Daybreak

Wednesday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Saints Pontian and Hippolytus; Pontian was Roman by birth, and was elected pope in 230, a time when a synod condemned Origen as a priest and teacher; in 235, Pontian was arrested and exiled in Sardinia; Hippolytus was the first antipope, and he was also exiled to Sardina in 235; they reconciled in the mines; both died in 235 A.D., an...

Tuesday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, 1572-1641; widowed after seven years of marriage, St. Francis de Sales became her spiritual director; she wanted to become a nun, but St. Francis persuaded her to defer this decision; Francis told Jane of his plan to found an institute of women who would exemplify the virtues of Mary at the visitation--thus...

Monday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Clare of Assisi, 1194-1253; lifelong friend and spiritual student of St. Francis; at 18, she escaped from her father's house, and was placed in a Benedictine convent by St. Francis; as her father and uncles stormed the convent, she clung to the altar of the church, and remained adamant; her sister Agnes and others joined her; they lived a si...

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/10/25 Gospel: Luke 12:32-48

Saturday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, 1891-1942; brilliant philosopher from a Jewish family, she stopped believing in God at age 14; but the autobiography of St. Teresa so captivated Edith Stein that it led her to baptism in 1922; twelve years later, she became a Carmelite nun, taking the name, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross; she spent fo...

Friday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Dominic, 1170-1221; commissioned to be part of the preaching crusade against the Albigensian heresy; he continued itinerant preaching for ten years; his followers formed a community, and Dominic founded a religious house at Toulouse, the beginning of the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/8/25 Gosp...

Thursday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II and companions; elected to the papacy in 257; forbidden by the Romans to hold services, he and his  deacons  continued to worship in the  chapel in the cemetary; one day in 258, as the pope preached, soldiers broke into the chapel and beheaded Sixtus; four of his eight attendants were also beheaded; t...

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord Wednesday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/6/25 Gospel: Luke 9:28-36

Tuesday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the Dedication of St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome; first raised by Pope Liberius in the mid-4th Century, completed in 1743; it has survived many restorations without losing its character as an early Roman basilica; the feast day is also known as "Our Lady of the Snows"--a wealthy couple pledged their fortune to the Mother of God, and a...

Monday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, 1786-1859; ordained a priest because of his goodness, even though he had difficulty with his studies, especially Latin; became the Curé of Ars in 1818, and spent most of his mission in the confessional; toward the end of his life, he spent sixteen to eighteen hours per day administering the Sacram...

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/3/25 Gospel: Luke 12:13-21

Saturday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Eusebius of Vercelli, 300-371; refused to consent to the Arian condemnation of St. Athanasius; the emperor exiled him to Palestine, and then to Asia Minor and Egypt; a new emperor allowed him to return to Vercelli, where he was the bishop; died peacefully in his own diocese at what was then considered to be an advanced age Office...

Friday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, 1696-1787; founded the Redemptorists in 1732, dedicated to the imitation of Christ, and working mainly in popular missions for peasants in rural areas; he became a bishop at 66, and immediately began a reform of his diocese; at 71, he was afflicted with rheumatic pains; he suffered a final 18 months of “dark night&rd...

Thursday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, 1491-1556; severely injured his leg in a war injury, and while convalescing read a life of Christ and lives of the saints, and was deeply touched; he began a conversion, during which he began writing the material which later became "The Spiritual Exercises"; in 1534 Ignatius and six others vowed to live in poverty and c...

Wednesday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, 380-450; born in Imola, Italy; baptized, educated, and ordained a deacon by Cornelius, bishop of Imola; called "Chrysologus," or "golden worded," because of his eloquence in speaking; became bishop of Ravenna in 433; got rid of the last vestiges of paganism among his flock; counseled the heretic Eutyches, to av...

Tuesday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus; close friends of Jesus; he visited as a welcomed guest Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/29/25 Gospel: John 11:19-27

Monday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception, 1910-1946; Franciscan religious sister; first canonized saint from India, and the first canonized saint of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an eastern Catholic Church of the St. Thomas Christian Community Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/28/25 Gospel: Matthew 13:31-35

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/27/25 Gospel: Luke 11:1-13

Saturday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary; their names from a legend which stems from a century after the Resurrection, but they represent and entire quiet series of generations who were preparing for the Messiah Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/26/25 Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30

Feast of St. James, apostle--brother of St. John Friday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/25/25 Gospel: Matthew 20:20-28

Thursday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Sharbel Makhlouf, 1828-1898; at age 23, he joined the Monastery of St. Maron at Annaya, Lebanon; he professed final vows in 1853, and was ordained six years later; he lived as a hermit from 1875 until his death; he followed a strict fast and was very devoted to the Blessed Sacrament; when his superiors occasionally asked him to ad...

Wednesday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Bridget of Sweden, 1303-1373; she had visions of Christ crucified from the age of 7; she lived her married life in the court of Swedish King Magnus II, and bore him eight children; after her husband's death, she lived the life of a strict penitent; in 1350, she made a pilgrimage to Rome, during which she was hounded by debts and...

Feast of St. Mary Magdalene; one of the many who assisted Jesus and the Twelve out of their means; she was one of those who stood by the cross with Jesus' mother; and she was the first to see the Risen Christ; died about 63 A.D. Tuesday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/22/25 Gospel: John 20:1-2, 11-18

Monday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, 1559-1619; entered the Capuchins at Venice at age 16; with his facility for languages, he was able to study the Bible in original texts; elected major superior of the Capuchin province in Tuscany at age 31; elected minister general of the Capuchins in 1602; as a papal emissary, he went to Lisbon to visit the ki...

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/20/25 Gospel: Luke 10:38-42