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Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Christopher Magallanes, 1869-1927, and companions; Fr. Magallanes was killed without trial on the way to say Mass during the Cristero War in Mexico, after the trumped up charge of inciting rebellion Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/21/24 Gospel: Mark 9:30-37

Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/20/24 Gospel: John 19:25-34

Solemnity of Pentecost Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/19/24 Gospel: John 20:19-23

Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter Optional Memorial of Pope St. John I, 470-526; when elected, he "inherited" the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ; Italy's emperor subscribed to the heresy, but was tolerant of Catholics; when the eastern emperor began imposing severe sanctions on Arians, John was sent to try to negotiate softer measures; on returning, John was imprisoned, as...

Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Paschal Baylon, 1540-1592; worked as a shepherd for his father, performed miracles, and was distinguished for his austerity, and taught himself to read; became a Franciscan lay brother in 1564; he practiced rigorous  asceticism and displayed a deep love for the Blessed Sacrament, so much so that while on a mission to France, he defended th...

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Simon Stock; as a young man, he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land where he joined a group of Carmelites with whom he later returned to Europe; he founded many Carmelite communities, especially in university towns, such as Cambridge, Oxford, Paris, and Bologna; he was elected superior-general of the order in 1254; earlier, in 1251, re...

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Isidore the Farmer, 1070-1130; worked on the estate of a wealthy landowner near Madrid; he rose early in the morning to go to church and spent many a holiday devoutly visiting the churches of Madrid and surrounding areas; communed with God while walking behind the plow; known for his love of the poor, and his concern for proper treat...

Feast of St. Matthias, apostle Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/14/24 Gospel: John 15:9-17

Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima; in 1917, three Portuguese children received visions of Our Lady, who asked them to pray the rosary for world peace, for the end of World War I, for sinners, and for the conversion of Russia; this feast day was approved by the local bishop in 1930, and was added to the Church's universal calendar in 2002 Office of Reading...

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Ascension Sunday) Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/12/24 Gospel: Mark 16:15-20

Friday of the Sixth Week of East Optional Memorial of St. Damien de Veuster of Molokai, 1840-1889; went to the Hawaiian Islands in 1864 as a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; in 1873, he went to the leper colony on the island of Molokai, and volunteered to remain indefinitely; soon the settlement had new houses and a new church, school and orphanage, and morale imp...

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (Traditional) Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/9/24 Gospel: Mark 16:15-20

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Peter of Tarantaise, 1102-1175; entered the Cistercian order at twenty, and became the first abbot of Tamie, in the Tarantase mountains, at 30; named archbishop of Tarantaise at 42, and devoted much energy to reforming the diocese, purging the clergy of corrupt and immoral members, aiding the poor, and promoting education; he defended pap...

Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. John of Beverly; became a monk of Whitby, and then was named bishop of Hexham in 687, and metropolitan of York in 705; known for his holiness, his preference for the contemplative life, and his miracles; resigned in 717, and returned to Beverly Abbey, which he had founded, and died there in 721 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/7/...

Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Petronax, 670-747; joined the Benedictines, and in 717 was asked by Pope St. Gregory to inspect the ruins of Monte Cassino, damaged by the Lombards in 580; Petronax gathered the hermits, and began rebuilding; he was elected abbot, and ruled Monte Cassino for three decades Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/6/24 Gospel: John 15:26-16...

Sixth Sunday of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/5/24 Gospel: John 15:9-17

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Florian; office in the Roman army in the days of Diocletian; surrendered himself as a Christian, and was scourged twice, half-flayed alive, set on fire, and finally thrown into the river Enns with a stone around his neck; his body was recovered and moved to the Augustinian Abbey of St. Florian, near Linz; it was later transferred to Rome;...

Feast of Saints Philip and James, apostles Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/3/24 Gospel: John 14:6-14

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter Memorial of St. Athanasius, 296-373; as bishop of Alexandria, he fought the heresy of Arianism; five times he was sent into exile, but experienced about ten years of relative peace; his dogmatic and historical writings are almost all polemic, directed against every aspect of Arianism Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/2/24 Gospel: John 15:9-11

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker; instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1955 to encourage greater devotion to St. Joseph, and as a response to the "May Day" communist celebrations Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/1/24 Gospel: John 15:1-8

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of Pope St. Pius V, 1504-1572; elected in 1566, and given the task of implementing the reforms called for by the Council of Trent; he ordered the founding of seminaries, published a new missal, new breviary, and new catechism; he built hospitals, and gave money to the poor; he continued to wear his Dominican habit, leading to the custom of the...

Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church, 1347-1380; joined the Dominican Third Order at 18, and soon had a group of followers; her letters began to take more and more note of public affairs; she worked for the crusade against the Turks, and for peace between Florence and the pope; the Great Schism began in 1378, and Catherine spent the...

Fifth Sunday of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/28/24 Gospel: John 15:1-8

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Zita, 1212-1272; born at Monte Sagrati, Italy; from the age of 13, worked as a servant; she was disliked by the other household staff because of her hard work and goodness, and her habit of giving food and clothing to the poor; they eventually were convinced one day when they found an angel filling in for Zita, doing baking and cleaning;...

Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Cletus; the third bishop of Rome, succeeding St. Linus; he was pope from 76 to 89 A.D.; he is styled as a martyr by the Canon of the Roman mass, St. Bede, and other martyrologists; he was buried at the Vatican, near St. Linus Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/26/24 Gospel: John 14:1-6