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29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/22/23 Gospel: Matthew 22:15-21

Saturday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Hilarion, 291-371; disciple of St. Anthony, and companion of St. Hesychius; performed so many miracles that crowds flocked to him when it was discovered he was in any region; died on Cyprus Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/21/23 Gospel: Luke 12:8-12

Friday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Paul of the Cross, 1694-1775; born in northern Italy, and became known as one of the most popular preachers of his day, both for his words and for his generous acts of mercy; in 1720, he founded the Congregation of the Passion--the Passionists--and he was elected superior general Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/20/23 Go...

Thursday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Isaac Jogue and Jean de Brébeuf and companions, the North American martyrs; Isaac Jogues and Jean de Brébeuf arrived in Quebed in 1636 to work among the Huron Indians; Jogues was captured by the Iroquois and escaped, but returned; in 1646 he was tomahawked and beheaded by a Mohawk war party; Jean de Brébeuf worked among the Hurons for 2...

Feast of St. Luke; traditionally held to be a native of Antioch; wrote the Third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles; accompanied Paul on some of his journeys; Paul calls him "our beloved physician"; died about 84 A.D. Wednesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/18/23 Gospel: Luke 10:1-9

Tuesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch; born in Syria, converted to Christianity, and became bishop of Antioch; refused to apostasize under persecution of Emperor Trajan, and was sentenced to death in Rome; wrote seven letters during his journey to Rome, the final one to the Christians of Rome asking that they not try to prevent his martyrdom; died in Circus...

Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, 1647-1690; joined the Visitation nuns at age 24; in 1674, she received the first revelation from Christ; Christ appeared to her at intervals for the next 13, months, asking that his love for humankind be made evident through her; His human heart was to be the symbol of his divine-human love; Margaret Mary die...

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/15/23 Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14

Saturday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. Callistus I; born in the Second Century; under Pope Zephyrinus, he administered church property and arranged for burial of martyrs in what is still called "St. Callistus Cemetery"; he became the 16th pope in 217; he regulated the sacrament of penance and battled heresies; he was thrown into prison and tortured, eventually bei...

Friday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Theophilus of Antioch; Second Century Eastern Roman Empire philosopher who studied the scriptures intending to refute Christianity, but ended up converting; he became bishop of Antioch, in modern-day Turkey, and was a gifted apologist; died 181 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/13/23 Gospel: Luke 11:15-26

Thursday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Edwin of Northumbria, 586-633; pagan king of Northumbria, who converted on the urging of his wife, St. Ethelburga, her chaplain, St. Paulinus of York, and Pope Boniface V; reigned for six years as a devout Catholic monarch; slain in battle, and revered as a martyr Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/12/23 Gospel: Luke 11:5-1...

Wednesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, 1881-1963; first born son of an Italian farming family; ordained in 1904; served as a stretcher-bearer in World War I; became a papal diplomat in 1925; named a cardinal and appointed patriarch of Venice in 1953; elected pope just a month shy of the age of 78; called the Second Vatican Council; most famous encycli...

Tuesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Francis Borgia, 1510-1572; Spanish nobleman; upon being widowed, he gave up his dukedom and became a Jesuit priest; performed menial tasks for his community, but never complained; he preached everywhere, and advised many important people; as superior general, he was responsible for a great expansion of the Society of Jesus Office of R...

Monday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Denis and companions, martyrs; sent to Gaul from Rome, and was beheaded in the persecution of Emperor Valerius in 258; Denis is regarded as the first bishop of Paris; one legend has him carrying his own head--after his martyrdom--to a village northeast of Paris; he is the patron saint of France Office of Readings and Morning Prayer...

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/8/23 Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43

Saturday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary - originally, "Our Lady of Victory," celebrating the Christian defeat of the Turks at Lepanto in 1571 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/7/23 Gospel: Luke 10:17-24

Friday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Blessed Marie Rose Durocher, 1811-1849; born in St. Antoine, Quebec, Canada; established the first Canadian  parish   Sodality for young women; founded the Sisters of the Holy Names of  Jesus and Mary, dedicated to Christian education; the community flourished, in spite of great obstacles; Marie Rose remained unswerving in her concern f...

Thursday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, 1819-1867; born in Germany, joined the Redemptorists, and came to America; served in Pittsburgh with St. John Neumann, then returned to Baltimore, later being transferred to Cumberland and then Annapolis; he was an expert confessor, a watchful and prudent spiritual director and a  pastor always joyfully...

Wednesday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, 1181-1226; following an illness, prayer led Francis to a self-emptying like that of Christ, climaxed by embracing a leper he met on the road; he gave up all of his possessions; he had no intention of founding an order, but once it began, he protected it and accepted all legal structures needed to support it; during his...

Tuesday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Mother Theodore Guerin, 1798-1856; foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana; a visionary, a model of virtue, and a source of inspiration and hope; canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006; patron of the Roman Catholic diocese of Lafayette, in Indiana Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/3/23 Gos...

Monday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of the Guardian Angels; celestial beings assigned to represent us before God, watch over us always, aid our prayer, and present our souls to God at death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/2/23 Gospel: Matthew 18:1-5, 10

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/1/23 Gospel: Matthew 21:28-32

Saturday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Jerome, 345-420; eminent scripture scholar; responsible for the translation of the Bible which came to be known as the Vulgate; a mystic, he traveled extensively in Palestine, marking each spot of Christ's life with devotion; he settled in Bethlehem, living in the cave believed to be the birthplace of Christ; Jerome died in Bethlehem Offic...

Feast of the Archangels, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael Friday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/29/23 Gospel: John 1:47-51

Thursday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Wenceslaus, 907-929; raised as a Christian by his aunt, to become the ruler of Bohemia; his rule was marked by efforts toward unification within Bohemia, support of the Church, and peace-making negotiations with Germany; in a plot against him, his brother Boleslav invited him to the celebration of Saints Cosmas and Damian, and mur...