Sunday, March 31, 2013
The Solemnity of Solemnities—Easter Sunday
[Station at St. Mary Major’s.] Eastertide begins with the Mass of the Easter Vigil and ends on the Saturday after Pentecost. It is a time of uninterrupted joy and Feasts, during which we celebrate the Mysteries of the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Descent of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles and His Church. The […]
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Saturday, March 30, 2013
Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday is liturgically a day of deepest mourning, a day which the Church spends at our Lord’s sepulcher, meditating on His Sacred Passion and Death. There is no Mass; the sacred altar is bare. The Solemn Easter Vigil service, for which Pope Pius XII gave permission in 1951 and made obligatory in 1956, is […]
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Friday, March 29, 2013
Good Friday
[Station at Holy Cross in Jerusalem.] Extract from the General Decree (of November 10, 1955) restoring the Liturgy of Holy Week: “Let the faithful be led to understand properly today’s special liturgical act, in which the Passion of our Lord is solemnly chanted: prayers offered for the needs of the whole Church and the human […]
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Thursday, March 28, 2013
Maundy Thursday
The Mass today which by order of Pope Pius XII should not begin before 5 p.m. or after 8 p.m., specially commemorates the Institution of the Blessed Eucharist at the Last Supper and the Ordination of the Apostles, and is, therefore, a Mass of joy and thanksgiving. Hence the Church lays aside for the moment […]
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Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Spy Wednesday
[Station at St. Mary Major’s.] Dom Prosper Gueranger writes: The Chief Priests and the Ancients of the people, are met today, in one of the rooms adjoining the Temple, for the purpose of deliberating on the best means of putting Jesus to death. Several plans are discussed. Would it be prudent to lay hands upon […]
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Monday, March 25, 2013
The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
This is the great Festival of the Incarnation, commemorating the announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to Our Lady that the Divine Son of God, the Word, would take human nature upon Him in the virginal womb. Its date is determined by that of Christmas Day, and as the day which marked the beginning of Christian […]
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Sunday, March 24, 2013
Palm Sunday
Extract from General Decree (of November 16, 1955) restoring the liturgy of Holy Week: “Let the faithful be invited to take part in the Procession of Palms in greater numbers, thus rendering Christ the King public witness of their love and gratitude.” The Second Sunday in Passiontide would be in any case a great and […]
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Friday, March 22, 2013
Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Our Lady of Sorrows (Latin: Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (Latin: Mater Dolorosa, at times just Dolorosa), and Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is referred to in relation to sorrows in her life. […]
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
St. Benedict, Abbot
Born in Nursia, Italy, he was educated in Rome, was repelled by the vices of the city and in about 500 fled to Enfide, thirty miles away. He decided to live the life of a hermit and settled at mountainous Subiaco, where he lived in a cave for three years, fed by a monk named […]
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Tuesday, March 19, 2013
St. Joseph, Confessor, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Church always honors St. Joseph with Mary and Jesus, especially during the Christmas solemnities. This day’s Gospel is indeed that of December 24th. A Coptic calendar tells us that St. Joseph was liturgically honored in a special way on July 20th, from the eight century. At the end of the fifteenth century his feast […]
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