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Saturday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Wenceslaus, 907-929; son of the duke of Bohemia, and raised by his grandmother, Ludmilla, who was murdered; Wenceslaus assumed leadership of the government, and worked toward unification within Bohemia, support of the Church, and peace-making negotiations with Germany; he was assassinated by his brother Boleslav and companions Off...

Friday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, 1580-1660; born in Gascony, France, and came to lead what became known as the Congregation of the Mission, or the Vincentians; he later established confraternities of charity for the spiritual and physical relief of the poor and sick of each parish; with the help of Saint Louise de Marillac, he founded the Daughters of Chari...

Thursday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Saints Cosmas and Damian; Arab-born Christians who were brothers, known for their skill in medicine; they refused payment for their services; their prominence made them targets in the persecution of Diocletian; they were tortured and killed in about 283; patron saints of pharmacists Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/26/24 Go...

Wednesday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Albert of Jerusalem, 1149-1215; born in Parma, Italy; became a canon of Holy Cross Abbey in Mortoba; later appointed bishop of Bobbio, Italy, then to the see of Vercelli, where he served as a mediator between the pope and the emperor; in 1205, he was appointed patriarch of Jerusalem; near Albert's residence was Mount Carmel, where a...

Tuesday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Rupert of Salzburg; bishop of Worms when Childeric III asked that he evangelize Bavaria; he converted Duke Theodo II, and the duke gave him land at Iuvavum where he established the Abbey of St. Peter and the Nonnberg Convent; Rupert also converted  pagan  temples into  Christian  churches and established the salt-mining industry from...

Monday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Pius of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio, 1887-1968; joined the Capuchins at the age of 15; in 1918, as he was making his thanksgiving after Mass, Padre Pio had a vision of Jesus; when the vision ended, he had the stigmata in his hands, feet, and side; the authenticity of the stigmata was questioned, with restrictions placed upon Padre...

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/22/24 Gospel: Mark 9:30-37

Feast of St. Matthew, apostle Saturday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/21/24 Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13

Friday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and companions, the Korean martyrs; Andrew was the first native Korean priest; he was arrested and beheaded while trying to arrange water passage for more missionaries; Paul was a lay apostle and married man, also died in 1839 at age 45; along with Andrew and Paul, 98 other Koreans and three French mi...

Thursday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Januarius; martyred in Diocletian's persecution of 305; he was thrown to the bears in the amphitheatre, along with his companions, but the bears failed to attack, so they were beheaded; Januarius' blood was taken to Naples, where it liquifies 18 times per year, eluding any natural explanation Office of Readings and Morning Prayer...

Wednesday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Joseph of Cupertino, 1603-1663; born in the kingdom of Naples; joined the Franciscan Friars Minor Conventual; after his ordination to the holy priesthood, he gave himself up entirely to a life of devotion to the Lord and his church; grew so in love with God, that 70 times people saw him levitating in prayer and while celebrating mas...

Tuesday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, 1542-1621; ordained in 1570, and made a cardinal by Pope Clement VIII, saying that “he had not his equal for learning”; became the pope's theologian, and prepared two catechisms; had to deliver a message from the Holy Office to his friend, Galileo, admonishing him not to present theories as proven fact Office of...

Monday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian; Cornelius greatest concern during his two years as pope involved the Sacrament of Penance and the readmission of Christians who had denied their faith during persecution; he held a synod at Rome in 251 and ordered the “relapsed” to be restored to the Church with the usual “medicines of repentance”; his friendship wi...

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/15/24 Gospel: Mark 8:27-35

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Saturday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/14/24 Gospel: John 3:13-17

Friday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the church, 349-407; after a dozen years as a priest in Syria, he became archbishop of Contantinople under the cloud of imperial politics; but his zeal led him to decisive action--bishops who bribed their way into office were deposed, and he called for concrete steps to share wealth with the poor; he was...

Thursday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/12/24 Gospel: Luke 6:27-38

Wednesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Paphnutius; spent several years in the  desert under the direction of St. Anthony, then became bishop in the Upper Thebaid; lost his right eye, was hamstrung in one leg, and was sent to work in the mines under Emperor Maximinus; after restoration of peace, Paphnutius returned to his flock; zealous in defending the Catholic faith aga...

Tuesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Peter Martinez; lived in the Tenth Century; he was a leader of the Spanish Reconquista, a centuries-long series of battles by Christian states to expel the Muslims (Moors), who from the 8th century ruled most of the Iberian Peninsula;  born in Galicia, Spain, he became a Benedictine in about 950; he was appointed abbot  of St.  Martin...

Monday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Peter Claver, 1581-1654; a native of Spain, sailed to the New World in 1610 to be a missionary; settled at Cartegena, a center of slave trade; as soon as a slave ship entered port, he went to the hold and gave the exhausted passengers medicines, food, bread, brandy, lemons, and tobacco; with the help of an interpreter, he gave basic instruct...

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/8/24 Gospel: Mark 7:31-37

Saturday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Cloud, 522-560; grandson of Clovis, king of the Franks; his uncle attempted to assassinate him, but he escaped to Provence, where he put himself under the discipline of St. Severinus; Cloud untiringly instructed the people of the neighboring country, and died at the age of 36 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/7/24 Gospel: L...

Friday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Eleutherius; lived in the Sixth Century, became abbot of St. Mark's, near Spoleto, and was favored by God with miracles; he once prayed with St. Gregory the Great for his health, and St. Gregory found himself able to participate in the Easter-eve fast; he was reputed to have brought a dead man back to life; he died in St. Andrew's mona...

Thursday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Teresa of Calcutta, 1910-1997; born of Albanian parents; joined the Loreto Sisters of Dublin at age 18; in 1946, she discerned a "call within a call"--to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them; volunteers who helped her became the core of the Missionaries of Charity; for the next four decades, Mother Teresa worke...

Wednesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Rosalia; left her home, and took up abode in a cave "for love of my Lord Jesus Christ"; she practiced great mortifications and lived in constant communion with God; she died alone in 1160; her body was discovered several centuries later, in 1625 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/4/24 Gospel: Luke 4: 38-44