We say in the Apostles' Creed that on this day, Holy Saturday, Jesus descended into Hell.

Hell is a kind of mistranslation of the Hebrew word, Sheol, and the Hebrew word Shaol and the Greek word Hades, which both meant the state after death.

The catechism tells us, Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned,

but to free the just who had died before him and take them into heaven.

To appreciate what Jesus did on Holy Saturday by going to all the people who died before

his resurrection.

All the innumerable people who dwelt in death,

we need to understand what death was like before Jesus and what it would be without Jesus. We understand death as Christians. Now that Jesus has

opened heaven to us, we view death as being welcome into heaven

by our relatives and friends who went before us, welcomed by our guardian angel, welcomed by Mary, and by God into heavenly joy.

But before Holy Saturday, well, that was very different.

That was a very different experience.

When you died, you were just alone.

Totally and completely alone.

No friends, no relatives, and separated from God, just alone. And to me that is the most frightening thing imaginable. Cardinal Ratzinger who became Pope Benedict wrote,

in truth, one thing is certain, there exists a night into whose solitude no voice reaches.

There is a door through which we can only walk alone, the door of death.

In the last analysis, all the fear in the world is fear of this loneliness.

Death is absolutely. fear of this loneliness, death is absolute loneliness.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallow would be your name, by kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us to stay 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.

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