Saints of the Day & More

July 1 is the Solemnity of the "Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ." This feast, celebrated in Spain in the 16th century, was later introduced to Italy by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo and extended to the whole Church by Pope Pius IX in 1849. For many dioceses there were two days to which the Office of the Precious Blood was assigned, the office being in both cases the same. The reason was this: the office was at first granted to the Fathers of the Most Precious Blood only. Later, as one of the offices of the Fridays of Lent, it was assigned to the Friday after the fourth Sunday in Lent. In many dioceses these offices were adopted also by the Fourth Provincial Council of Baltimore (1840). When Pope Pius IX went into exile at Gaeta in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1849), he had as his companion Father Giovanni Merlini, third superior general of the Fathers of the Most Precious Blood. After they had arrived at Gaeta, Don Merlini suggested that His Holiness make a vow to ...

This day is also known as "The Day Christ laid in the tomb", due to the fact that after we read the 14th Station, Christ is buried. And thus on that Saturday we are in a hopeful vigil to see the return of our Lord and King, Jesus Christ. In the Gospels, the final passage we come across is, "Christ was then laid in the tomb, with a large boulder covering its entrance, and Christ laid there for 3 days, until Sunday when rose again." This is what we see/hear of Christ before he Resurrects on Sunday. Little is know about what took place within the tomb of Christ before the Glorious and Triumphant Sunday. In the primitive Church Holy Saturday was known as Great, or Grand, Saturday, Holy Saturday, the Angelic Night, the Vigil of Easter, etc. It is no longer, like Maundy Thursday, a day of joy, but one of joy and sadness intermingled; it is the close of the season of Lent and penance, and the beginning of paschal time, which is one of rejoicing. The night of the vigil of E...