The Creed tells us what Jesus did after He died on the cross. “He descended into Hell”. Today, the Saturday after Good Friday, He was not on earth or in Heaven. He descended into Hell.
Dante, in The Inferno, tells us why. Jesus descended into Hell to unearth all the souls who’d been sent there until He came and opened the door to Heaven to them. Dante describes the ruins that Jesus left in every level of Hell.
He tore the place apart. The huge, complicated circles and structures of Hell were destroyed. Collapse impeded all progress. In the process of unearthing all the souls that were meant to be saved, Jesus had so thoroughly destroyed the underworld that there was nothing but wreckage. Satan could not stop Him.
He descended into Hell to rescue souls who been held captive since the Fall in The Garden. Until He came, there was no way they could be saved. So, they waited. And waited. Then , on the first Saturday after the first Good Friday, He came, His triumph over evil complete. Satan could not stop Him.
We may think of that, today. Why? Because today is a Saturday after Good Friday. It was on the first Saturday after the first Good Friday, almost two thousand years ago, that He descended into Hell. Thanks to His coming, we may be joined directly with Him at death. Satan cannot stop Him.
