Friday in the Octave of Easter – Die VI infra Octavam Paschæ
“Qui credit et baptizatus fuerit, salvus erit.”
(“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.”) — Mark 16:16 (Communion Antiphon)
I. The Triumph of the Cross: 1 Peter 3:18–22
On this Paschal Friday, the epistle draws us into the mystery of the Harrowing of Hell, as St. Peter declares:
“Christ also died once for sins, the Just for the unjust: that He might offer us to God, being put to death indeed in the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit.” (1 Pet 3:18)
The Lord, having expired on the Cross, descended to the depths — not in defeat, but in sovereign might. As St. Cyril of Jerusalem affirms:
“He went down into the regions beneath the earth, so that He might ransom from death the souls of the just… that He might become both the firstborn from the dead, and the Prince of life among the dead.”
(Catechetical Lectures, XIV, 19)
No mere descent, but a royal visitation — Christ preaches even to those who were “once incredulous,” says Peter, and brings them out, leading captivity captive (cf. Eph 4:8). This is the great mystery of Baptism prefigured in Noah’s Ark: the few saved through water. So too, the faithful now are saved not by a mere washing of the body, but, as St. Augustine says, by the “sacrament of faith,” which “cleanses the heart from sin, not the skin from dirt” (De Baptismo, I.12).
II. The Commission of the Risen Lord: Matthew 28:16–20
From the depths of the earth to the heights of heaven — Christ has now risen. In Galilee, the eleven meet Him. The number eleven, incomplete, speaks to both their weakness and their call to universality: they are few, yet to them He gives all authority:
“All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach all nations…” (Matt 28:18–19)
Here is the Great Commission, the magna carta of the Church’s mission. Yet how is it fulfilled? Not in mere teaching or moral exhortation — but in Baptism, the new Ark, and in obedience to all His commandments.
St. John Chrysostom emphasizes:
“He commands them not to bring the Jews only, but all nations. He Himself opened the gates which were before shut… And how are they to baptize? Not in the name of any creature, but in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
(Homilies on Matthew, 90.3)
The risen Christ is not merely a symbol of new life — He is the Living Lord, and He remains with His Church: “Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” These are not idle words, but the guarantee of His abiding Presence, especially in the Sacraments and Sacred Liturgy.
III. Living the Octave in the Light of the Resurrection
This sixth day within the Octave of Easter is an invitation to remain in the Paschal Mystery — not as spectators, but participants. In Baptism, we were buried with Christ and rose with Him. In the Holy Mass, that one Sacrifice once offered is now mystically made present to us.
The Church Fathers teach us to live this Paschal mystery daily:
“Let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven… but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor 5:8)
“For the Pasch,” says St. Leo the Great, “is continued still, so long as we cease not to die to sin and live to God.”
(Sermon 72)
We are still within the radiant days of the Resurrection — and each Mass, each prayer, each sacramental grace, is Christ drawing us deeper into His own risen life. Let us not only celebrate the victory — let us live it, and let us proclaim it.
Prayer for Today:
O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst harrow Hell and ascend to the right hand of the Father, grant us grace to remain steadfast in faith, to keep the commandments Thou hast taught us, and to bring others into Thy Ark of salvation. Through Thy holy Resurrection, strengthen us to walk always in newness of life. Amen.