Divine Mercy Sunday
On 22 February 1931 Jesus first communicated to St. Faustina Kowalska His desire for a Feast of Divine Mercy to be celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter, asking her to announce the extraordinary graces He would bestow.
Saint George
Saint George (c. 275 - c. 303) was already the object of an extensive and ancient cult long before the legendary image of his fight with the dragon, symbolizing the intrepid faith that triumphs over evil.
Saint Leonidas of Alexandria
The martyrdom of Saint Leonidas of Alexandria (†202), father of the philosopher and theologian Origen, took place during the persecutions ordered by Emperor Septimius Severus.
Saint Anselm of Aosta
Fides quaerens intellectum, “the faith that seeks the intellect”, was the guiding principle of Saint Anselm of Aosta or Canterbury (1033-1109). Called Doctor Magnificus, he devised a famous argument on the existence of God, which has engaged generations of philosophers and theologians.
Saint Agnes of Montepulciano
In 1374 Our Lord revealed to Saint Catherine of Siena that in Paradise she would enjoy a glory equal to that of Saint Agnes of Montepulciano (c. 1268-1317). This fact is indicative of the greatness of this relatively little known mystic.
Saint Expeditus
If St Jude Thaddeus and St Rita of Cascia are particularly invoked for impossible causes, St Expeditus, the most popular of the Martyrs of Melitene, is similarly venerated as the saint of urgent causes par excellence.
Easter Monday
For the liturgy of the Church, today is Monday in the Octave of Easter. Traditionally it recalls what happened at the tomb the previous day, on the Sunday morning when the pious women - Mary Magdalene, Salome and Mary mother of James - went to the tomb with the intention of anointing Jesus' body with aromatic oils.
Easter of Resurrection
The pain experienced by Jesus on the day of His death on the Cross, which the faithful of all times relive, acquires meaning in the light of the Resurrection, the supreme proof of His divinity and His eternal words: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (Jn 14:6).
Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday is called an aliturgical day because the Church does not celebrate the Eucharist. The faithful are called to relive in silence and meditate on the mystery of Christ in the tomb and on His descent into hell, in soul and divinity, to proclaim salvation to the just.
Good Friday
The whole liturgy of Good Friday exhorts man to contemplate the mystery on which his hope of salvation is founded: the cross. Jesus nailed to the cross reveals the folly of divine Love, which fulfils the ancient promises “as a lamb led to slaughter” (Is 53:7).
Holy Thursday
The first day of the Easter Triduum, Holy Thursday prepares us for the Mysteries of the Passion and recalls what Jesus lived through on the eve of his death on the cross, questioning every believer with the words of the psalmist: “What will I give back to the Lord for all the benefits He has given me?”.
Saint Martin I
St Martin I (c. 600-655) showed his mettle when he was elected pope in July 649, because he did not wait for the consent of the Byzantine emperor Constant II, going against the practice that had been established from Justinian onwards, and which lasted more than two centuries (537-752)
