Daybreak

Feast of St. Matthew, apostle and evangelist Monday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/21/26 Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/20/26 Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16a

Saturday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Januarius; bishop of Benevento, martyred with his companions during the persecution of the Emperor Diocletian at the beginning of the 4th century; a relic of St. Januarius’ blood is venerated in the cathedral of Naples; for more than 600 years it has mysteriously liquefied three times a year Office of Readings and Morning Pr...

Friday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Ludmilla of Bohemia, 860-921; daughter of a Slavic prince, she married Duke Borivoy of Bohemia, whom she followed into the Church; on the death of Borivoy, his sons Spytihinev and Ratislav, the latter of whom had married Drahomira, succeeded him, and Ludmila brought up the Ratislav's son Wenceslaus; on the death of Ratislav, Drahomira...

Thursday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, 1542-1621; born in Tuscany, entered the Society of Jesus at 18, and studied philosophy and theology; in 1597, Clement VIII made him Examiner of Bishops and Consultor of the Holy Office as well as his personal theologian; he was appointed Archbishop of Capua and was involved in the controversy over Galileo’...

Wednesday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian; Cornelius became pope in 251; he fought against the Novatian schismatics and with the help of Cyprian was able to enforce his authority; he was driven into exile by the Emperor Gallus, and died in 253; Cyprian was born of pagan parents in Carthage in 210; he was converted, ordained, and subsequently made bishop o...

Tuesday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/15/26 Gospel: John 19:25-27

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Monday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/14/26 Gospel: John 3:13-17

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/13/26 Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35

Saturday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary; a counterpart to the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus ; both have the possibility of uniting people easily divided on other matters Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/12/26 Gospel: Luke 6:43-49

Friday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Patiens; a Fifth Century bishop of Lyons, Gaul; he was known for his immense efforts at charitable work; he was also a dedicated enemy of Arianism; he died in 491 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/11/26 Gospel: Luke 6:39-42

Thursday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Francis de Morales; Seventeenth Century Dominican martyr of Japan; a native of Madrid, Spain, he served in the Dominican mission in Satsuma, Japan, for two decades; in 1608, he went to Fushima and in 1614 to Nagasaki; he was burned alive in 1622 with Blessed Charles Spinola and companions Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/1...

Wednesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Peter Claver, 1580-1654; studied arts and letters at the University of Barcelona; followed the call to the missions, and in 1616 he was ordained to the priesthood in the Mission of Colombia; there, he carried on an apostolate among the black slaves, vowing to be “the slave of the blacks for ever”; his strength exhausted, he di...

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Tuesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/8/26 Gospel: Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23

Monday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Cloud, 524-560; a grandson of King  Clovis of the Franks and the youngest son of King Clodomir of Orleans; two of his brothers were slain at the ages of ten and nine by their uncle Clotaire, king of the Franks; Cloud survived by being sent to Provence, France; there he became a hermit and a disciple of St. Severinus; he remained a...

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/6/26 Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20

Saturday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta, 1910-1997; founder of the Missionaries of Charity, which grew worldwide, with thousands of nuns and branches caring for the sick, dying, orphaned, and abandoned; she became a global symbol of compassion, receiving honors such as the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979; she died in Calcutta in 1997, was given a state fune...

Friday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Rosalia, 1130-1170; a descendant of Charlemagne; born in Palermo, Sicily; she left her home and took up her abode in a cave; she remained there entirely hidden from the world; she practiced great mortifications and lived in constant communion with God; afterward she transferred her abode to Mount Pellegrino; she died alone, and her bod...

Thursday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great, 540-604; his education was steeped in law, religion, grammar, rhetoric, and affairs of the republic; after the death of Pope Pelagius II, St. Gregory was elected his successor; he leveraged his papal authority, forming relations with the churches in Spain, Gaul, Africa, Britain, as well as the Eastern Churches; he d...

Wednesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Ingrid of Sweden; born in Sweden in the 13th Century; she was the first Dominican nun in  Sweden  and in 1281 she founded the first Dominican  cloister there, called St. Martin's in Skänninge; she died in 1282 surrounded by an aura of sanctity. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/2/26 Gospel: Luke 4:38-44

Tuesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Simeon the Stylite, 290-459; at thirteen, he heard a Gospel reading of the Beatitudes that greatly affected him; he entered a nearly monastery, and learned all the  Psalms by heart; he became a hermit, and in 423, began living atop a pillar only a few feet in diameter and about ten feet high; later a much taller pillar over sixty...

Monday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Aidan of Lindisfarne; born in Ireland, went to Lindisfarne as bishop, and became known for his  knowledge of the Bible, his learning, his eloquent preaching, his holiness, his distaste for pomp, his kindness to the poor, and the miracles attributed to him; he founded a monastery at Lindisfarne that became known as the English Iona...

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/30/26 Gospel: Matthew 16:21-27

Saturday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/29/26 Gospel: Mark 6:17-29

Friday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Augustine of Hippo, bishop and doctor of the Church, 354-430; born in northern Africa to a Christian mother and a pagan father; spent years vascillating through Manicheism and Neoplatonism, and eventually converted to Christianity, baptized by St. Ambrose in Milan; he became a monk, and was ordained a priest in 391; four years later, he beca...