HOPE40 - Day 40 - Hope That is Silent

Katie Donahue
Apr 18
4 min read

Holy Saturday

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Something strange is happening - there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep…

~ From the Ancient Homily on Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday is a sacred pause. It is the in-between. The tomb is sealed. Christ’s body lies in the earth. Heaven and earth are holding their breath.

After 40 days of walking with hope - through fasting, prayer, movement, sacrifice, reflection, struggle, and love - we arrive at this day that holds no obvious miracle, no clear answer. Only silence.

But this is not despair. This is hope that is silent.

Hope, by its very nature, must pass through sorrow. It is not born in ease or comfort but in the labor of waiting, longing, enduring. You cannot truly know joy unless you have tasted sorrow. You cannot know the fullness of resurrection unless you have dwelt, even for a time, in the tomb.

The Ancient Homily tells us that on this day, Jesus “has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep… He has gone to free from sorrow the captives…” This is the hidden work of redemption. Christ is not idle. He descends to the depths so that hope might rise, even there.

You have walked 40 days toward this moment. You have chosen hope when it was hard. You have believed in what was not yet seen. And now, like Mary and the disciples, you wait in trust. Hope holds still. Hope listens. Hope leans into the silence, knowing that joy is about to break forth.

Let every moment of this Lent - every sacrifice, every act of hope - now be buried with Christ, so it may rise with Him in glory.

LET US PRAY

Lord Jesus, our Redeemer, our Hope, In the stillness of Holy Saturday, we rest with You. In the quiet of the tomb, we surrender our striving. In the silence of waiting, we plant our hope. You have gone before us into death, that we might never be alone in our darkest hour. You have entered the grave that You might bring light into our every shadow. Jesus, we believe that You are at work even when we cannot see. We trust that joy will rise again. We hope in the dawn, though the night is not yet over. Make us people of the Resurrection - hopeful in sorrow, faithful in waiting, joyful in sacrifice. Let our lives, transformed by these 40 days, rise anew with You tomorrow. We place our hope in You alone. Amen

HOPE For Your Health - Healing, Wholeness and Holiness

SATURDAY: 16:8 or you may choose to not fast, but keep meals simple and light, preparing for the great feast of Easter.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You made it.

You showed up.

You stayed the course.

You said yes to honoring your body and giving it space to rest, reset, and heal.

Even on the days it wasn’t perfect, you kept going.

That perseverance is what transforms habits into hopeful living.

These 40 days were just the beginning. My hope is that intermittent fasting becomes not just a challenge, but a gift...a part of your lifestyle that brings health, healing, and wholeness.

HOPE For Your Marriage: Hope in the Waiting, Strength for the Journey

Over the last 40 days, you have chosen to sow seeds of hope in your marriage, through communication, prayer, sacrifice, intentional time, and love in the little things.

Some days may have felt fruitful and full of joy. Others may have felt like Holy Saturday - quiet, uncertain, or even heavy.

But in it all, you showed up.

Together.

Hope in marriage doesn’t mean everything is perfect. It means believing that God is always at work in the middle of your story. That love - when rooted in Him - can be renewed, deepened, and made stronger through time, truth, and grace.

Just like Christ’s path to Resurrection passed through the Cross and the silence of the tomb, so too do marriages grow stronger when they pass through trials with faith, perseverance, and trust.

This Lenten journey reminded us that love is a choice. That healing is possible. That hope is not a feeling - it’s a virtue. And it grows, especially in the soil of commitment.

As we look to Easter tomorrow, let this be your prayer:

Lord, let the light of Your Resurrection shine in our marriage. Renew our hearts with joy, our words with gentleness, our actions with love. Help us to carry the hope of these 40 days into every season ahead. May our love be a sign of Your faithfulness, and may our marriage proclaim the truth: that nothing is impossible for You. Amen

Lemon Cheesecake

On Holy Saturday, we begin to prep some food items for our Easter feast. This Lemon Cheesecake from Sally's Baking Addiction is amazing and has made it on the menu for the last couple of years. Click the link above or the pciture to go to the recipe. Don't skip the homemade lemon curd! You'll thank me for this one later ;)