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 Benjamin
The saint celebrated today bears the name of the youngest of Jacob's sons. Saint Benjamin, deacon and martyr, lived between the fourth and fifth centuries AD. His martyrdom took place during the persecutions in Persia
Saint Leonard Murialdo
“Do not make religion either solely supernatural or solely human, but supernatural and human. To virtue add goodness, kindness, the spirit of friendship, spontaneity, confidence, cheerfulness ...”. These words of Saint Leonard Murialdo (26 October 1828 - 30 March 1900) describe the whole life of this great priest from Turin, a life of trusting abandonment to Providence and tireless charity towards orphans, young people and labourers.
Saint Mark of Arethusa
This saint was bishop of Arethusa, today's Ar Rastan, in Syria. He exercised his episcopal ministry in the fieriest phase of the Arian controversy and for some time was suspected of holding ambiguous positions, perhaps due to his weakness of character.
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, as we are reminded in the admonition preceding the liturgy and introducing the procession: “Jesus enters Jerusalem to fulfill the mystery of death and Resurrection”.
Saint Rupert of Salzburg
Patron and initiator of the renaissance of Salzburg, founder of churches and monasteries, Saint Rupert (c. 660-718) carried out an important part of his apostolate in the lands inhabited by the ancestors of Austrians and Bavarians.
Saint Ludger
Saint Ludger (c. 742-809) was still a child when, in 753, he encountered the great evangelizer of Germany, St. Boniface, who was martyred on 5 June of the following year in Dokkum, Friesland, together with 52 companions.
Annunciation of the Lord
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” The Archangel Gabriel's greeting to Mary uniquely sums up the mystery of the Annunciation, the central event in human history that reveals all of God's love for His creature, called to cooperate in His plan of salvation.
