Daybreak

Friday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila, 1515-1582; along with St. John of the Cross, a reformer of the Carmelite order; a woman of prayer, discipline, and compassion; her writings, especially “The Way of Perfection” and “The Interior Castle” have helped generations of believers Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/15/21 Gospel: Luke...

Thursday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. Callistus I; slave in an imperial Roman household who lost money he was to deposit; was eventually released, and was arrested for brawling in a Jewish synagogue; released, and became superintendent of the Christian cemetery in Rome, still known as the Cemetery of St. Callistus; became an advisor to the pope, and was eventuall...

Wednesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Edward the Confessor, 1003-1066; sent to Normandy as a youth, when the Danes invaded England; acclaimed King of England in 1042; built St. Peter’s Abbey at Westminster, site of the present Abbey, where he is buried; his piety gained him the surname, “the confessor” Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/13/21...

Tuesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Edwin of Northumbria, 586-633; pagan king who converted through the efforts of his wife’s chaplain; spent the remaining six years of his reign as a devout Catholic monarch who brought peace to his kingdom; slain in battle and was venerated as a martyr Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/12/21 Gospel: Luke 11:37-41

Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, 1881-1963; born of a farming family in northern Italy; named a cardinal and patriarch of Venice in 1953; a month short of entering his 78th year, he was elected pope; called the Second Vatican Council, and criticized the “prophets of doom”; on his deathbed, he said, “It is not that the gospel has c...

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/10/21 Gospel: Mark 10:17-30

Saturday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Denis and companions; Denis is regarded as the first bishop of Paris; sent to Gaul from Rome in the Third Century; beheaded in the persecution under Emperor Valerius in 258 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/9/21 Gospel: Luke 11:27-28

Friday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Keyne; lived in the Fifth Century, daughter of King Brychan of Brecknock, Wales; became a hermitess in Somersetshire, England, traveled widely, and founded numerous churches Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/8/21 Gospel: Luke 11:15-26

Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary Thursday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/7/21 Gospel: Luke 11:5-13

Wednesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Blessed Marie Rose Durocher, 1811-1849; born in Quebec; invited by her bishop to found the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, a congregation of women dedicated to Christian education; she remained unswerving in her concern for the poor Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/6/21 Gospel: Luke 11:1-4

Tuesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, 1819-1867; born in Bavaria, he came to the United States in 1843; worked under St. John Neumann in Pittsburg; served in parish ministry in Maryland, and trained Redemptorist students; appealed to President Lincoln not to draft his students for military service during the Civil War, though some were; preac...

Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, 1181-1226; a poor little man who astounded and inspired the Church by taking the gospel literally, actually following all that Jesus said and did, joyrfully, without limit, and without a sense of self-importance; received the stigmata two years before his death, at age 44 Monday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/4/21 G...

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/3/21 Gospel: Mark 10:2-16

Memorial of the Guardian Angels Saturday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/2/21 Gospel: Matthew 18:1-5, 10

Friday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, 1873-1897; entered the Carmelite convent at the age of 15, died at age 24; she saw a redemptive suffering in quiet suffering; came to Carmel “to save souls and pray for priests”; her autobiography, “The Story of a Soul,” is read and loved throughout the world Office of Readings and Morning Prayer f...

Thursday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Jerome, 345-420; scripture scholar; an avid student, thorough scholar, prodigious letter-writer, and consultant to monk, bishop, and pope; translated the Bible into Latin, a version which became known as the Vulgate Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/30/21 Gospel: Luke 10:1-12

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels Wednesday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/29/21 Gospel: John 1:47-51

Tuesday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Wenceslaus, 907-935; after his father and grandmother were killed by Magyars, they took over the government of Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic); after a coup in 922, Wenceslaus was declared the ruler; his brother and a group of dissenters killed him in 935; patron of Bohemia, the Czech Republic, and the city of Prague Offic...

Monday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, 1580-1660; founded the Congregation of the Mission, also known as the Vincentians; organized rich women of Paris to collect funds for his missionary projects; founded several hospitlas; collected relief funds for victims of way; ransomed over 1,200 galley slaves from North Africa; patron of all charitable societies Office of...

Saturday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Albert of Jerusalem, 1149-1215; served as a canon at Holy Cross Abbey in Mortoba, bishop of Bobbio, Italy, and bishop of Vercelli; appointed patriarch of Jerusalem in 1205; he was approached by the hermits of Mount Carmel, who asked him to write a rule of life for them, constituting the beginning of the Carmelite order; assassinated...

Friday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Rupert of Salzburg; bishop of Worms when Childeric III asked him to evangelize Bavaria; established the abbey of St. Peter and the Nonnberg convent; converted pagan temples into Christian church; established the salt-mining industry, from which the city takes its name; died about 710 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/24/...

Memorial of St. Pius of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio, 1887-1968; joined the Capuchins at age 15; received the stigmata in 1918; spent up to ten hours per day hearing confessions, and many said that he knew details of their lives that they had never mentioned Thursday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/23/21 Gospel: Luke 9:7-9

Wednesday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Phocas the Gardener, prayed while gardening, and shared with the poor; when his Christian identity became known, Roman soldiers were sent to capture him; they lodged at Phocas’ home, unaware of who he was; the next day, when Phocas revealed himself, the soldiers were reluctant to carry out their task, but in the end, beheaded...

Feast of St. Matthew, apostle and evangelist Tuesday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/21/21\ Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13

Monday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and companions–the Korean martyrs; 103 members of the Christian community in Korea were martyred in the 19th Century Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/20/21 Gospel: Luke 8:16-18