Daybreak

Friday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Teresa of Calcutta, 1910-1997; while serving as a Sister of Loretto, she received a "call within a call" to serve the poorest of the poor; she established the Missionaries of Charity; in 1948, she went to the slums for the first time; by the early 1960's, she was sending her sisters to other parts of India; the world took note of Mother Teresa, and she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979; by 1997, her sisters numbered nearly 4,000; after meeting Pope John Paul II for the last time, she returned to Calcutta and spent her final weeks receiving visitors and instructing her Sisters Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/5/25 Gospel: Luke 5:33-39

Thursday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Rosalia; daughter of Sinibald, Lord of Roses and Quisquina, and a descendant of the great Charlemagne; lived much of her life alone in a cave; she practiced great mortifications and lived in constant communion with God; she died alone in 1160; her body was discovered several centuries later, in 1625, during the pontificate of Pope Urban VIII Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/4/25 Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

Wednesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Gregory the Great, 540-604; prefect of Rome before age 30, elected pope at age 50; he removed unworthy priests from office, forbade taking money for many services, emptied the papal treasury to ransom prisoners of the Lombards and to care for persecuted Jews and the victims of plague and famine; he reformed the liturgy and strengthened respect for doctrine; one of the key doctors of the western Church, along with Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/3/25 Gospel: Luke 4:38-44

Tuesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Brocard; French by birth, he went to Mount Carmel; he was elected prior, and asked Albert, the patriarch of Jerusalem, to draw up a rule for the monks; this rule became the foundation of the Carmelite order; Brocard ruled for 35 years, and died in 1231 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/2/25 Gospel: Luke 4:31-37

Monday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Simeon the Stylite, 390-459; he entered a monastery and became a hermit; in 423 he imposed on himself the unusual mortification of living atop a pillar only a few feet in diameter and about ten feet high; one bishop even brought him Holy Communion; Simeon devoted himself to prayer, but also gave exhortations twice daily; he urged his listeners to pray for the salvation of souls Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/1/25 Gospel: Luke 4:16-30

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/31/25 Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-14

Saturday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Narcisa De Jesus Martillo Moran, 1832-1869; born in Ecuador, orphaned at an early age, she worked as a seamstress; she resolved to consecrate her virginity to Christ and to spend the rest of her life offering prayers and penances to God in expiation for mankind’s sins; she spent eight hours per day in prayer, four hours per night in mortifications, ate a very austere diet, and lived in humble living quarters; she was frequently seen in a state of ecstasy; she died at the age of 37 in Lima, Peru Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/30/25 Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30

Friday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist; the drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist, who prepared the way of the Lord Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/29/25 Gospel: Mark 6:17-29

Thursday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430; a Christian at 33, a priest at 36, a bishop at 41; after being immersed in creature comforts, following his conversion, Augustine turned, with a holy fierceness, against the many demon-thrusts rampant in his day; he fulfilled the office of prophet; like Jeremiah and other greats, he was hard-pressed but could not keep quiet Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/28/25 Gospel: Matthew 24:42-51

Wednesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Monica, 330-387; mother of St. Augustine; she ceaselessly prayed for his conversion, and for him to leave his immoral lifestyle; Augustine was baptized by St. Ambrose in 387; after a brief but severe illness, Monica died in 387 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/27/25 Gospel: Matthew 23:27-32

Tuesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Zephyrinus; pope from 199 to 217; Roman by birth, succeeded Victor I; his papacy was dominated by the troubles caused by several heretical groups and the severe persecution of the Church; the antipope Hippolytus criticized his vacillation in dealing with the Monarchian heretics; according to tradition, Zephyrinus was martyred in 202 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/26/25 Gospel: Matthew 23:23-26

Monday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Louis of France, 1214-1270; interpreted his kngly duties in the light of faith; respectful of the papacy, but defended royal interests against the popes; he was devoted to his people, founding hospitals, visiting the sick, and like his patron Saint Francis, caring even for people with leprosy; every day, Louis had 13 special guests from among the poor to eat with him; Louis led a crusade to North Africa in 1270; within a month of their landing at Carthage, the army camp was decimated by disease; Louis himself died there at the age of 56 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/25/25 Gospel: Matthew 23:13-22

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/24/25 Gospel: Luke 13:22-30

Friday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of the Queenship of Mary; the feast was established by Pope Pius XII in 1954; Mary's queenship is a share in Jesus' kingship; this observance is a logical followup to the Assumption, celebrated just one week later Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/22/25 Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40

Thursday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Pius X, 1835-1914; he encouraged Italian Catholics to become more politically involved; one of his first papal acts was to end the supposed right of governments to interfere by veto in papal elections; he denounced the ill treatment of indigenous peoples on the plantations of Peru, sent a relief commission to Messina after an earthquake, and sheltered refugees at his own expense; Pius X foresaw World War I, but it killed him; he said, "This is the last affliction the Lord will visit on me. I would gladly give my life to save my poor children from this ghastly scourge”; he died a few weeks after the beginning of the war, in 1914 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/21/25 Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14

Wednesday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, 1090-1153; joined the monastic community of Citeaux at age 20; within four years, they established a new house in the nearby valley of Wormwoods, with Bernard as abbot; he became known as an arbitrator and counselor; he intervened in a full-blown schism and settled it in favor of the Roman pontiff against the antipope; he was called upon to preach the Second Crusade across Europe; but the military had different ideals from those of Abbot Bernard, and the project ended as a complete military and moral disaster; this burden likely hastened Bernard's death, which came in 1153 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/20/2025 Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16

Tuesday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. John Eudes, 1601-1680; founded the Eudists--the Congregation of Jesus and Mary--devoted to the formation of the clergy by conducting diocesan seminaries; in his parish mission work, John was disturbed by the condition of prostitutes seeking to get out of that life; shelters were found, but it was insufficient; thus the birth of another religious community, the Sisters of Charity of the Refuge; John Eudes is probably best known for the central theme of his writings--Jesus as the source of holiness; Mary as the model of the Christian life Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/19/25 Gospel: Matthew 19:23-30

Monday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Helena; mother of Emperor Constantine the Great; between 326 and 328 A.D., Helena visited the Holy Places in the Middle East; she had many churches constructed, and ordered a pagan temple built over the site of the Crucifixion to be destroyed; in the ruins, she found three crosses; tradition holds that Helena brought a woman who was near death, and had her touch the three crosses, and she fully recovered when touching the third one; Helena declared it to be the "True Cross"; she died around 330 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/18/25 Gospel: Matthew 19:16-22

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/17/25 Gospel: Luke 12:49-53

Saturday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary, 975-1038; son of the Chief of the Magyars; baptized at the age of 10, along with his father; when he succeeded his father, he adopted a policy of Christianization of the country for political and religious reasons; under Stephen, one of every ten towns was required to build a church and support a priest; he abolished pagan customs, and was easily accessible to all, especially the poor; he died in 1038 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/16/25 Gospel: Matthew 19:13-15