Daybreak

Saturday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Rosalia, 1130-1160; descendant of Charlemagne; spent much of her adult life in a cave, practicing great mortifications, in constant communion with God; died alone in 1160; her body wasn’t discovered until 1625 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/4/21 Gospel: Luke 6:1-5

Friday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Gregory the Great, 540-604; elected pope at the age of 50; removed unworthy priests from office, forbade taking money for many services, ransomed prisoners of the Lombards, and cared for persecuted Jews and victims of plague and famine; known for his reformof the liturgy, and for strengthening respect for doctrine; one of the four key doctor...

Thursday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Ingrid of Sweden; first Dominican nun in Sweden; founded the first Dominican cloister in Sweden in 1281; died 1281 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/2/21 Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

Wednesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Giles, 650-710; Athenian of noble birth, so conspicuous by his piety that he sailed for France, and eventually settled in the Diocese of Nimes; spent many years in solitude, conversing only with God; founded a monastery which eventually embraced the rule of St. Benedict Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/1/21 Gospel: Luke 4...

Tuesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Aidan of Lindisfarne; born in Ireland, went to Lindisfarne as bishop; know for his knowledge of the Bible, his learning, his eloquent preaching, his holiness, distaste for pomp, kindness to the poor, and for the miracles attributed to him; founded a monastery at Lindisfarne which became a center of learning and missionary activity for...

Monday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Jeanne Jugan, 1792-1879; born in northern France, during the French Revolution; lived a life of serving the poor, sick and elderly; in 1839, she and her friends brought in their first permanent guest, and formed an association, the Little Sisters of the Poor; by 1853, the association numbered 500 and had houses as far away as England O...

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/29/21 Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Saturday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Augustine of Hippo, bishop and doctor of the Church, 354-430; sinner-turned-saint; lived a wild youth, but converted through the prayers of his mother and the instruction of St. Ambrose; in his day, he fulfilled the role of prophet Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/28/21 Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30

Friday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Monica, 330-387; mother of St. Augustine; Monica prayed for Augustine–who was living an immoral life–to return to the faith; her prayers were answered when St. Augustine was baptized by St. Ambrose in 387; shortly afterward, Monica took ill and died, “all my hopes in this world being now fulfilled.” Office of Readings...

Thursday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Bichier, 1773-1838; Upon the death of her father she devoted herself to teaching and caring for the sick and needy; after her mother died, she joined the Carmelites, and later the Society of Providence; in 1806, she and four assistants formed the Daughter of the Cross Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/26/21 Gospel: Matthew...

Wednesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Louis, King of France, 1214-1270; on the death of his father, his mother became regent; in 1234, he married Margaret, and two years later took the reigns of government; led two crusades, but died of a pestilence in the second Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/25/21 Gospel: Matthew 23:27-32

Feast of St. Bartholomew, one of the Twelve; also known as Nathanael; Roman Martyrology says he preached in India and Greater Armenia, where he was martyred Tuesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/24/21 Gospel: John 1:45-51

Monday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, 1586-1617; worked in the garden all day and sewed all night to help her parents financially; her parents refused to let her enter a convent, so she joined the Third Order of St. Dominic; in the last few years of her life, she care for homeless children, the elderly, and the sick; first canonized saint of the New World...

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/22/21 Gospel: John 6:60-69

Friday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, 1090-1153; joined the Cistercian order; was sent to found a new monastery, which later became known as the Abbey of Clairvaux; Bernard founded numerous other monasteries, composed a number of works, and took many journey for the honor of God; endowed with the gift of miracles Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/...

Thursday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. John Eudes, 1601-1680; ordained at the age of 24; founded the Eudists, the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, devoted to the formation of clergy by conducting diocesan seminaries; also founded the Sisters of Charity of the Refuge, to assist prostitutes in leaving that live; best known for the central theme of his writings: Jesus as t...

Wednesday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Helena; mother of Emperor Constantine, and credited with discovering the True Cross; died about 330 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/18/21 Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16

Tuesday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Clare of Montefalco, 1268-1308; joined a convent of Franciscan tertiaries; as abbess, she led an austere life, and was devoted to the Passion of Christ and His Cross Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/17/21 Gospel: Matthew 19:23-30

Monday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary, 975-1038; born a pagan, baptized at 10 along with his father, chief of the Magyars; succeeded his father, and adopted a policy of christinization of the country; asked the pope to organize the Church in Hungary and requested that he confer on him the title of king; Stephen supported churches, pastors, and the poo...

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/15/21 Gospel: Luke 1:39-56

Memorial of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, 1894-1941; Conventual Franciscan priest; founded the Militia of the Immaculata and the magazine, “Knight of the Immaculata”; arrested by Nazis in 1939, but released; arrested by Nazis again in 1941, and volunteered to take the place of a man who was being sent to die Saturday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer...

Friday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Saints Pontian and Hippolytus; Pontian was the pope, and was arrested during a persecution in the Third Century; Hippolytus had broken from communion with the Church, and was the first anti-pope; both were arrested, separately, and sentenced to slavery in the salt mines of Sardinia; in captivity, they reconciled, and died of torture and...

Thursday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, 1572-1641; widowed, she came under the spiritual guidance of St. Francis de Sales; Francis worked with her to found an order for those whose health, age, or other considerations barred them from entering other religious communities, the Visitation Nuns Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/12/21 Gosp...

Memorial of St. Clare of Assisi, 1194-1253; lifelong friend of St. Francis, who placed her in a Benedictine convent, where she was joined by her sister Agnes and others; they lived a simple life of great poverty, austerity, and complete seclusion from the world; she served the sick and washed the feet of the begging nuns; as she came from prayer, her face was so shining that it dazzled those about...

Feast of St. Lawrence, 225-258; deacon under Pope St. Sixtus II, who was martyred days before Lawrence; Lawrence knew that he would be arrested, so he gave all of the church’s money on hand to the poor; the prefect of Rome demanded all other treasures of the church, and Lawrence showed him th blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned, and widowed, and said, “These are the treasures of the...