Daybreak

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 315-386; as bishop of Jerusalem, he spent about half of his episcopate in exile, following a dispute with the nearby Arian bishop; vindicated, the Council of Constantinople called him a champion of orthodoxy against the Arians Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/18/23 Gospel: Luke 18:9-14

Friday of the Third Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Patrick, 415-493; captured by Irish raiders and sold into slavery; after his escape, he spent years at Auxerre, France, and was consecrated bishop at age 43; dreamed of bringing the faith to the Irish, and he was sent to carry out the task; ordained many priests, divided the country into dioceses, held Church councils, founded several monasteri...

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Finian Lobhar; Sixth Century Irish abbot and disciple of St. Columba; founded a church and monastery at Innisfallen; later became abbot of Swords Abbey near Dublin; acquired the name Lobhar--"the leper"--when he contracted leprosy from a young boy whom he had cured of the disease; died 560 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/16/...

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Louise de Marillac, 1591-1660; wanted to become a nun, but married Antony Legras, an official in the Queen's service; after his death, St. Vincent de Paul became her spiritual adviser; she helped to found the Sister of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul; traveled all over France, establishing her sisters in hospitals, orphanages, and other inst...

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Mathilda, 895-968; daughter of a Saxon count, married to Henry "the fowler," who became King of Germany in 919; Queen Mathilda visited and comforted the sick and afflicted, instructed the ignorant, succored prisoners, and worked to convert sinners; when King Henry died, she renounced all worldly pomp; of her three sons, Otho became Emperor an...

Monday of the Third Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Agnellus of Pisa, 1135-1236; received by St. Francis himself into his order; sent to Paris, then to England to start the Franciscan English Province; worked with King Henry III to avert a civil war, but contracted a serious illness in the process, and died in Oxford Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/13/23 Gospel: Luke 4:24-30

Third Sunday of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/12/23 Gospel: John 4:5-42

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Eulogius of Cordoba; priest and noted scripture scholar of Cordoba, Spain; arrested in 850, and wrote "Exhortation to Martyrdom" for two young virgin martyrs; released, and named archbishop of Cordoba or Toledo; aided Leocritia, a young Moorish woman who had converted to Christianity; both were caught and beheaded in 859 A.D. Office of Read...

Friday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. John Ogilvie, 1579-1615; Scottish noble, a convert from Calvinism, who became a Jesuit; brought many in Scotland back to the faith, but was betrayed; he was tortured and convicted of high treason for converting Protestants to the Catholic faith, denying the king's spiritual jurisdiction, and condemning the oaths of supremacy and allegiance; h...

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Frances of Rome, 1384-1440; born of wealthy parents, married, and joined with an in-law to serve the poor; after losing two children, Frances opened a section of her house as a hospital and founded a society of women bound by no vows, to serve the poorest of the poor; after the death of her husband, Frances lived the remainder of her life wi...

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent Commemoration of St. John of God, 1495-1550; abandoned the faith until age 40, then went to Africa hoping to free captive Christians; returned to Spain, and ran a religious goods store; moved by a sermon of St. John of Avila, he publicly beat himself, begging mercy and repenting--for which he was committed to a mental hospital; St. John of Avila advised him to...

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent Commemoration of Saints Perpetua and Felicity; Perpetua was a noblewoman of Carthage in North Africa, and Felicity--an expectant mother--was her slave; despite threats of persecution and death they and three companions refused to renounce their Christian faith; Perpetual and Felicity were beheaded, the others killed by beasts, in 203 A.D. Office of Readings and M...

Monday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: st. Colette, 1380-1447; became a Franciscan tertiary and lived at Corby Abbey in Picardy, France, as a solitary; but she left her cell in response to a dream which instructed her to reform the Poor Clares; she founded seventeen convents with the reformed rule, and reformed several older ones; known for sanctity, ecstasies', and visions of the Pas...

Second Sunday of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/5/23 Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9

Saturday of the First Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Casimir, 1458-1483; born in the line of kings, but lived an austere life even as a teen; his father, the king of Poland, sent him to take over Hungary, but Casimir's army was outnumbered, and he returned home, and returned to prayer and study; reigned briefly as king of Poland during his father's absence; died of lung trouble at 25 Office of...

Friday of the First Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Katharine Drexel, 1858-1955; gave up her wealth and place in society to minister to Native and African-Americans; opened a boarding school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, followed by a string of foundations; by 1942, she had a system of black Catholic schools in 13 states, plus 40 mission centers, and 23 rural schools; forced to retire following a hea...

Thursday of the First Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Agnes of Bohemia, 1211-1282; engaged twice as a child, but petitioned Pope Gregory IX to intercede for her; built a convent for the Friars Minor in Prague, where she took the veil; became abbess and was known for her humility, aid to the poor, and dedication to poverty Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/2/23 Gospel: Matthew 7:7-12

Wednesday of the First Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. David of Wales, 500-589; became a priest and engaged in missionary work, and founded many monasteries; in 550, he attended a synod where he was elected primate of the region; ruled to an old age, and told his monks and subjects, "Be joyful, brothers and sisters. Keep your faith, and do the little things that you have seen and heard with me....

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Oswald, 925-992; a Dane by birth, he studied in Fleury, France, where he was ordained; became Bishop of worcester in 962, and Archbishop of York in 972; worked to improve the morals of his clergy and increase their theological knowledge; revered as one of the three--along with Saints Dunstand and Ethelwold--who revived English monasticism Off...

Monday of the First Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Anne Line; English martyr; disowned by her father when she married a Catholic; hid Catholic priests in a London safe house; aided Jesuit Father John Gerard until her arrest; hanged in Tyburn, February 27, 1601; one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/27/23 Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46

First Sunday of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/26/23 Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11

Saturday After Ash Wednesday Saint of the Day: St. Walburga, 710-779; sister of St. Willibald and Winebald; became a nun, and assisted St. Boniface in his missionary work in Germany; eventually became abbess of the double monastery at Heidenheim, founder by her brother Winebald Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/25/23 Gospel: Luke 5:27-32

Friday After Ash Wednesday Saint of the Day: St. Adela, 1067-1137; youngest daughter of William the Conqueror; married Stephen of Blois in 1080; active in English politics, and famed for endowing churches and monastic institutions Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/24/23 Gospel: Matthew 9:14-15

Thursday After Ash Wednesday Commemoration of St. Polycarp, 69-155; bishop of Smyrna, disciple of St. John the Apostle, and friend of St. Ignatius of Antioch; at age 86, he was to be burned alive, but the flames did not harm him, so he was killed with a dagger Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/23/23 Gospel: Luke 9:22-25

Ash Wednesday: The beginning of Lent, a period of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, in preparation for Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/22/23 Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18