Daybreak

Monday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Abraham the Poor; sometimes referred to as "the Child," alluding to his purity and simplicity; born in Egypt, he became a disciple of St. Pachomius, the founder of cenobitic monasticism; he spent almost two decades in a cave near Pachomius' foundations; he died in 372 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/27/25 Gospel: Luke 13:10-17

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/26/25 Gospel: Luke 18:9-14

Saturday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. John Houghton, 1486-1535; protomartyr of the English Reformation; a Carthusian, and an opponent of King Henry VIII’s Acts of Succession and Supremacy; he was arrested with other Carthusians, but released temporarily; he refused to swear to the Oath of Supremacy, the first man to make this refusal; he was executed at Tyburn with four companions Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/25/25 Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

Friday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, 1807-1870; missionary, religious founder, social reformer, queen’s chaplain, writer and publisher, archbishop, and refugee; he was a Spaniard whose work took him to the Canary Islands, Cuba, Madrid, Paris, and to the First Vatican Council; at age 42, he founded the Claretians; he was appointed to the archdiocese of Santiago, Cuba; he was later recalled to Spain as the queen's chaplain; in the revolution of 1868, he fled to Paris with the queen’s party, where he preached to the Spanish colony; at the age of 63, he died in exile near the Spanish border Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/24/25 Gospel: Luke 12:54-59

Thursday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. John of Capistrano, 1386-1456; entered the Franciscan novitiate at the age of 30, and was ordained a priest four years later; his preaching attracted great throngs at a time of religious apathy and confusion; he helped bring about a brief reunion with the Greek and Armenian Churches; John preached a crusade against the Turks, for the protection of Europe; he led the army to Belgrade, where they gained an overwhelming victory; worn out by his efforts after the battle, he was an easy prey for infection, and died in 1456 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/23/25 Gospel: Luke 12:49-53

Wednesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. John Paul II, 1920-2005; born in Wadowice, Poland; he was elected pope in 1978, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years; in his 27 years of papal ministry, John Paul II wrote 14 encyclicals and five books, canonized 482 saints and beatified 1,338 people Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/22/25 Gospel: Luke 12:39-48

Tuesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Hilarion, 291-371; abbot and disciple of St. Anthony the Great; born in Tabatha, Palestine, and educated in Alexandria, Egypt; stayed with St. Anthony in the desert before becoming a hermit at Majuma, near Gaza, Israel; in 356, Hilarion returned to the desert, but found that his fame had spread there; he fled to Sicily to escape notice, but Hesychius traced him there; the two went to Dalmatia, Croatia, and then to Cyprus; Hilarion performed so many miracles that crowds flocked to him when it was discovered he was in any region; he died on Cyprus Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/21/25 Gospel: Luke 12:35-38

Monday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Paul of the Cross, 1694-1775; born in northern Italy; he developed a devotion to Christ's passion; he was known as one of the most popular preachers of his day; in 1720, he founded the Congregation of the Passion--the Passionists--whose members combined devotion to Christ’s passion with preaching to the poor, and rigorous penances; Paul was elected superior general of the congregation in 1747, and spent the remainder of his life in Rom Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/20/25 Gospel: Luke 12:13-21

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/19/25 Gospel: Luke 18:1-8

Feast of St. Luke; he wrote a major portion of the New Testament, a two-volume work comprising the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles; tradition holds him to be a native of Antioch; he became a companion to St. Paul; he died about 84 A.D. Saturday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/18/25 Gospel: Luke 10:1-9

Friday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch; born in Syria, converted to Christianity, and became bishop of Antioch; in 107 A.D., the Emperor forced the Christians to choose between apostasy and death; Ignatius was condemned to be put to death in Rome; he is known for the seven letters that he sent during the long journey from Antioch to Rome--five to the churches in Asia Minor, one to Polycarp, and one to the Christians of Rome asking them not to try to prevent his martyrdom; Ignatius bravely met the lions in the Circus Maximus in about 107 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/17/25 Gospel: Luke 12:1-7

