Daybreak

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

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

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross; commemorating the discovery of the True Cross in 326, its initial exaltation for public veneration in 335, and the recovery of the Cross from the Persians in 628 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/14/25 Gospel: John 3:13-17

Saturday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, 349-407; his name is a tribute to his preaching, meaning "golden-mouthed"; he reluctantly became bishop of Constantinople; but his zeal led him to decisive action, including deposing bishops who had bribed their way into office; he called for concrete steps to share wealth with the poor; Theophilus, the bishop of Alexandria, and the Empress Eudoxia were determined to discredit John; the empress finally had him exiled, where he died Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/13/25 Gospel: Luke 6:43-49

Friday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/12/25 Gospel: Luke 6:39-42

Thursday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Theodora of Alexandria; a maiden of Alexandria, Egypt, who fell into a life of sin, repented, and spent her remaining days in virtual anonymity as a hermit in the Thebaid, in the southern region of Egypt, atoning through abstinence and mortifications; the fact that she was a woman was not discovered until her death in 491 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/11/25 Gospel: Luke 6:27-38

Wednesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Apollinaris Franco; born in Old Castile, Spain, educated in law at Salamanca; he entered the Franciscans, and was sent to Japan in 1614; he served as superior of the Franciscan Mission until his arrest in 1617; he was imprisoned in Omura until 1622, and then was burned alive Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/10/25 Gospel: Luke 6:20-26

Tuesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Peter Claver, 1581-1654; as a Jesuit, he sailed to Cartagena , a port city in the Caribbean, where the slave trade flourished; as soon as a slave ship entered the port, Peter Claver moved into its infested hold to minister to the ill-treated and exhausted passengers; after the slaves were herded off of the ship, Peter Claver plunged in among them with medicines, food, bread, brandy, lemons, and tobacco; with the help of interpreters, he gave them basic instruction and assured them of their human dignity; he instructed and baptized an estimated 200,000 slaves; after a long illness, he died in 1854 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/9/25 Gospel: Luke 6:12-19

Feast of the Nativity of Mary Monday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/8/25 Gospel: Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/7/25 Gospel: Luke 14:25-33

Saturday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saints of the Day: Saints Felix and Augebert; Englishmen who were captured and sold into slavery in France; they were ransomed by Pope Gregory I the Great; Felix became a priest, Augebert a deacon; while preparing to return to England as mis­sionaries, they were slain by pagans in Champagne, France, in the 7th Century Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/6/25 Gospel: Luke 6:1-5