- St. Agnes of Montepulciano (1317). Religious, Virgin. (Historical)
- St. Marcellinus (374). Bishop. (Historical)
EASTER SUNDAY.
THE resurrection of the dead is one of the most consoling truths of Christianity. To die forever would be the most terrible of all destinies. The plant and the animal, unendowed with reason, die, never to live again; but they have not at least any apprehension as to what death is. To die is to them one of the thousand accidents bound up with life; to the plant it is as nothing, and for the animal without reason, a merely transitory pang, death itself being but the affair of a moment. For man, on the contrary, death has terrors which precede it, anguish accompanying it, and apprehensions consequent upon it. The most strongly-attempered spirit shudders on reflecting that it must incur death; the most selfish man has attachments which he with difficulty severs; the most determined unbeliever experiences doubts as to the shadowy To-morrow of death. Man would then be the most pitiable among all beings were Religion not at hand to say to him, “The grave is a place of momentary rest; you will come forth thence one day. The God that gave being to your limbs will restore it; the resurrection of Jesus Christ gives thereof an assured pledge.”
This confidence in the future resurrection is a subject of the greatest joy to the children of God, the groundwork of their faith, the mainspring of their hope, and most lasting comfort amid the evils of this life. For if Christ had not risen, says the Apostle St. Paul, in vain should we believe in Him. He would be convicted of having been an impostor and His apostles of being mad; His death would not have availed us any thing, and we should still be dwelling in the bonds of sin. Those dying in Jesus Christ would perish, and our hope in Him not extending beyond the present life, we should be the most unfortunate of men, inasmuch as, after having had as our portion in this life, sufferings and afflictions, we should not be able to console ourselves with the expectation of future good. But Jesus Christ having come forth living from the tomb, His doctrine is confirmed by His resurrection; it establishes the certitude of His mission in His character as Son of God, the efficacy of the sacrifice He offered on the cross, the divinity of His priesthood, the rewards of the other life, and the glorified resurrection of the flesh.
REFLECTION: We shall one day rise again; but let us range by the side of such a consoling expectation that terrible warning. of the prophet Daniel, “Many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach eternal.’
ST. MARCELLINUS, BISHOP.
ST. MARCELLINUS was born in Africa, of a noble family; accompanied by Vincent and Domninus, he went over into Gaul, and there preached the Gospel, with great success, in the neighborhood of the Alps. He afterwards settled at Embrun where he built a chapel in which he passed his nights in prayer, after laboring all the day in the exercise of his sacred calling. By his pious example as well as by his earnest words, he converted many of the heathens among whom he lived. He was afterwards made bishop of the people whom he had won over to Christ, but the date of his consecration is not positively known. Burning with zeal for the glory of God, he sent Vincent and Domninus to preach the faith in those parts which he could not visit in person. He died at Embrun about the year 374, and was there interred. St. Gregory of Tours, who speaks of Marcellinus in terms of highest praise, mentions many miracles as happening at his tomb.
REFLECTION: Though you may not be called upon to preach, at least endeavor to set a good example, remembering that deeds often speak louder than words.
WORD OF THE DAY
REAL PRESENCE. The manner of Christ’s presence in the Holy Eucharist. In its definition on the subject, the Council of Trent in 1551 declared that "in the sacrament of the most holy Holy Eucharist is contained truly, really, and substantially the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently the whole Christ" (Denzinger 1636, 1640). Hence Christ is present truly or actually and not only symbolically. He is present really, that is objectively in the Eucharist and not only subjectively in the mind of the believer. And he is present substantially, that is with all that makes Christ Christ and not only spiritually in imparting blessings on those who receive the sacrament. The one who is present is the whole Christ (totus Christus), with all the attributes of his divinity and all the physical parts and properties of his humanity. (Etym. Latin realis, of the thing itself; extramental + prae-esse, to be at hand, to be immediately efficacious.) See also SACRAMENTAL PRESENCE.
Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon SJ (Get the real one at Eternal Life — don’t accept an abridged or edited version of this masterpiece!)
HOLY WEEK MEDITATIONS
Special meditations focused on Holy Week: EASTER SUNDAY
EASTER MEDITATIONS
Enjoy daily meditations this Easter from Fr. Richard Clarke, SJ. Short and powerful, written in 1880 for busy lay people to reap rewards through Eastertide: 1. — The Resurrection.
This article, APRIL 20, 2025 – EASTER – ST. MARCELLINUS, BISHOP. is a post from The Bellarmine Forum.
https://bellarmineforum.org/april-20-2025-easter-st-marcellinus-bishop/
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