jesus is laid in the tomb

℣. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

℟. Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.

Very near Calvary, in an orchard, Joseph of Arimathea had had a new tomb made, cut out of the rock. Since it is the eve of the solemn Pasch of the Jews, Jesus is laid there. Then Joseph, rolling a great stone, closes the grave door and goes away (Mt 27:60).

Jesus came into the world with nothing; so too, with nothing—not even the place where he rests—he has left us.

The Mother of Our Lord—my Mother—and the women who have followed the Master from Galilee, after taking careful note of everything, also take their leave. Night falls.

Now it is all over. The work of our Redemption has been accomplished. We are now children of God, because Jesus has died for us and his death has ransomed us. Empti enim estis prétio magno! (1 Co 6:20), you and I have been bought at a great price.

* We must bring into our life, to make them our own, the life and death of Christ. We must die through mortification and penance, so that Christ may live in us through Love. And then follow in the footsteps of Christ, with a zeal to co-redeem all mankind.

We must give our life for others. That is the only way to live the life of Jesus Christ and to become one and the same thing with Him.