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Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Oswald, 925-992; a Dane by birth, St. Oswald studied in the household of his uncle, Archbishop Odo of Fleury, France, where he was ordained; he returned to England in 959, and was made Bishop of Worcester in 962; in 972, he became archbishop of York; for most of his public life, he was associated with St. Dunstan and St. Ethelwold, and the three have been regarded as the saints who restored English monasticism Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/28/25 Gospel: Mark 10:1-12

Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Baldomerus; Seventh Century locksmith until he entered the monastery of St. Justus; he is depicted in liturgical art as carrying blacksmith tools and pincers; he is the patron of locksmiths Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/27/25 Gospel: Mark 9:41-50

Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Isabel of France, 1225-1270; sister of St. Louis, and daughter of King Louis VIII of France; refused offers of marriage to continue her life consecrated to God; she ministered to the sick and the poor, and after the death of her mother, founded the Franciscan Monastery of the Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Paris; she lived there in austerity, but never became a nun and refused to become abbess; she died there in 1270

Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Walburga, 710-779; born in Devonshire, England, the daughter of a West Saxon Chieftain, and sister of Saints Willebald and Winebald; she was educated at Wimborne Monastery in Dorset, where she became a nun; she was later sent to Germany to help St. Boniface in his missionary work; she became Abbess of the double monastery at Heidenheim founded by her brother Winebald; on Winebald's death, she was appointed abbess of both monasteries by her brother Willebald, who was then bishop of Eichstadt; she remained the superior of both the men and women until her death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/25/25 Gospel: Mark 9:30-37

Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Adela; youngest daughter of William the Conqueror; marries Stephen of Blois in 1080; she had an active role in English politics, and was famed for endowing churches and monastic institutions Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/24/25 Gospel: Mark 9:14-29

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/23/25 Gospel: Luke 6:27-38

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter Saturday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/22/25 Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19

Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Peter Damian, 988-1072; became a professor, but left his teaching to devote full-time prayer with the Benedictines; Peter succeeded the abbot, and founded five additional hermitages; Pope Stephen IX made Peter the cardinal-bishop of Ostia; he worked to combat simony, and encouraged his priests to observe celibacy and to live together, observing scheduled times of prayer and religious observance; after retiring as cardinal-bishop, he was still called upon as a papal legate; on one such mission to Ravenna, he developed a fever, and died with his monks surrounding him, praying the Divine Office Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/21/25 Gospel: Mark 8:34-9:1

Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Saints of the Day: Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto; in 1917 three Portuguese children received apparitions of Our Lady near Fatima, Portugal; Mary asked them to learn to read and write, and to pray the rosary for peace and for the end of the war; they were also to pray for sinners and for the conversion of Russia; less than two years later, Francisco died of influenza; Jacinta died of influenza in 1920, offering her suffering for the conversion of sinners, peace in the world, and for the Holy Father; their cousin, Lucia dos Santos, became a Carmelite nun, and died in 2005 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/20/25 Gospel: Mark 8:27-33

Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Barbatus of Benevento, 610-682; born in Italy, ordained in Marcona, and sent to Benevento; in 663, the city was under siege by Emperor Constans II, and Barbatus predicted that the assault would end; when peace came, he was named bishop of Benevento; he attended the council of Constantinople in 680, and died in Benevento Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/19/25 Gospel: Mark 8:22-26

Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Colman of Lindisfarne, 605-675; Irish bishop of Lindisfarne, England; born at Connaught; defended the Celtic ecclesiastical practices, and refused to accept King Oswy's decision on the Roman rites; moved his Irish and English monks to the Isle of Innishboffin, and later moved the English monks to Mayo; praised by Blessed Alcuin and St. Bede Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/18/25 Gospel: Mark 8:14-21

Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the Seven Founders of the Order of Servites; in 1240, seven noblemen of Florence mutually decided to withdraw from the city to a solitary place for prayer and direct service of God; in 1244, they adopted a religious habit, similar to the Dominican habit, and chose to live under the rule of St. Augustine; they came to the United States from Austria in 1852 and settled in New York and later in Philadelphia; community members combined monastic life and active ministry Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/17/25 Gospel: Mark 8:11-13

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/16/25 Gospel: Luke 6:17, 20-26

Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Jordan; met St. Dominic in Paris in 1220, and became a Dominican; on the death of Dominic in 1222, Jordan was elected second master general of the Dominicans; he expanded the order; he was a powerful preacher; St. Albert the Great became a Dominican after hearing one of Jordan's sermons; Jordan died in a shipwreck in 1227, on his way to the Holy Land Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/15/25 Gospel: Mark 8:1-10

Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Cyril and Methodius; Ninth Century brothers in a part of Greece inhabited by many Slavs; they became missionaries, teachers, and patrons of the Slavic peoples; when the Duke of Moravia requested political independence and ecclesiastical autonomy, it changed the lives of Cyril and Methodius; Cyril invented an alphabet; together they translated the Gospels, the psalter, Paul's letters, and the liturgical books into Slavonic; Cyril and Methodius journeyed to Rome, and saw their Slavonic liturgy approved by Pope Adrian II; Cyril, long an invalid, died in Rome 50 days after taking the monastic habit; Methodius continued mission work for 16 more years; they were named co-patrons of Europe by Pope John Paul II Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/14/25 Gospel: Mark 7:31-37

Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Catherine de Ricci, 1522-1589; born in Florence, Italy; entered the convent of Dominican nuns in Prat, Tuscany, in her fourtheenth year; became novice mistress, and then subprioress; at 25, she became perpetual prioress; she corresponded with St. Philip Neri, and--while yet living--appeared to him in Rome in a miraculous manner; she experienced the "Ecstacy of the Passion" every week for twelve years from Thursday noon to Friday at 4 p.m.; died after a long illness Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/13/25 Gospel: Mark 7:24-30

Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Julian the Hospitaler; killed his noble parents in a case of mistaken identity; he and his wife went to Rome, and received absolution; on returning home, he built an inn and a hospital for the poor, caring for a leper--reputed to be an angel Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/12/25 Gospel: Mark 7:14-23

Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/11/25 Gospel: Mark 7:1-13

Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Scholastica, 480-542; twin sister of St. Benedict; founded a religious community for women near Monte Cassino, where Benedict governed; the twins visited each other once per year; on their final visit, Scholastica sensed that he death was near, and asked Benedict to stay until the next morning; he refused, so Scholastica asked God to make it happen--which resulted in a severe thunderstorm; three days later, Benedict, in prayer, saw the soul of his sister rising heavenward Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/10/25 Gospel: Mark 6:53-56

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/9/25 Gospel: Luke 5:1-11