Saint of the Day for 25 March: Holy Monday
Holy Monday: Reflections and Traditions of the Second Day of Holy Week
Name
Holy Monday
Title
Mary anoints the feet of Jesus
Recurrence
25 March
Martyrology
2004 edition
Prayer
Lord, in this time of preparation for Easter we learn to be grateful to You for the life You gave us by sacrificing Yourself on the cross. Sometimes we think we are alone and weak in facing difficulties, forgetting how strong You were in facing Your Passion and how close You are always to us. Let us pray that, like Mary, who sprinkled Your feet with spikenard, we may each day, with small gestures, honor You, praise You and show You that You are always at the center of our lives.
The Saint and Mission
Holy Monday, located at the beginning of Holy Week, introduces us further into the heart of the Paschal mystery, inviting us to meditate on the path of suffering, sacrifice and ultimately, redemption undertaken by Christ. This day offers an opportunity to deepen our understanding of Jesus’ mission and to reflect on how that mission impacts our personal and community lives. In the context of Holy Week, Holy Monday is often associated with specific moments in the life of Jesus that prelude his passion, such as the curse of the barren fig tree and the purification of the temple. These episodes, rich in symbolism, speak to us of the need for authentic faith and a life that bears fruit in service and love, challenging us to examine the sincerity and depth of our Christian commitment. The mission of Jesus, particularly highlighted on Holy Monday, reminds us that true devotion is not limited to words or external appearances, but is manifested in concrete actions of justice, mercy and fidelity to God. Jesus’ gesture of purifying the temple is a powerful call to personal and community reform, an invitation to remove everything that impedes our relationship with God and others. On this day, we are called to reflect on our mission as disciples of Christ in the contemporary world. Just as Jesus challenged unjust structures and sought to renew the spiritual life of his people, we too are invited to be agents of change, working for justice, promoting peace and bearing witness to God’s love through our words and our actions. Holy Monday, therefore, invites us to a profound exploration of our faith, stimulating us to continuous conversion and spiritual renewal. It challenges us to look beyond the surface of our faith life, to deepen our relationship with God, and to live more consistently with the gospel. In this sense, Holy Monday is not just a preparation for the celebration of Easter, but an opportunity to rediscover and reaffirm the central core of our Christian identity. Holy Monday presents us with the challenge of living a faith that bears fruit in every aspect of our lives, reminding us that the mission of Jesus is also our mission. He invites us to walk with Christ towards the cross, not only as observers, but as active participants in the mystery of death and resurrection, committed to transforming the world with the renewing force of his love for him.
The Saint and Mercy
Holy Monday, deeply anchored in Holy Week, invites us to an intense reflection on mercy in the context of Christ’s passion. On this day, the biblical narrative often leads us to meditate on events that show Jesus engaging in acts of teaching and purification, highlighting His unwavering dedication to the Father’s will and His compassion for humanity. This day offers a unique perspective on mercy, not only as a divine attribute, but as a mission lived through love, service and sacrifice. Mercy, in the context of Holy Monday, is manifested in Jesus’ patience and determination to complete his saving mission, despite growing hostility and misunderstanding. His commitment to teaching the truth, challenging hypocrisy and calling for conversion is imbued with a profound mercy, which seeks to open the eyes of the heart to lead everyone back to the fullness of life in God. On this day we are invited to reflect on how Christ’s mercy extends beyond emotional compassion, becoming a concrete action that challenges, purifies and transforms. The purification of the Temple, remembered in some stories of Holy Monday, is a powerful symbol of Jesus’ ardent desire to re-establish the sacred space as a place of authentic encounter with God, freeing it from everything that corrupts its sanctity and integrity. Mercy also emerges in the way Jesus deals with betrayal and abandonment, anticipated in the events of Holy Week. His response is not one of condemnation, but of an even greater offering of himself, a supreme act of mercy that will culminate in the cross. This reality challenges us to see mercy not as a weakness, but as the greatest strength of love that gives itself to the extreme for the good of others. Holy Monday therefore calls us to profound solidarity with Christ in his passion, inviting us to live mercy in an active and sacrificial way. He asks us to consider how we can, in our daily lives, purify the “temples” of our hearts and our communities, making them places of authentic encounter with God and with our brothers, especially the most needy and forgotten. The celebration of Holy Monday invites us to meditate on the transformative power of mercy that flows from the passion and death of Christ. It reminds us that we are called to embody this mercy in our mission as faithful, through gestures of love, forgiveness and service, thus testifying to the living presence of the risen Lord in the world. It is an invitation to walk with Christ towards Easter, bringing the light of his mercy into the darkness of our world.
Hagiography
Holy Monday is the first day of Holy Week, and it begins a series of celebrations culminating in Easter. During this first day, we analyze the Gospel passage that tells of Jesus who, after raising his friend Lazarus, is now in his town, Bethany, despite the fact that the high priests have decided to kill him. He is with his disciples, and…