Daybreak

Thursday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, 1902-1975; born in Barbastro, Spain, the second of six children of Jose and Dolores Escriva; in 1915, he observed the fresh footprints in the snow of a barefoot monk, and wondered what God wanted of him; in 1928, as a priest, he solved the mystery, seeing holiness all around him, and founded Opus Dei; Monsignor Escriva died at the age of 73 in 1975 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/26/25 Gospel: Matthew 7:21-29

Wednesday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. William of Vercelli, 1085-1142; became a hermit on Monte Vergine, Italy after a pilgrimage to Compostella and attracted so many followers that a monastery was buillt; by 1119 his followers were united in the Benedictine congregation; but William's rule was so austere that it caused dissension; to keep peace, he left, and was taken under the protection of Roger I of Naples, who built a monastery for him; William founded monasteries throughout Naples, and died near Nusco, Italy Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/25/25 Gospel: Matthew 7:15-20

Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/24/25 Gospel: Luke 1:57-66, 80

Monday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Joseph Cafasso, 1811-1860; crippled throughout his life; ordained in 1833; became professor of moral theology at the ecclesiastical college in Turin in 1836, and was superior of the college from 1846 to 1860; renowned confessor; friend and advisor to St. John Bosco; ministered to condemned prisoners; since many were hanged immediately after confession and absolution, Joseph referred to them as "hanged saints"; Joseph died in Turin Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/23/25 Gospel: Matthew 7:1-5

Solemnity of Corpus Christi - The Body and Blood of Christ Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/22/25 Gospel: Luke 9:11-17

Saturday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, 1568-1591; entered the Jesuit novitiate, and spent four years studying philosophy with his advisor, St. Robert Bellarmine; in 1591, a plague struck Rome, and Aloysius contracted it from nursing patients; he maintained his great discipline of prayer, knowing that he would die three months later within the octave of Corpus Christi, at the age of 23 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/21/25 Gospel: Matthew 6:24-34

Friday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. John of Pulsano, 1070-1139; born in Naples, and entered the Benedictines, but was disliked for his austerity; joined the community of St. William of Vercelli for a time, leaving to breach at Ban; lived as a hermit in Sicily, and was imprisoned; he escaped, and went to Capua; he later founded a monastery at Pulsano; famous for his lpreaching, prophecy, and miracles Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/20/25 Gospel: Matthew 6:19-23

Thursday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Romuald, 950-1027; witnessed his father kill a relative in a duel, and fled to a monastery; the monks found him "uncomfortably holy" and eased him out; tried to preach in Hungary, but was taken ill when he arrived, and the illness returned whenever he tried to proceed; at a monastery where he stayed, he was accused of a scandalous crime by a nobleman, which the monks accepted, and excommunicated Romuald, forbidding him to celebrate mass, an unjust punishment which he served for six months; Romuald's father became a monk, and when he wavered, Romuald's encouragement helped him Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/19/25 Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15

Wednesday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Gregory Barbarigo, 1625-1697; from a distinguished Venetian family; he embraced a diplomatic career, and later was ordained a priest, and then bishop of Bergamo; he became a cardinal and was also given authority over the diocese of Padua; he guided his flock with wisdom and understanding, and carried out the reforms of the Council of Trent; under his leadership, seminaries at Padua and Bergamo were enlarged, and he added a library and printing press at Padua Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/18/25 Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Tuesday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Teresa of Portugal, 1178-1250; daughter of royal parents; married her cousin, King Alfonso IX of Leon, and bore him several children, but the marriage was declared invalid due to consanguinity; she returned to Portugal and founded a monastery, accomodating 300 nuns, and she lived there; in about 1231, at the request of Alfonso's second wife and widow, Berengaria, she settled a dispute among their children over the succession of the throne of Leon; she returned to Lorvao and became a nun Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/17/25 Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48

Monday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Luthgard, 1182-1246; born in Belgium, and was placed in the Benedictine convent at the age of 12; a vision of Christ compelled her to become a Benedictine; she had many mystical experiences, levitated, and had a form of the stigmata; to avoid being made abbess, she joined the Cistercians; she was known for her spiritual wisdom and miracles; she was blind during the last eleven years of her life. Luthgard is revered as a leading mystic of the Thirteenth Century Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/26/25 Gospel: Matthew 5:38-42

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/15/25 Gospel: John 16:12-15

Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Joseph the Hymnographer, 810-886; the most prolific of the Greek hymn writers; born in Sicily, he left in 830 to escape an invasion by the Arabs; he went to Thessalonica, and then to Constantinople, and left in 841 to escape the iconoclast persecution; returning to Constantinople, he founded a monastery; for his defense of the icons, he was sent into exile; Joseph is credited with the composition of about one thousand canons Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/14/25 Gospel: Matthew 5:33-37

Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, 1195-1231; joined the Augustinians at a young age, and then the Franciscans; he became recognized as a great man of prayer and a great Scripture and theology scholar, Anthony became the first friar to teach theology to the other friars; soon, he was called to preach to the Albigensians in France; after leading the friars in northern Italy for three years, he made Padua his headquarters;in the spring of 1231 Anthony withdrew to a friary at Camposampiero where he had a sort of treehouse built as a hermitage; he fell ill on June 13, 1231, and died at Padua Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/13/25 Gospel: Matthew 5:27-32

Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Peter of Mount Athos; the first hermit to reside on the famous Mount Athos in Greece; legend has it that he was a soldier, captured by Muslims, and held until released through the intervention of St. Simeon; he went to Rome, and is believed to have received the monastic habit directly from the pope; he was graced with a vision from Our Lady, and traveled to Mount Athos, where he took up residence as a hermt, and remained for nearly half-a-century; died in the Eighth Century Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/12/25 Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26

Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Barnabas; he was closely associated with St. Paul; he introduced Paul to Peter and the other apostles—and served as a kind of mediator between the former persecutor and the still suspicious Jewish Christians; Barnabas and Paul instructed in Antioch for a year, after which they took relief contributions to Jerusalem; later, they were sent by Antioch officials to preach to the Gentiles; but they were expelled from one town, they had to go to Jerusalem to clear up the ever-recurring controversy about circumcision; Paul and Barnabas separated over a disagreement about Barnabas' cousin, John Mark, joining them after he had once deserted them Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/11/25 Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19

Tuesday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Landericus; as bishop of Paris from 650 to 661, he worked zealously to improve the lot of the poor; he sold his own possessions to feed the hungry during a famine, and even sold some of the Church vessels and furniture; he erected the city's first real hospital; he welcomed the Benedictines into his diocese, and encouraged them to set up the Abbey of Denis; he died about 661 after having commissioned the monk Marculfus to compile a collection of Ecclesiastical Formulas Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/10/25 Gospel: Matthew 5:13-16

Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/9/25 Gospel: John 19:25-34

Solemnity of Pentecost Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/8/25 Gospel: John 20:19-23

Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Willibald, 700-786; brother of Saints Winebald and Walburga, and related through his mother to St. Boniface; went on a pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem, and was captured by Saracens who thought him a spy; he was eventually released and continued on to all of the holy places and then to Constantinople; When he returned to Rome he spent ten years at Monte Cassino, serving as sacristan, dean, and porter; Pope St. Gregory III sent him to Germany to assist his cousin St. Boniface; Boniface ordained him in 741 and soon appointed him bishop of Eichstatt, in Franconia; he founded a double monastery at Heidenheim, naming Winebald abbot and his sister Walburga abbess; Willibald served as bishop for some four decades Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/7/25 Gospel: John 21:20-25

Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Norbert, 1080-1134; founder of the Praemonstratensians or the Norbertines; his founding of the Order was a monumental task: combatting rampant heresies—particularly regarding the Blessed Sacrament, revitalizing many of the faithful who had grown indifferent and dissolute, plus effecting peace and reconciliation among enemies; reluctantly, Norbert became archbishop of Magdeburg in central Germany, a territory half pagan and half Christian; in this position he zealously continued his work for the Church until his death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/6/25 Gospel: John 21:15-19

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter Memorial of St. Boniface, 675-754; an English Benedictine Monk who devoted his life to the evangelization of the German peoples; made a missionary trip in 719, and found paganism a way of life; the Holy Father directed him to reform the German Church, and he was eminently successful; during a final mission to the Frisians, Boniface and 53 companions were massacred while he was preparing converts for confirmation Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/5/25 Gospel: John 17:20-26

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Petroc; born in Wales, became a monk, and went to Ireland to study; immigrated to Cornwall, England, and after thirty years made a pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem, at which time, he is reputed to have reached the Indian Ocean, and spent some time as a hermit on an island; he returned to Cornwall, built a chapel, established a community of followers, and then became a hermit; again, he attracted followers, and he was known for his miracles; he died in 564 while visiting some of his disciples Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/4/25 Gospel: John 17:11b-19

Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and companions; Charles is the patron of youth and Catholic action in most of tropical Africa; he and his companions were martyred by the Bagandan ruler, Mwanga, for refusing his immoral sexual advances; Charles was burned to death on June 3, 1886 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/3/25 Gospel: John 17:1-11a

Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter Optional Memorial of Saints Marcellinus and Peter; Marcellinus was a priest, and Peter was an exorcist; they were beheaded in the persecution of Diocletian in 304 A.D.; Pope Damasus wrote an epitaph apparently based on the report of their executioner, and Constantine erected a basilica over the crypt in which they were buried in Rome Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/2/25 Gospel: John 16:29-33

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (in many areas) Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/1/25 Gospel: Luke 24:46-53

Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/31/25 Gospel: Luke 1:39-56

Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Joan of Arc, 1412-1431; born southeast of Paris, Joan was only twelve when she heard the voices of Saints Michael the Archangel, Catherine of Alexandria, and Margaret of Antioch; during the Hundred Years War, Joan led French troops against the English and recaptured the cities of Orléans and Troyes; Joan was captured near Compiegne, and accused of heresy and witchcraft; in the end, she was condemned for wearing men's clothes, and was burned at the stake; a second Church trial 25 years later nullified the verdict, which was reached under political pressure Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/30/25 Gospel: John 16:20-23

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (for some dioceses) Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/29/25 Gospel: Luke 24:46:53

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Bernard of Montjoux, 923-1008; born in Italy, became a priest, and was made vicar general of Aosta, and spent more than four decades doing missionary work in the Alps; he built schools and hospices, but is best remembered for the hospices he built to aid lost travelers; Bernard is the patron of mountaineers, skiiers, and the Alps Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/28/25 Gospel: John 16:12-15

Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Augustine of Canterbury; left Rome in 596 to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons in England; King Ethelbert welcomed him kindly, set up a residence for Augustine and his monks in Canterbury, and was, himself, baptized on Pentecost Sunday, 597; Augustine was consecrated a bishop in France, and returned to Canterbury, where he built a church and monastery near the present site of the cathedral; he is the "Apostle of England" Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/27/25 Gospel: John 16:5-11

Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter Memorial of St. Philip Neri, 1515-1595; moved to Rome at a young age, to devote his life to God; he spent 13 years engaged in prayer and apostolate; laypeople gathered around him, and they met as an informal prayer and discussion group, and also served poor people in Rome; at the urging of his confessor, Philip was ordained a priest and soon became an outstanding confessor himself, gifted with the knack of piercing the pretenses and illusions of others, though always in a charitable manner and often with a joke; some of Philip's followers became priests and lived in community, the beginning of the Oratory; Philip's characteristic virtues were humility and gaiety; he died after suffering a hemorrhage on the feast of Corpus Christi, 1595 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/26/25 Gospel: John 15:26-16:4a

Sixth Sunday of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/25/25 Gospel: John 14:23-29

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Joanna; wife of Chuza, steward of King Herod Antipas; she was one of the women who helped provide for Jesus and the apostles; she was also one of the three women who discovered the empty tomb of Jesus on the first Easter morning Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/24/25 Gospel: John 16:20-23

Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Crispin of Viterbo, 1668-1750; born in Viterbo, Italy, studied, at the Jesuit college, and became a shoemaker; joined the Capuchin Franciscans at the age of 25, and served as gardener and cook; he called himself "the little beast of burden of the Capuchins"; during an epidemic, he effected many miraculous cures; he was also venerated for prophecies and spiritual wisdom Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/23/25 Gospel: John 15:12-17

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Rita of Cascia, 1381-1457; born in central Italy, and wanted to become a nun, but was pressured into marrying a harsh and cruel man; she bore and raised two sons; after her husband was killed in a brawl and her sons died, she became an Augustinian nun; her austerity, prayerfulness, and charity became legendary; she frequently meditated on Christ's passion; along with St. Jude, she acquired the reputation as being a saint of impossible cases Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/22/25 Gospel: John 15:9-11

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Christopher Magallanes (1869-1927) and companions; they lived under a very anti-Catholic government in Mexico, one determined to weaken the Catholic faith of its people; churches, schools, and seminaries were closed; foreign clergy were expelled; Cristópher established a clandestine seminary; he and the other priests were forced to minister secretly to Catholics; they were martyred over 22 years in eight Mexican states Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/21/25 Gospel: John 15:1-8

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, 1380-1444; ran the hospital in Siena at the age of 20, during the plague; at 22, he became a Franciscan, and was ordained two years later; lived in solitude and prayer for a dozen years, but his gifts called him to go out and preach; he was known for his devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, and devised a symbol—IHS, the first three letters of the name of Jesus in Greek—in Gothic letters on a blazing sun; the devotion spread; as general of the Friars of the Strict Observance, he emphasized scholarship and further study of theology and canon law; he died while traveling Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/20/25 Gospel: John 14:27-31

Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Pudentiana; legend has her as the daughter of the Roman senator named in St. Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy who gave away her wealth to the poor, aided the burials of Christians, and died at the age of sixteen Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/19/25 Gospel: John 14:21-26

Fifth Sunday of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/18/25 Gospel: John 13:31-35

Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Simon Stock; brought the Carmelite order from the Holy Land to Europe, and changed it from a hermit order to one of mendicant friars; received an apparition from the Blessed Mother in 1251, in which she gave him the brown scapular Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/16/25 Gospel: John 14:1-6

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Isidore the Famer, 1070-1130; born in Madrid, Spain, and spent most of life as a laborer on a farm outside of the city; he was favored with celestial visions, and it is said that angels sometimes assisted with his field work; he the patron of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference in the United States Office of Readings and Morning Prayer Gospel: John 13:16-20