Thursday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, 1647-1690; became a Visitation Nun at age 24; in 1674, she received the first of her revelations; she felt "invested" with the presence of God; during the next 13 months, Christ appeared to her at intervals, and told her that his human heart was to be the symbol of his divine-human love; some of Margaret Mary's own sisters were hostile, but Jesuit Claude de la Colombière recognized her genuineness and supported her; Christ called her to be a sacrificial victim for the shortcomings of her own sisters; she served as novice mistress and assistant superior, and died at the age of 43 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/16/25 Gospel: Luke 11:47-54

Wednesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila, 1515-1582; she was a woman of prayer, discipline, and compassion; her ongoing conversion was an arduous lifelong struggle, involving ongoing purification and suffering; she spent much of her time and energy seeking to reform herself and the Carmelites, to lead them back to the full observance of the primitive Rule; she founded over a half-dozen new monasteries; her writings, especially the Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle, have helped generations of believers Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/15/25 Gospel: Luke 11:42-46

Tuesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. Callistus I; lived in the first part of the Third Century; he was a slave, with money entrusted to him; he lost the money, and fled Rome; his master caught him as he was about to jump into the sea, and released him under the assumption that he could recover some of the money; later, he was arrested for fighting in a synagogue, for which he was arrested, denounced as a Christian, and forced to work in the mines of Sardinia; he was rescued by Pope Victor, who sent him to Antrium; Pope Zephyrinus put Callistus in charge of the burial chambers along the Appian Way, still known as the Catacombs of San Callisto; he was pope from 217 to 222 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/14/25 Gospel: Luke 11:37-41

Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Theophilus of Antioch; bishop of Antioch, and an early Christian apologist; a philosopher in the eastern Roman Empire, he began to study the Scriptures with the intention of attacking the Christian faith but was soon converted; he wrote an apology in three books addressed to Autolycus which demonstrated the superiority of Christianity over the immoral myths of pagan religion; it also developed the doctrine of the Logos (Word), and used the word "Triad" for the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; died in 181 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/13/25 Gospel: Luke 11:29-32

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/12/25 Gospel: Luke 17:11-19

Saturday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. John XXIII, 1881-1963; in 1958, he was elected pope, and took the name John XXIII; it was originally expected that Pope John XXIII would only serve a short time before passing away and that he would make no significant changes to Church practice; but his most influential decision was the call for an ecumenical council which would be known as Vatican II; Pope John XXIII generally maintained a good reputation among those who remembered him and he was often titled "the Good" Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/11/25 Gospel: Luke 11:27-28

Friday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Francis Borgia, 1510-1572; a member of the Spanish nobility, but when his wife died, he became a Jesuit priest; he had to help the cook, gathering wood for the fire and sweeping the floor, but never complained; the only time he became angry was when anyone treated him with respect as if he was still a Duke; he preached everywhere, and spread the Society of Jesus all over Spain and Portugal; under his guidance, the Jesuits grew to be a very great help to the Church in many lands Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/10/25 Gospel: Luke 11:15-26

Thursday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorials of St. Denis and Companions, first bishop of Paris, died about 258 A.D.; and St. John Henry Newman, 1801-1890, Anglican converted to Catholicism, canonized 2019 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/9/25 Gospel: Luke 11:5-13

Wednesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Keyne; a Fifth Century holy woman, one of the 24 children of King Brychan of Brecknock, Wales; after refusing several offers of marriage, she became a hermitess on the banks of the Severn River in Somersetshire, England; she lived there for several years and traveled much, and was then persuaded by her nephew, St. Cadoc, to return to Wales; she founded numerous churches in South Wales, Cornwall, and perhaps Somerset Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/8/25 Gospel: Luke 11:1-4

Tuesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary; originally, "Our Lady of Victory," in honor of the victory in the Battle of Lepanto, attributed to the praying of the rosary Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/7/25 Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

