12 things you need to know about Holy Saturday

1. What happened on the first Holy Saturday?

• Here on earth, Jesus' disciples mourned his death and, since it was a sabbath day, they rested.

2. What happened to Jesus while he was dead?

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

• Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, “hell” - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God.
• “It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Saviour in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell.”
• Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him.
• “The gospel was preached even to the dead.” The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment.
• This is the last phase of Jesus' messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption.

3. How do we commemorate this day?

• On Holy Saturday the Church is, as it were, at the Lord's tomb, meditating on his passion and death, and on his descent into hell, and awaiting his resurrection with prayer and fasting.
• It is highly recommended that on this day the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer be celebrated with the participation of the people (cf. n. 40).
• The image of Christ crucified or lying in the tomb, or the descent into hell, which mystery Holy Saturday recalls, as also an image of the sorrowful Virgin Mary can be placed in the church for the veneration of the faithful.

4. Are the sacraments celebrated?

• 75. On this day the Church abstains strictly from the celebration of the sacrifice of the Mass.
• Holy Communion may only be given in the form of Viaticum.
• celebration of marriages is forbidden, as also the celebration of other sacraments, except those of Penance and the Anointing of the Sick.
• Baptism in danger of death is also permitted.

5. What is the Easter Vigil?

• vigil is the liturgical commemoration of a notable feast, held on the evening preceding the feast.
• Latin word vigilia, which means "wakefulness," and which came to be used when the faithful stayed awake to pray and do devotional exercises in anticipation of the feast.

• the Church has celebrated that annual Pasch, which is the solemnity of solemnities, above all by means of a night vigil.
• resurrection of Christ is the foundation of our faith and hope, 
• through Baptism and Confirmation we are inserted into the Paschal Mystery of Christ, dying, buried, and raised with him, and with him we shall also reign.
• full meaning of Vigil is a waiting for the coming of the Lord.

6. When should Easter Vigil be celebrated?

• "The entire celebration of the Easter Vigil takes place at night. It should not begin before nightfall; it should end before daybreak on Sunday." 

7. What happens at the Easter Vigil?

• after the service of light and the Easter Proclamation (which is the first part of the Vigil), 
• Holy Church meditates on the wonderful works which the Lord God wrought for his people from the earliest times (the second part or Liturgy of the Word), 
• to the moment when, together with those new members reborn in Baptism (third part), 
• she is called to the table prepared by the Lord for his Church—the commemoration of his death and resurrection—until he comes (fourth part). 

8. What happens during the service of light?

• suitable place should be prepared outside the church for the blessing of the new fire, whose flames should be such that they genuinely dispel the darkness and light up the night.
• paschal candle should be prepared, which for effective symbolism must be made of wax, never be artificial, be renewed each year, 
• people enter the church, should be led by the light of the paschal candle alone. Just as the children of Israel were guided at night by a pillar of fire, so similarly, Christians follow the risen Christ. 
• light from the paschal candle should be gradually passed to the candles which it is fitting that all present should hold in their hands

9. What happens during the Easter Proclamation?

The deacon makes the Easter Proclamation which tells, by means of a great poetic text, the whole Easter mystery placed in the context of the economy of salvation.


10. What happens during the Scripture readings?

• readings from Sacred Scripture constitute the second part of the Vigil. 
• singing of the responsorial psalm, by a silent pause and by the celebrant's prayer.
• seven readings from the Old Testament chosen from the Law and the Prophets, which are in use everywhere according to the most ancient tradition of East and West,
• two readings from the New Testament, namely from the Apostle and from the Gospel.

• Thus the Church, "beginning with Moses and all the Prophets" explains Christ's Paschal Mystery.
• Consequently wherever this is possible, all the readings should be read so that the character of the Easter Vigil, which demands that it be somewhat prolonged, be respected at all costs.
• Where, however, pastoral conditions require that the number of readings be reduced, there should be at least three readings from the Old Testament, taken from the Law and the Prophets; the reading from Exodus chapter 14 with its canticle must never be omitted.
• After the readings from the Old Testament, the hymn "Gloria in excelsis" is sung, the bells are rung in accordance with local custom, 
• the collect is recited, 
• and the celebration moves on to the readings from the New Testament. 
• An exhortation from the Apostle on Baptism as an insertion into Christ's Paschal Mystery is read.
• all stand and the priest intones the "Alleluia" three times, each time raising the pitch.
• Finally, the resurrection of the Lord is proclaimed from the Gospel as the high point of the whole Liturgy of the Word.
• After the Gospel a homily is to be given, no matter how brief.

11. What happens during the baptismal liturgy?

• third part of the Vigil is the baptismal liturgy. 
• Even if there are no candidates for Baptism, the blessing of baptismal water should still take place in parish churches. 
• Where there are neither candidates for Baptism nor any need to bless the font, Baptism should be commemorated by the blessing of water destined for sprinkling upon the people.
• renewal of baptismal promises, introduced by some words on the part of the celebrating priest.
• They are then sprinkled with water: in this way the gestures and words remind them of the Baptism they have received.
• priest sprinkles the people by passing through the main part of the church while all sing the antiphon "Vidi aquam" or another suitable song of a baptismal character.

12. What happens during the Eucharistic liturgy?

• celebration of the Eucharist forms the fourth part of the Vigil and marks its high point, 
• It is fitting that in the Communion of the Easter Vigil full expression be given to the symbolism of the Eucharist, namely by consuming the Eucharist under the species of both bread and wine. 

SOURCE: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/12-things-you-need-to-know-about-holy-saturday1/