In a recent address to a crowd in Saint Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV spoke on the subject of Holy Saturday. Those unfamiliar with Catholic Holy Week might wonder why the pope referred to Saturday as holy. Sunday is the weekly holy day observed by Catholics. However, Holy Saturday is celebrated by Catholics once a year. It is the day after Good Friday and the day before Easter Sunday.
Leo had this to say: “Holy Saturday is also a day of rest. According to the Jewish Law, no work is to be done on the seventh day: indeed, after the six days of creation, God rests (cf. Gen 2:2). Now, the Son too, after completing his work of salvation, rests. Not because he is tired, but because he loved up to the very end. There is nothing left to add. This rest is the seal on the completed task; it is the confirmation that what should have been done has truly been accomplished. It is a repose filled with the hidden presence of the Lord.”
Let’s take a closer look at what the pope is saying here.
The Sabbath as a Seal
Notice how he deems the original weekly Sabbath part of the “Jewish Law.” The implication is that the seventh-day Sabbath was only for the Jews. Yet Leo goes on to mention how the Sabbath originated at creation. This contradicts the idea that the seventh-day Sabbath was only ever intended for the Jews.
There were no Jews at creation, just Adam and Eve. Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27). That includes all of us!
God Himself states in the Ten Commandments, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God” (Exodus 20:9, 10). Sadly, the Catholic Church has taken one of the regular working days and declared it to be a holy day. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
“Jesus rose from the dead ‘on the first day of the week.’ Because it is the ‘first day,’ the day of Christ’s Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the ‘eighth day’ following the sabbath, it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ’s Resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord’s Day (he kuriake hemera, dies dominica)—Sunday: We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day [after the Jewish sabbath, but also the first day] when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead” (CCC 2174–2175).
Those words might sound nice, but to anyone “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), they lack biblical support. Nowhere does the Bible endorse a change in God’s law.
The pope links Jesus’ rest in the tomb on the Sabbath with His rest at the end of creation week, even stating, “This rest is the seal on the completed task.” It’s fascinating that he says this yet fails to recognize the binding nature of the Sabbath day on Christians. The seventh-day Sabbath is the only day God set apart as a weekly reminder that He is both our Creator and Redeemer (Exodus 20:11; Deuteronomy 5:15). It’s the one day that God calls “My holy day” (Isaiah 58:13).
How ironic that Leo refers to Jesus’ rest in the tomb as a “seal.” God uses the same language to distinguish the Sabbath day, calling it a “seal” or sign among His people (Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12). He says, “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16).
Sabbath-keeping has always been, and still is, a sign identifying God’s true worshipers.
A Time to Remember
Pope Leo, along with the vast multitude of Christians today, has forgotten to “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).
As for Holy Saturday, this Catholic holy day is called a “day of silence.” There is no Mass held until the Easter Vigil, which takes place after sunset. Worshipers are encouraged to wait silently for the resurrection as did Jesus’ mother, Mary.
It’s taught that although Jesus was in the grave, He was at work in the realm of the dead, freeing Adam, Eve, and all the imprisoned souls of the saints to take them to heaven. Evidently, this did not occur, considering the Bible says that the saints will be resurrected and ascend to heaven at the Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17). Read more about Holy Saturday.
In his recent address, Pope Leo mentions how the Virgin Mary embodies trust and hope in God during difficult times. He states: “She embodies this expectation, this trust, this hope. When it seems to us that everything is at a standstill, that life is a blocked road, let us remember Holy Saturday.”
Vatican News describes Holy Saturday as a day of silence and invites the faithful to “spend some time with Mary,” encouraging worshipers to pray to Jesus’ dead mother instead of God. This is yet another way the Catholic Church has forgotten the Word of God, which says, “The dead know nothing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5), and teaches us to address our prayers to “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9).
Holy Saturday has nothing to do with the biblical Sabbath. In fact, it encourages the error of communicating with the dead (learn the truth about death) while waiting in anticipation of a false sabbath—Sunday.
As Christians, it’s time we return to basing our beliefs and practices on “Thus saith the Lord.”