Vatican City: At his weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV offered a meditation on the mystery of Holy Saturday, urging the faithful to embrace silence, rest, and trust in God’s timing even when hope feels distant. Returning from a brief overnight stay at Castel Gandolfo, the Pope reminded pilgrims that “every suspended time can become a time of grace, if we offer it to God.”
Continuing his catechesis on the Jubilee theme “Jesus Christ, Our Hope,” the Pope described Holy Saturday as a paradoxical moment a day of silence, yet rich with expectation. Just as God rested after creation, and just as Christ rested in the tomb after completing the work of redemption, the Holy Father said believers, too, are called to rediscover the value of rest.
“We struggle to stop and rest,” Pope Leo observed, noting how modern life often drives people to constant productivity and restlessness. Yet, he emphasized, true faith requires learning to pause and trust that God is at work, even when nothing seems to be happening.
Drawing from the imagery of the tomb, Pope Leo explained that it is precisely in the silence of Holy Saturday that the seeds of resurrection are planted. “In the tomb, Jesus, the living Word of the Father, is silent. But it is precisely in that silence that the new life begins to ferment,” he said, likening it to a seed buried in the ground or the darkness that precedes dawn.
This, he stressed, shows that life’s pauses moments that may seem empty, unproductive, or even useless can carry unseen potential. “Even our ‘useless’ time, the pauses, the emptiness, the barren moments, can become the womb of resurrection,” he reassured.
The Pope underscored that God is not constrained by human impatience. “God is not afraid of the passing time, because he is also the God of waiting,” he said. By giving space, allowing freedom, and working in hidden ways, God demonstrates profound trust in humanity.
“He is the God who lets things unfold, who waits, who withdraws to give us freedom the God who trusts even when everything seems over,” the Holy Father reflected.
Pope Leo concluded his teaching by inviting the faithful to resist the temptation of rushing toward quick fixes and instant answers. Instead, he encouraged embracing silence, limitation, and the patience of waiting.
“We do not have to be in a hurry to rise again,” he said. “First we must stay, welcome the silence, and let ourselves be embraced by limitation. God works in depth, in the slow time of trust.”
With these words, the Pope reminded the Church that faith is not only about doing but also about waiting trusting that in God’s time, even moments of silence and emptiness can bring forth grace and renewal.