Saturday, the day of souls

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery;' but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna. If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna. 'It was also said, 'Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,' but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery. 'Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, 'You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,' but I tell you, don't swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can't make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No.' Whatever is more than these is of the evil one. 'You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.'* But I tell you, don't resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and don't turn away him who desires to borrow from you. 'You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor,* and hate your enemy.*' But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven.

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	Saturday, the day of souls

From the early times, our Church dedicated Saturday to the souls. It is primarily the day of those who have fallen asleep. And Christians always took care, with memorial services and charitable acts done especially on Saturdays, to stay close to their dead and ask God for their repose and salvation. Even today one will see more people in graves on Saturdays than on any other day.

But why is Saturday the day of the souls? There are many explanations. The most likely explanation why Saturday was set apart for the departed appears to be that the word "Saturday" - coming from the Hebrew word Sabbath - means rest. And on this day we are praying for the repose of the souls.

Starting from this point of view, it is worth our expressing a few thoughts so that we of today may remember again great truths concerning the Saturday of the Souls. Properly speaking, there are only two Saturdays of the Souls, the one on Saturday before Meat-fare Sunday and the other on Saturday before Pentecost. Yet Saturday generally as the day for those basic and saving truths:

1. That the world does not end in whatever we see and count, but also extends in the space of the spirit, which also exists, coexists together with us. In this place the souls of our departed beloved are encamped.

2. That the Church is a continuous intercommunion between those of its members that are still struggling on earth and those that have already slept in the Lord.

3. That amidst the fever of action and the struggle of daily life we must remember that the natural terminus of every effort, which is rest in the Lord, since there is nothing more certain than death and nothing more uncertain than the hour of death.

Source: http://www.orthodoxchristian.info

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