Holy Saturday: The Art of Enduring

Image: Holy Saturday II © Jan Richardson

Reading from the Gospels, Holy Saturday:
Matthew 27.57-66 or John 19.38-42

The Art of Enduring
For Holy Saturday

This blessing
can wait as long
as you can.

Longer.

This blessing
began eons ago
and knows the art
of enduring.

This blessing
has passed
through ages
and generations,
witnessed the turning
of centuries,
weathered the spiraling
of history.

This blessing
is in no rush.

This blessing
will plant itself
by your door.

This blessing
will keep vigil
and chant prayers.

This blessing
will bring a friend
for company.

This blessing
will pack a lunch
and a thermos
of coffee.

This blessing
will bide
its sweet time

until it hears
the beginning
of breath,
the stirring
of limbs,
the stretching,
reaching,
rising

of what had lain
dead within you
and is ready
to return.

—Jan Richardson

2016 update: “The Art of Enduring” appears in my new book, Circle of Grace.

For a previous reflection on Holy Saturday, see Holy Saturday: A Day Between. I’m also offering daily reflections throughout Holy Week at the Sanctuary of Women blog.

[To use the image “Holy Saturday II,” please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com. Your use of janrichardsonimages.com helps make the ministry of The Painted Prayerbook possible. Thank you!]

4 Responses to “Holy Saturday: The Art of Enduring”

  1. Maureen Says:

    The lines cascade, as though urged on, and then culminate so satisfyingly.

  2. St. James Episcopal Church Women Says:

    This blessing is the gift of women gathered to wait, offering each other comfort.

  3. Elizabeth Nordquist Says:

    In this quiet day, I want to offer my deep thanks for the prodigious work you have shared during this season. Between the blogs and the book, which I finish tomorrow, I have felt companioned by you in a deeply comforting way this Holy Season.

  4. Rev.Reji Dan K. Philipose Says:

    Great pics and thoughts…

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