Christ descended into Hades
Holy Saturday
"And he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done" (Gen. 2:2). The Great Sabbath has come, Christ is resting from his work on earth. The bride of Christ is also resting - this is the only day the liturgy is not celebrated in our churches - awaiting the resurrection of her Bridegroom. And where did the Bridegroom go? He descended "into the lower parts of the earth" (Eph 4:9) to proclaim the Gospel to the dead (1 Pet. 3:18-19; 4:6).
The Apostles' Creed teaches us that after his death Jesus descended into the abode of the dead. According to the catechism, both evil and righteous were in it, but only the latter awaited the Redeemer. Referring to the famous parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 22-26), the catechism teaches that "It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell" (CCC, 633). The catechism also clarifies that "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" (CCC, 633).
Jesus' descent into hell is that "hour" when the dead hear the "voice of the Son of God" (John 5:25), who cries out "awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead" (Eph, 5:14), and "those who hear will live" (John 5:25). This truth is beautifully explained in an ancient homily on Holy Saturday. "God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began" (see CCC, 635). According to Matthew, at the time of Christ's death the tombs were opened "and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised" (Matt. 27:52). It seems, however, that they did not leave their tombs immediately, but patiently awaited Christ to leave his tomb (Matt. 27:53).
The icon of Christ's descent into hell shows the doors of hell fallen upon the devils and Christ extending his hands to Adam and Eve helping them to come out of their graves. Their time of waiting has come to an end. They can finally leave. The abode of death is not a place intended for humanity (Wis. 2:24). But, where does Christ bring Adam? Back to paradise? No. God has prepared for us something greater, something that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind can imagine (1 Cor. 2:9). Moreover, He will make the cherubim worship him "as they would God" (Ancient Homily on Holy Saturday). "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).
Christ's descent into hell is also known as the "harrowing of hell". The Lord entered the house of the "strong man", bound him, and "plundered his things" (Mark 3:27). "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" (CCC, 634).