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Wednesday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Arsenius the Great, 354-450; served as tutor to the children of Emperor Theodosius I; became a monk in Alexandria, Egypt, studying with St. John the Dwarf; in 434, he went to the rock of Troe, then to Memphis, Egypt, and to the island of Canopus, near Alexandria; he died at Troe Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/19/23 Gosp...

Tuesday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, 1550-1614; overcame a life of gambling, and was moved the preaching of a Capuchin friar; tried twice to enter the Capuchins, but was unsuccessful, because of a sore on his leg; studied for priesthood, and was ordained at 34, and then started his own congregation which care for the sick; at his final illness, he...

Monday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time Saints of the Day: Carmelite Nuns of Compiegne; Discalced Carmelite nuns who were caught up in the French Revolution, and sentenced to death in 1794; they went to the guillotine singing the "Salve Regina" Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/17/23 Gospel: Matthew 10:34-11:1

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/16/23 Gospel: Matthew 13:1-23

Saturday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Bonaventure, 1221-1274; became a Franciscan at the age of 22; elected general minister of the Order, and structured the order through effective legislation, and an organized spirituality based on the vision and insights of Saint Francis; died while participating in the Second Council of Lyon Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/15/2...

Friday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, 1656-1680; daughter of a Christian Algonquin and a Mohawk chief; lost her parents to a smallpox epidemic which left her disfigured and half-blind; moved by the words of the "Blackrobes"--Jesuit missionaries--who stayed with her uncle, she converted at the age of 19; she grew in grace rapidly, but was always in danger; fled...

Thursday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Henry, 972-1024; German king and Holy Roman Emperor; helped Pope Benedict VIII to quell disturbances in Rome; sought a stable peace throughout Europe; fostered the reform of ecclesiastical and monastic life Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/13/23 Gospel: Matthew 10:7-15

Wednesday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Saints of the Day: Saints John Jones (2530-1598) and John Wall (1620-1679); two friars martyred in England in the 16th and 17th Centuries; John Jones was Welsh, and was twice imprisoned for administering the sacraments before he left England in 1590; joined the Franciscans and returned to England, where he ministered to Catholics until he was imprisoned,...

Tuesday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Benedict, 480-547; born in central Italy, and drawn to monasticism; lived in a cave as a hermit for three years; some followers chose him as their leader, but disliked his strictness; but he had the idea of gathering various families of monks to give them the benefit of unity, fraternity, and permanent worship in one house; he began buildin...

Monday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Anthony Pechersky, 983-1073; born in Ukraine; after spending time on Mount Athos in Greece, he founded a hermitage in Kiev, which became known as the "Caves of Kiev"; founded another monastery in Chernagov; one of the fathers of Ukrainian monasticism Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/10/23 Gospel: Matthew 9:18-26

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/9/23 Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30

Saturday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Jeanne-Marie Kerguin, 1864-1900; born to a poor peasant family in France; joined the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in 1887, and was sent to Paris, then to Carthage in Northern Africa; health problems forced her to go to Rome to recover; she then went to China, and was almost immediately hospitalized with typhus; during a crackdown...

Friday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Palladius; first bishop of Ireland, and immediate predecessor to St. Patrick; consecrated a bishop by Pope Celestine I, and sent to Ireland; his mission apparently had little impact on the people; he sailed to Scotland to preach to the Picts, but died shortly after arriving Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/7/23 Gospel: Matth...

Thursday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Maria Goretti, 1890-1902; daughter of a poor Italian tenant farmer; she was attacked by a neighbor, Alessandro, who stabbed her with a dagger; she died about 24 hours after the attack; while in prison, Alessandro had a dream of Maria gathering flowers, and offering them to him, and his life was changed; upon his release, he sought...

Wednesday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria, 1502-1539; gave up life as a doctor to become a religious; helped to found three religious congregations--one for men, one for women, and another for married couples--the Barnabites; he encouraged the collaboration of laity in the apostolate, frequent communion, Forty Hours devotion, and the ringing of chur...

Tuesday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Independence Day in the U.S. Optional Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal, 1271-1336; given in marriage to Denis, King of Portugal, at the age of 12; practiced piety and charity; became a peacemaker between royal family members; after being widowed, she retired to a monastery of Poor Clares Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/4/23 Gospel: Matthew...

Feast of St. Thomas, apostle; known, unfortunately, for his doubt, but also for his faith; believed to have evangelized and preached in India; died 72 A.D. Monday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/3/23 Gospel: John 20:24-29

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/2/23 Gospel: Matthew 10:37-42

Saturday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Junipero Serra, 1713-1784; born in Mallorca, Spain, joined the Franciscans, and became famous as a preacher; gave it up and followed his desire to convert the Native peoples of the New World; founded missions in San Diego, Monterey/Carmel, San Antonio/San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco and San Juan Capistrano, and San Bue...

Friday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome; in 64 A.D., nearly half of Rome was destroyed by fire, likely caused by Nero; Nero blamed the Christians; many Christians were put to death, likely including Peter and Paul Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/30/23 Gospel: Matthew 8:1-4

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul Thursday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/29/23 Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19

Wednesday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Irenaeus, 130-202; as bishop of Lyons, he was concerned with the Gnostics, a group of heretical sects claiming to have "secret knowledge" imparted by Jesus to only a few; the work of Irenaeus gradually ended the influence of the Gnostics; declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Francis in 2022 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/2...

Tuesday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria, 378-444; began his career as bishop of Alexandria with numerous harsh actions; but, he championed the cause of orthodoxy against the Nestorian heresy; Cyril was the pope's representative at the Council of Ephesus in 431, and proclaimed Mary the "God-bearer"; after that, he was deposed and imprisoned for three m...

Monday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, 1902-1975; born in Spain, became a priest to make himself available for whatever God desired; in 1928, while on a retreat, he discerned that he was to found Opus Dei, an institution within the  Catholic  Church dedicated to helping people in all walks of  life  to follow Christ, to seek  holiness  in thei...

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/25/23 Gospel: Matthew 10:26-33