lord.” Father Henry J. M. Newen, who died in the 1990s, writes that our continual search for God shows we already possess a taste of His love and truth. He reminds us that before the fall we were innocent—“in the light”—and that deep within our hearts lie hidden treasures, the promise of a life stronger than death. As we pray, we ask God to reveal Himself so that we may rejoice forever in Him.

## Divine Mercy Prayer

Let us now pray together the Divine Mercy Chaplet as Father Chris taught:

**Opening Prayer**

Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world.

**Our Father**
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

**Hail Mary**
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

**Apostles’ Creed**
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

**Divine Mercy Chaplet**
(Repeat the following three times)

Eternal Father, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

**Concluding Prayer**
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world. (Repeat three times)

May the mercy of Christ flow into our hearts, cleansing us and granting us the new life He promises.

## Looking Ahead to Easter

Tomorrow we will celebrate the Resurrection with the Gospel reading from Luke 24:5: “Why do you look among the dead for the living? He is not here, but He has risen.” This is the hope that sustains us through the darkness of Holy Saturday. I also want to mention that on April 19th—my wedding day—the Church will continue to offer the Divine Mercy devotion, reminding us that God’s mercy is ever‑present, even for the most hardened sinners.

## Final Blessing

May the Lord bless you on this Holy Saturday. Remember to join the daily rosary prayer for an end to this pandemic, and may the peace of Christ, who rose from the dead, fill your heart today and always.

*Even in the midst of darkness, God’s Divine Mercy offers us a new life stronger than death.*