Monday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Blessed Marie Rose DuRocher, 1811-1849; born at St. Antoine, Quebec, Canada; she helped her brother, a parish priest, and in the process established the first Canadian parish Sodality for young women; in 1843, she was invited by Bishop Bourget to found a new congregation of women dedicated to Christian education; she founded the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary; in spite of many obstacles, her community flourished, and she remained unswerving in her concern for the poor; worn out by her many labors, Marie Rose DuRocher died at the age of 38 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/6/25 Gospel: Luke 10:25-37

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/5/25 Gospel: Luke 17:5-10

Saturday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, 1181-1226; a serious illness caused him to abandon his frolicking life as leader of Assisi's youth; lengthy and difficult prayer led him to a self-emptying; from the cross in the neglected field-chapel of San Damiano, Christ told him, “Francis, go out and build up my house, for it is nearly falling down”; he gave up all of his possessions, he had no intention of founding an order, but once it began he protected it and accepted all the legal structures needed to support it; his devotion and loyalty to the Church were absolute; two years before his death, received the stigmata, the painful wounds of Christ in his hands, feet, and side; Francis died in 1221 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/4/25 Gospel: Luke 10:17-24

Friday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Adalgott; he was a monk in the Benedictine Monastery of Clairvaux, where St. Bernard trained his successors; he was appointed the abbot of the Benedictines in Dissentis, where he became known for his care of the sick and poor; when Adalgott was named bishop of Chur, he conducted an apostolate for the suffering of the region, founding a hospital in 1150; he died in 1165 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/3/25 Gospel: Luke 10:13-16

Thursday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of the Guardian Angels Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/2/25 Gospel: Matthew 18:1-5, 10

Wednesday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Therese of Lisieux, 1873-1897; lived a cloistered life of obscurity in the convent of Lisieux, France and her preference for hidden sacrifice converted souls; her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, is read and loved throughout the world; Thérèse Martin entered the convent at the age of 15 and died in 1897 at the age of 24; she came to Carmel “to save souls and pray for priests”; shortly before she died, she wrote: “I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth” Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/1/25 Gospel: Luke 9:57-62

Tuesday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Jerome, 345-420; known for his bad temper; but he was a great scripture scholar, translating most of the Old Testament from the Hebrew; he also wrote commentaries which are a great source of scriptural inspiration for us today; he was an avid student, a thorough scholar, a prodigious letter-writer and a consultant to monk, bishop, and pope; Saint Augustine said of him, “What Jerome is ignorant of, no mortal has ever known”; he made a translation of the Bible which came to be called the Vulgate; he spent five years in the desert, and then settled in Bethlehem, where he died Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/30/25 Gospel: Luke 9:51-56

Feast of the Archangels, Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael Monday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/29/25 Gospel: John 1:47-51

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/28/25 Gospel: Luke 16:19-31

Saturday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, 1580-1660; Vincent became the leader of what is now known as the Congregation of the Mission, or the Vincentians; these priests, with vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability, were to devote themselves entirely to the people in smaller towns and villages; he also founded several hospitals, collected relief funds for the victims of war, and ransomed over 1,200 galley slaves from North Africa; he was zealous in conducting retreats for clergy; known as an irascible person, even to his friends, Vincent became a tender and affectionate man, very sensitive to the needs of others Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/27/25 Gospel: Luke 9:43b-45

Friday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Saints Cosmas and Damian, brothers born in Arabia, who were proficient in the science of medicine; as Christians, they refused payment for their treatment; when the persecution of Diocletian broke out, they became marked objects of persecution; they were apprehended and underwent various torments in about the year 283; they are the patrons of pharmacists Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/26/25 Gospel: Luke 9:18-22

Thursday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Cleophas; he was one of the two disciples who met Christ on the road to Emmaus; he was also identified as the father of Mary, one of whom stood with the Mother of God at the foot of the Cross; he has been identified as the father of St. James the Less and as brother of St. Joseph; he died in the First Century Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/25/25 Gospel: Luke 9:7-9

