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Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Cyril and Methodius; Ninth Century monk and bishop, respectively; brothers who had appointments in the Byzantine civil service before embracing monastic life; they were sent as missionaries to Moravia, where they translated the liturgical books into the Slavonic language; Cyril died in Rome in 869; Methodius returned to Moravia, where...

Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Catherine Ricci, 1522-1589; entered the  convent  of the Dominican  nuns at Prat in Tuscany, in her fourteenth year; while very young, she was chosen Mistress of Novices, then subprioress, and at twenty-five years of age she became perpetual prioress; her sanctity drew many to her side, including three who would later s...

Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Julian the Hospitaller; lived in the Fourth Century; legend has it that he killed his noble parents in a case of mistaken identity; he thought that his wife was with another man, so he struck them both in bed; shortly after, his wife returned from church; in penance, they went to Rome and received absolution; Julian founded an inn a...

Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes; in 1858 in Lourdes, France, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous; eventually, thousands gathered around her to witness the events, including the appearance of a new, surging spring (still present today) from which Bernadette drank; today, millions visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Lour...

Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Scholastica, 480-543; sister of St. Benedict; she founded and ran a nunnery in the Benedictine tradition; as Abbess, Saint Scholastica aided in the spiritual formation of many holy sisters; God answered her with thunder and storms when she pleaded Him to convince her brother to prolong their annual visit; St. Benedict stayed, due to tremen...

Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Raynald of Nocera, 1150-1225; Benedictine bishop who served the order in various capacities until receiving appointment as  bishop  of  Nocera in 1222; owing to his excellent service in that capacity, he is considered the patron of Nocera Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/9/26 Gospel: Mark 6:53-56

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/8/26 Gospel: Matthew 5:13-16

Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Paul Miki and companions, the Japanese martyrs; in 1587, Japan issued an edict of persecution against Christians; St. Paul Miki and his companions were arrested and martyred on the hill of Nagasaki in 1597 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/6/26 Gospel: Mark 6:14-29

Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Agatha, 231-251; an early Christian martyr from Catania, Sicily; she pledged her virginity to Christ and after refusing to compromise was killed; by the 5th century, she was highly venerated for her purity and goodness; patron saint of breast ailments Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/5/26 Gospel: Mark 6:7-13

Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Andrew Corsini, 1302-1374; born to a powerful family in Florence; lived a wild youth, but was converted by his mother and became a Carmelite; after his studies, he returned to his birthplace and became known as a prophet and miracle worker; he was named bishop of Fiesole in 1349; he was sent by Pope  Urban V  to  Bo...

Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Blaise; a good bishop of Sebastea, Armenia, but was forced to flee to the back country due to persecution; he lived as a hermit, and made friends with wild animals; when hunters hauled Blaise off to prison, a mother came with her young son who had a fish bone lodged in his throat; at Blaise’s command the child was able to c...

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/2/26 Gospel: Luke 2:22-40

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/1/26 Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12a

Saturday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. John Bosco, 1815-1888; studied theology at Turin; after ordination, he served the dislocated people from the countryside who found themselves in the midst of urbanization; in 1854, he founded the Salesian order, focused on creating solutions for displaced youth; he developed vocational training programs and schools; he also collaborated i...

Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Bathildis, 626-680; born in England; she was enslaved, and taken to Neustria, a part of the Frankish kingdom; in time, she became a trusted member of the court of King Clovis II, and married him in 649; she bore him three sons, all of whom became kings; when Clovis died in 657, Bathildis served as regent for Clotaire III; she had foun...

Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Dallan; Dallan Forgaill was a Sixth Century kinsman of St. Edan of Ferns, born in Connaught, and a great scholar; through his application to study, he became blind; he wrote a poem in honor of St. Columba, which was only published after Columba's death; legend has it that, upon its publication, Dallan's sight was restored to him; Da...

Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, 1225-1274; the "Angelic Doctor"; born in Aquino, Italy, became a Dominican, and studied under St. Albert the Great; he wrote the  Summa theologiae  and much of the liturgy for the feast of  Corpus Christi;  he is considered one of the greatest minds of the Church Office of Readings and Morning Prayer f...

Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Angela Merici, 1474-1540; born in Italy, orphaned in her teens; as a young woman, she joined the Third Order of St. Francis; at age 60, Angela and 12 other women began the Company of St. Ursula; this was a new way of life--single women consecrated to Christ and living in the world rather than in a monastery, what is today known as...

Monday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus; great men of the First Century, companions and disciples of St. Paul; Timothy accompanied St. Paul on his second missionary journey and was entrusted to aid the Thessalonians, Corinthians and Ephesians; Titus is addressed as St. Paul’s ‘true child after a common faith’ and was called to missionary wor...

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 1/25/26 Gospel: Matthew 4:12-23

Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, 1567-1622; born in Savoy, France, and as bishop devoted his work to implementing the decrees of the Council of Trent; also co-founded the Visitandines, with St. Jane Francis de Chantal; among his most read and revered writings are Introduction to the Devout Life  and the  Treatise on the Love of God Office of...

Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Marianne Cope, 1838-1918; born in Germany, emigrated to Utica, New York, and joined the the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York; she was twice elected provincial; in 1835, along with six other sisters, she went to Hawaii to take charge of the receiving station outside of Honolulu for people suspected...

Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 1/22/26 Gospel: Mark 3:7-12

Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Agnes, virgin and martyr, 291-304; venerated since the Fourth Century in Rome; various early legends make it difficult to discern details of her martyrdom, but she was young and heroic; after her death, Constantine's daughter erected a basilica over her grave; she is mentioned in the Roman Canon of the mass, and early Church Fathers pra...

Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. Fabian, 200-250; a Roman layman who came to the city as a new pope was about to be elected; a dove landed on his head, it was taken as a sign, and Fabian was elected unanimously; he led the Church for 14 years and died a martyr’s death during the persecution of Decius Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 1/20/26 G...