April 17, 2025, Holy Thursday marks the beginning of the Easter Triduum in the Catholic Church. It begins with the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper and is completed this coming Easter Sunday. The Easter Triduum is the centre and the apex of the Church's liturgical year.
It was in the 1400s A.D. when a Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday within Holy Week was observed by Catholics in a special manner as a "Triduum". In more recent years, this Triduum has been redefined as a Holy Thursday evening Mass to Easter Sunday evening Mass - calculating the days of the week from sunset to sunset [1].
Saints Commemorated on April 17
- Mappalicus and Companions, martyrs
- Innocent of Tortona, bishop
- Donnan and Companions, martyrs
- Robert of Chaise-Dieu, abbot
- Stephen Harding, abbot [2]
Today, the Catholic Church also commemorates 2 groups of martyrs, 2 abbots, and 1 bishop.
One fascinating thought in studying the Lives of the Saints is a special insight one can discover if examined within an interdisciplinary perspective: integrating secular history, Church history, literature, sacred music lyrics, poetry, depth psychology, paranormal or supernatural phenomenon, culture, politics, geography, and languages. Since the Saints were flesh-and-blood people who dotted the history of the Church from the four corners of the world, and come from all walks-of-life, then hagiography becomes, as it were, not only a study about the Saints themselves and their lives, but about life as a whole in all its dimensions.
Hagiography, when taken as a study or professional endeavour, is not new to the Catholic faith. When the monastic life bloomed since the time of St. Benedict of Nursia, many of the monks had this subject as part of their spirituality. They not only transcribed or translated the Bible and other literary works, but they actually studied and copied manuscripts about the lives of the Saints - studying in particular those Saints who were members of their religious order. It formed part of their formation in the faith and in the spirituality and life of their religious founder.
As one studies more in-depth the Lives of the Saints, one will discover some Saints who may not be as well-known, but their life, in some sense, was more inspiring compared to the popular ones like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Augustine of Hippo. One such saint is St. Stephen Harding (whose feast is commemorated today, April 17). He was one of the three founders of the Cistercian Order. The story of the Cistercians seen in the "eyes of faith" of St. Stephen Harding, can inspire anyone to act with the same level of patience, fortitude, faith and courage as St. Stephen Harding. His story should be made more known for a time such as now. Many call the story of the Cistercians a "miracle", and indeed it is. However, it is not a miracle in the sense of something beyond the natural, but it is more a miracle that occurs in the heart and in the soul. And this is a miracle not only in the external sense, but one that occured brightly in the heart & soul of St. Stephen Harding. For details of the Cistercian story, you can read Memorial of Saints (January 26).
References: Books, Websites & AI Search Results
- [1] The New Concise Catholic Dictionary, Reynolds R. Ekstrom
- [2] Pocket Catholic Dictionary, John A. Hardon
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