Holy Saturday - light in the darkness

Newgrange passage tomb, Co. Meath, Ireland

Photo by: Yolanda Kauffman

On a hilltop in the Boyne Valley of County Meath, Ireland sits Newgrange, an ancient passage tomb. This megalith is thought to have been constructed some time in the Neolithic period, more than 5,000 years ago. The single entrance leads down a narrow passage of large stones to a central chamber in the heart of the great mound of rock and soil.

Entrance to the Newgrange passage tomb

Photo by: Noah Massanari

In this central chamber sits a large stone on which there is an engraving of a triple spiral:

Once a year, at sunrise on the Winter's Solstice, a shaft of sunlight makes its way down the chamber entryway and illuminates this stone for about seventeen minutes. The remainder of the year the chamber is untouched by sunlight.

On this Holy Saturday my mind travels to that dark chamber and to those who created it with such effort and intention. Their creation reveals a trust and a hope, in the face of darkness and death, that light would indeed come again.

A prayer for Holy Saturday:

As we sit at the mouth of tombs
well-sealed by pain, and hurt, and fear,
may your Love bring release.

As we dwell in shades
of death, and betrayal, and despair,
may your Light bring clarity.

When we wonder which path 
leads to the land of the living,
may your Life bring hope.

Rise up, O Love.
Illumine, O Light.
Fill us, O Life of All.
Amen.