Daybreak

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, 1380-1444; the greatest preacher of his time; at age 20, when the plague hit, he volunteered to run the hospital in Siena; at 22, he entered the Franciscan order, and was ordained two years later; he lived in solitude and prayer for almost a dozen years, but was ultimately called to preach; he strongly emphasized...

Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Maria Bernarda Butler, 1848-1924; Swiss saint who founded the Congregation of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary, Help of Christians and was a missionary in Ecuador; eventually, her congregation had houses in Colombia, Austria, and Brazil Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/19/26 Gospel: John 17:1-11a

Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter Optional Memorial of Pope St. John I, 470-526; elected to the papacy in 523; Theodoric the Great to travel to the Byzantine Empire, led by Justin I; the pope obliged, but neither Justin nor the pope changed their views of the heresy of Arianism; when Pope St. John I returned, he was arrested for conspiracy and died a martyr in prison from poor treatment and neg...

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/17/26 Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20

Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Isidore the Farmer, 1070-1130; spent most of his life working in the fields of a farm outside of Madrid; he was favored with celestial  visions and, it is said, the angels sometimes helped him in his work in the fields; he is the patron of farmers, and in 1947, he was declared the patron of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference...

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (for some areas)--commemorating Jesus' return to His Father in heaven Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/14/26 Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima; in 1917, Our Lady appeared to three children in Fatima, Portugal, promising that Heaven would grant peace to all the world if Her requests for prayer, reparation and consecration were heard and obeyed Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/13/26 Gospel: John 16:12-15

Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of Saints Nereus and Achilleus; First Century soldiers in the Roman army where they helped carry out the persecution of Christians; they were converted by a "miracle of faith," after which they threw down their weapons and escaped from their camp, to begin their new life in Christ; they were eventually martyred Office of Readings and Morning Pr...

Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Odilo of Cluny, 962-1049; entered the Benedictine monastery of Cluny about 990 and received  election  as  abbot in 994; he was beloved and respected throughout  Europe for his deep austerities and his concem for the poor; he was devoted to the Blessed Virgin  Mary and to the Incarnation; he died while touring his mo...

Sixth Sunday of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/10/26 Gospel: John 14:15-21

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Beatus of Lungern; a monk and hermit of the First and Second Centuries, earlier designated the apostle of Switzerland; he was baptized in England by St. Barnabas and ordained by St. Peter; Beatus went to Switzerland; he died in 112 A.D. on Mount Beatenburg above Lake Thun; the cave became a popular pilgrim's destination, the famed site of...

Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Maria Magdalen of Canossa, 1774-1835; foundress of the Daughters of Charity at Verona, Italy; she was the daughter of the Marquis of Canossa, who died when Maria Magdalen was three; her mother abandoned the family, and Maria Magdalen managed her father’s estate until she was thirty-three, then founding her institute; when she died in 1...

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. John of Beverly; born at Harpham, Yorkshire, England in the Seventh Century; studied under Adrian, and on his return to his native land, became a monk at Whitby; he was named  bishop  of Hexham in 687 and then transferred to York as  metropolitan in 705; he was known for his holiness, his preference for the contemplative lif...

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Petronax, 670-747; regarded as the "second founder of Monte Cassino"; born in Brescia, Italy, and joined the Benedictines; Pope St. Gregory asked him to go to Monte Cassino to examine the ruins of the abbey which had been damaged by the Lombards; Petronax gatthered the hermits of the old abbey, and began rebuilding; he was elected abbot a...

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Maximus of Jerusalem; succeeded St. Macanus as bishop of Jerusalem around 335; he was crippled by tortures received during the persecutions of his day; originally opposed St. Athanasius, but repented and became a strong enemy of the Arians; Maximus died in 350 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/5/26 Gospel: John 14:27-31a

Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Conleth, 450-519; he became a hermit living along Ireland’s Liffey River, at Old Connell; the renowned Irish abbess  Saint Brigid, upon meeting Conleth, was so impressed by him that she subsequently persuaded him to become the governing  bishop of her double monastery at Kildare; he was a gifted copyist and illuminator of man...

Fifth Sunday of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/3/26 Gospel: John 14:1-12

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter Memorial of St. Athanasius; Fourth Century bishop of Alexandria; became a theological advisor at the Council of Nicea when he was still in his late twenties; he opposed Arianism and defended the divinity of the Son of Man; he wrote many works on the Incarnation and the Trinity as well as  The Life of Anthony , which helped define and foster both monastic...

Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/1/26 Gospel: John 14:1-6

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of Pope St. Pius V, 1504-1572; born in Italy, and joined the Dominicans at the age of 14; he held various offices in the Inquisition and at age 62 was elected to the papal chair; he implemented the reforms of the Council of Trent, reinforced treasured traditions such as reciting the Daily Office, and standardized the Mass by issuing a new mis...

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, 1347-1380; born to a wealthy Italian family; she joined a Dominican lay order; at 21, she began preaching; as her influence grew, she devoted much time to peace keeping among the Christian states; her efforts were instrumental in persuading Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome from Avignon as well as in supporting Pope Urban V...

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Peter Chanel, 1803-1841; a Frenchman in the Society of Marists, Peter took the gospel to the Canary Islands, French Polynesia, Tahiti, and Tonga; at his main post, Furtuna, a Polynesian island, Chanel converted the son of the island’s native king who later had the Christian priest killed for fear of the Gospel; two years later, th...

Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Theodore of Tabenna, 314-368; born in the Upper Thebaid, Egypt; he studied under the famed  St. Pachomius  at Tabenna, succeeding him as  abbot about 347; he was noted for his careful maintaining of order in the community and for his miracles Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/27/26 Gospel: John 10:11-18

Fourth Sunday of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/26/26 Gospel: John 10:1-10

Feast of St. Mark Saturday of the Third Week of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/25/26 Gospel: Mark 16:15-20