Daybreak

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Paschal Baylon, 1540-1592; became a Franciscan lay brother in 1564, and spent most of his life as a humble doorkeeper; had a deep love for the Blessed Sacrament; defended the doctrine of the Real Presence against a Calvinist preacher in France Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/17/22 Gospel: John 14:27-31

Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Simon Stock; brought Carmelites from the Holy Land to Europe, and founded Carmelite communities in such cities as Cambridge, Oxford, Paris, and Bologna; elected Superior-General of the order in 1254; received an apparition of the Blessed Virgin in 1251, in which she gave him the brown scapular Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/16/2...

Fifth Sunday of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/15/22 Gospel: John 13:31-35

Feast of St. Matthias, apostle; chosen, by lot, to replace Judas Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/14/22 Gospel: John 15:9-17

Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/13/22 Gospel: John 14:1-6

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of Saints Nereus and Achilleus, First Century martyrs; Pope St. Damasus wrote that they were soldiers in the Roman army who were converted by a "miracle of faith"; they threw down their weapons and escaped their camp; they were later martyred Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/12/22 Gospel: John 13:16-20

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Ignatius of Laconi, 1701-1781; vowed to become a Capuchin if he recovered from an illness, but failed to keep his promise; later had a riding accident, made the same promise, and kept it; known for self-denial and charity, he served as the official beggar for 40 years Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/11/22 Gospel: John 12:44-5...

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Damien de Veuster of Molokai, 1840-1889; born in Belgium, he arrived in Hawaii in 1864; went to the leper colony on Molokai in 1873, and volunteered to remain permanently, caring for the people's physical, medical and spiritual needs; contracted Hansen's disease (formerly known as leprosy) himself, and died of its complications Office o...

Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: st. Pachomius, 292-348; soldier turned monk; built a monastery on the banks of the Nile, and was quickly joined by a hundred followers; built more monasteries and nunneries, and by the time of his death, there were 7,000 monks in his houses Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/9/22 Gospel: John 10:1-10

Fourth Sunday of Easter - Good Shepherd Sunday Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/8/22 Gospel: John 10:27-30

Friday of the Third Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Petronax, 670-747; joined the Benedictines in 717, and was asked by Pope Gregory to examine the ruins of Monte Cassino, which had been damaged by the Lombards in 580; rebuilt, and he served as abbot for three decades Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/6/22 Gospel: John 6:52-59

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Hilary of Arles, 401-449; became bishop of Arles, France, at the age of 29; did manual labor to earn money for the poor, sold sacred vessels to ransom captives, and became a great orator; he traveled everywhere on foot, wearing simple clothing Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/5/22 Gospel: John 6:44-51

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Robert Lawrence; one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales; Carthusian at the time when King Henry VIII broke with Rome and dissolved monasteries; went with St. John Houghton to see Thomas Cromwell, who had them arrested; upon refusing to sign the Oath of Supremacy, they were tortured and killed, in 1535 Office of Readings and Morning...

Feast of Saints Philip and James, apostles Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/3/22 Gospel: John 14:6-14

Monday of the Third Week of Easter Memorial of St. Athanasius, 296-373; the great champion of the faith against the widespread heresy of Arianism, which taught that Jesus was not truly divine; the vigor of his writings earned him the title of doctor of the Church Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/2/22 Gospel: John 6:22-29

Third Sunday of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/1/22 Gospel: John 21:1-19

Saturday of the Second Week of Easter Optional Memorial of Pope St. Pius V, 1504-1572; tasked with implementing the reforms of the Council of Trent; built hospitals, provided food for the hungry, gave money to poor Roman converts, ordered the founding of seminaries, published a new missal, breaviary, and catechism, and established Confraternity of Christian Doctrine classes for the young Office of...

Friday of the Second Week of Easter Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, 1347-1380; virgin and doctor of the Church; entered the Dominican Third Order at age 18; worked for the crusade against the Turks and for peace between Florence and the pope; worked for the unity of the Church during the Great Schism Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/29/22 Gospel: John 6:1-15

Thursday of the Second Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Peter Chanel, 1803-1841; born in France, with a desire to be a missionary; joined the Marists at age 28, and was sent to Futuna Island, northeast of Fiji; mastered the language, but had little apparent success aside from a few natives who were baptized; when the chieftain's son asked to be baptized, Fr. Chanel was clubbed to death; but...

Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Zita, 1212-1272; became a servant at the age of twelve; known for giving away food and clothing to the poor, and for miracles; one tradition holds that the other servants once found an angel taking Zita's place in baking and cleaning; patroness of servants Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/27/22 Gospel: John 3:16-21

Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Cletus; third bishop of Rome, serving from 76 to 89 A.D., and succeeding St. Linus; known as a martyr; buried near St. Linus, on the Vatican Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/26/22 Gospel: John 3:7-15

Feast of St. Mark; author of the oldest and shortest of the four Gospels; known as a companion of both St. Peter and St. Paul; said to be the first bishop of Alexandria, Egypt; died 68 A.D.

Second Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/24/22 Gospel: John 20:19-31

Saturday in the Octave of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Adalbert of Prague, 956-997; chosen bishop of Prague at the age of 27; exiled by those resisting his clerical reforms; returned to Prague, but was exiled again; preached near the Baltic Sea, where he was martyred by pagan priests Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/23/22 Gospel: Mark 16:9-15

Friday in the Octave of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Abdiesus; Fourth Century Persian deacon, victim of the persecutions of King Shapur II; accompanied in his martyrdom by seven other men and one woman; died 342 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/22/22 Gospel: John 21:1-14