Wednesday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Rupert of Salzberg; he was bishop of Worms in the Seventh Century when he was called to evangelize Bavaria; Duke Theodo II gave him land, on which he established the Abbey of St. Peter and the Nonnburg Convent; he converted pagan temples into Christian churches, and established the salt-mining industry, from which the city of Salzberg gets its name; when Rupert died in about 710, he was buried in St. Peter's Abbey, but his relics were later translated to the Cathedral at Salzberg Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/24/25 Gospel: Luke 9:1-6

Tuesday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Pius of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio, 1887-1968; grew up in a farming family in southern Italy; joined the Capuchins at the age of 15; on September 20, 1918, he had a vision of Jesus, and at the end of the vision, he had the stigmata in his hands, feet, and side; busloads of people came to see him, and in time his confessional ministry lasted ten hours per day Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/23/25 Gospel: Luke 8:19-21

Monday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Phocas the Gardener; in the third century, he cultivated a garden near the city gate of Sinope, now in Turkey; he shared with the poor what he earned from his gardening, and opened his home to travelers lacking a place to stay; the the pagan Romans became aware of him, and sent soldiers to find and arrest him; soldiers stopped at Phocas’ door and received lodging from him, unaware that their host was the man they were charged to capture; the next morning, he revealed to them his identity; at first, the soldiers were reluctant to carry out their orders against their kind host, but in the end they beheaded him; Phocas is venerated as a patron saint of both gardeners and mariners Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/22/25 Gospel: Luke 8:16-18

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/21/25 Gospel: Luke 16:1-13

Saturday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Taegon and Paul Chong Hasan, and companions, the Korean martyrs; Christianity came to Korea during the Japanese invasion in 1592 when some Koreans were baptized, probably by Christian Japanese soldiers; yhe first native Korean priest, Andrew Kim Taegon was the son of Christian converts; following his baptism at the age of 15, Andrew traveled 1,300 miles to the seminary in Macao, China, and was ordained a priest in Shanghai; Paul Chong Hasang, a lay apostle and married man, died in 1839 at age 45; besides Andrew and Paul, Pope John Paul II canonized 98 Koreans and three French missionaries who had been martyred between 1839 and 1867 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/20/25 Gospel: Luke 9:18-22

Friday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Januarius; in Diocletian's persecution of 305, Januarius and his companions were thrown to the bears in the amphitheatre, but the animals failed to attack, so they were beheaded; Januarius' blood was eventually brought to Naples, where it liquifies 18 times per year; the phenomenon eludes natural explanation Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/19/25 Gospel: Luke 8:1-3

Thursday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Joseph of Cupertino, 1603-1663; "the flying saint"; entered the Franciscan order, and was ordained a priest; over seventy times, people say they saw him rise from the ground while offering mass or praying; at Mass he is said to have frequently floated in the air in rapture; once as Christmas carols were being sung, he soared to the high altar and knelt in the air, in ecstatic prayer; endured many severe trials and temptations in his life Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/18/25 Gospel: Luke 7:36-50

Wednesday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine, 1542-1621; ordained in 1570, and devoted his energy to the study of church history and the early church fathers; Pope Clement VIII made him a cardinal, saying that "he had not his equal for learning"; he relaxed none of his austerities, limiting his household expenses to what was barely essential, and eating only food made available to the poor; in 1616, representing the Holy Office, he cautioned his friend Galileo not to put forward--except as a hypothesis--theories not yet fully proven Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/17/25 Gospel: Luke 7:31-35

Tuesday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian; Cornelius was elected pope in 251; one of his great challenges was the question of whether the Church could pardon and receive back into the Church those who had apostacized in the face of martyrdom; Cornelius insisted that they be welcomed back; in 253, Cornelius was exiled, and died of the hardships of his exile; Cyprian was a close friend of Pope Cornelius, and supported him both against the anti-pope Novatian and in his views concerning the re-admittance of apostates into the Church; he was martyred in 258 during the persecutions of the emperor Valerian Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/16/25 Gospel: Luke 7:11-17