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Saturday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Ingrid of Sweden; born in the 13th Century, and lived under the spiritual direction of Peter of Dacia, a Dominican priest; she was the first Dominican nun in Sweden; in 1281, she founded the first Dominican cloister there, St. Martin's;  she died in 1282, surrounded by an aura of sanctity Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/2...

Friday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Giles, 650-710; Athenian of noble birth; left his home and sailed for France, first taking up his abode in a wilderness near the mouth of the Rhone river, afterward near the river Gard, and, finally, in the  diocese of Nimes; he spent many years conversing only with God; he was esteemed by the French king; he admitted several disciples...

Thursday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Aidan of Lindisfarne; Seventh Century bishop of Lindisfarne, who was known throughout the kingdom for his knowledge of the Bible, his learning, his eloquent preaching, his holiness, his distaste for pomp, his kindness to the poor, and the miracles attributed to him; died 651 A.D. at Bamburgh Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for...

Wednesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Jeanne Jugan, 1792-1879; after years of serving the sick and elderly, she and her companions formed an association, the Little Sisters of the Poor; by 1853 the association numbered 500 and had houses as far away as England Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/30/23 Gospel: Matthew 23:27-32

Tuesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist; John was sent to prepare the way for the Messiah; in the end, a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance, and a hateful queen brought about his martyrdom Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/29/23 Gospel: Mark 6:17-29

Monday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430; sinner-turned-saint; having been so immersed in the creature comfort of his day, it's not surprising that he turned against the evil of his time so fiercely; he fulfilled the role of prophet; like Jeremiah, he was hard-pressed, but could not keep quiet Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/28/23 Gospel: Mat...

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/27/23 Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20

Saturday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Jeanne-Elisabeth Bichier des Ages, 1773-1838; foundress of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross, a disciple  of  St. Andrew Fournet; of noble birth, but dedicated her life to serving others; her congregation was designed for teaching and hospital service Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/26/23 Gospel: Matthew 23:1...

Friday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Louis of France, 1214-1270; was devoted to his people, founding hospitals, visiting the sick, and caring even for people with leprosy; every day he had 13 special guests from among the poor to dine with him; led a crusade to North Africa in 1270, where the army was decimated by disease, including King Louis, who died Office of Readi...

Feast of St. Bartholomew, apostle; Jesus told him that he was a true Israelite, without "guile" or "duplicity"; mentioned only in the lists of apostles in the New Testament Thursday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/24/23 Gospel: John 1:45-51

Wednesday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, 1586-1617; first canonized saint of the New World; born to parents of Spanish descent in Lima, Peru; her parents refused to let her enter a convent, so she continued her life of penance and solitude at home as a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic; in the last few years of her life, she cared for homeless chi...

Tuesday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary; established by Pope Pius XII in 1954, but with roots in scripture; at the Annunciation, Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would receive the throne of David and rule forever; at the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary “mother of my Lord”; Her queenship is a share in Jesus’ kingship Office of Readings and Mo...

Monday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Pope St. Pius X, 1835-1914; born of a poor Italian family; one of the Twentieth Century's greatest popes; ended the supposed right of governments to interfere with papal elections; denounced the ill treatment of indigenous peoples on the plantations of Peru; foresaw World War I, which began just before his death; best remembered for his encourag...

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/20/23 Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28

Friday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Helena; mother of Emperor Constantine the Great; Helena's husband divorced her, but Constantine remained faithful to his mother; when he became emperor, he returned her to the inner circle, and tasked her with locating relics of Christian tradition; she is credited with finding the True Cross; Helena died 330 A.D. Office of Readings an...

Thursday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Clare of Montefalco, 1268-1308; born in Montefalco, Italy; joined a convent of Franciscan tertiaries where her sister Joan was the abbess; when Joan died, Clare succeeded her; Clare was devoted to the Passion of Christ and His cross; when she died, an image of the Cross was found imprinted on her heart, and her body remained incorrup...

Wednesday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary, 975-1038; born a pagan, baptized at 10; when he became chief of the Magyars, he adopted a policy of Christianization for both political and religious reasons; he established a system of tithes to support churches and pastors and to relieve the poor; he abolished pagan customs, and was easily accessible to all,...

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven; declared a dogma by Pope Pius XII in 1950 Tuesday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/15/23 Gospel: Luke 11:27-28

Monday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, 1894-1941; Franciscan priest from a portion of Poland which is now part of Ukraine; founded the Militia of the Immaculata, and the magazine, "Knight of the Immaculata"; arrested by Nazis in 1939, and then released; arrested again in 1941, and was sent to a starvation bunker; a prisoner had escaped, and ten men were to...

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/13/23 Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33

Saturday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, 1572-1641; after being widowed, she fell into depression at her family home; at the age of 32, she met St. Francis de Sales, who became her spiritual director; with him, she helped to found an order which would exemplify the virtues of Mary at the Visition--hence, their name, the Visitation Nuns; Jane Fran...

Friday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Clare of Assisi, 1194-1253; moved by the preaching of St. Francis, who placed her in a convent; sixteen days later, her sister Agnes joined her, and others followed; they lived a simple life of great poverty, austerity, and complete seclusion from the world; Clare came from prayer, it was said, with her face so shining it dazzled those about...

Feast of St. Lawrence, 225-258; Roman deacon under Pope St. Sixtus II, martyred just days before Lawrence; when the Roman prefect demanded that Lawrence present him with "the treasures of the Church," Lawrence assembled a group of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned, and widowed persons, and said, "These are the treasures of the Church"; Lawrence was martyred on a gridiron over hot coals, and w...

Wednesday 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 she was so captivated by the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, that she was eventually baptized, and later became a Carmelite; she lived for four years in the Cologne Carmel, and then moved to the...

Tuesday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Dominic, 1170-1221; born in Old Castile, Spain, and was prepared for priesthood by a priest-uncle; on a journey through France with his bishop, he came face-to-face with the Albigensian heresy, which held that all matter was evil, thus denying the Incarnation and the sacraments; Dominic led a preaching crusade against Albigensianism; he and...