Synopsis
Daybreak is a fresh, upbeat approach to morning devotions and prayer. Host Paul Sadek leads you in spiritual reflections and meditations from the daily Mass readings, Morning Prayer, the Holy Fathers teachings, writing of the saints, and more.
Episodes
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Daybreak for November 12, 2025
12/11/2025 Duration: 51minWednesday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Josaphat, 1580-1623; born in what is now Ukraine, he became a Basilian monk, then a priest, and soon was well known as a preacher and an ascetic; he became bishop of Vitebsk and archbishop of Polotsk; most monks, fearing interference in liturgy and customs, did not want union with Rome; Josaphat went to Vitebsk, where he was martyred, and his body thrown into the river; it was recovered, and is now buried at St. Peter's in Rome; Josaphat is the first saint of the Eastern Church to be canonized by Rome Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/12/25 Gospel: Luke 17:11-19
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Daybreak for November 11, 2025
11/11/2025 Duration: 51minTuesday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, 316-397; after discharge from the army, he went to be a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers; Martin became a monk, first living in Milan, and then on an island; he returned to France and established what may have been the first French monastery near Poitiers; the people of Tours wanted Martin to be their bishop; so they invited him on a ruse, to visit a sick person; he was taken to the church and reluctantly allowed himself to be consecrated bishop; as death approached, Martin’s followers begged him not to leave them; he prayed, “Lord, if your people still need me, I do not refuse the work; Your will be done” Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/11/25 Gospel: Luke 17:7-10
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Daybreak for November 10, 2025
10/11/2025 Duration: 51minMonday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Pope St. Leo the Great; elected pope in 440; known as one of the best administrative popes of the ancient Church; it is said of Leo the Great that his true significance rests in his doctrinal insistence on the mysteries of Christ and the Church and in the supernatural charisms of the spiritual life given to humanity in Christ and in his Body, the Church; he died in 461 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/10/25 Gospel: Luke 17:1-6
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Daybreak for November 9, 2025
09/11/2025 Duration: 59minFeast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rom 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/9/25 Gospel: John 2:13-22
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Daybreak for November 7, 2025
07/11/2025 Duration: 59minFriday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Engelbert; son of the count of Berg and became the possessor of many benefices; Engelbert was excommunicated but was restored into union with the Church; he became the archbishop of Cologne in 1217, at the age of thirty; he became tutor to the son of Emperor Frederick II; in 1222 he crowned Henry King of the Romans; Engelbert was slain by his cousin Frederick, whom he had thwarted in an attempt to steal from the nuns of Essen; Engelbert was ambushed at Gevelsberg and murdered on November 7 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/7/25 Gospel: Luke 16:1-8
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Daybreak for November 6, 2025
06/11/2025 Duration: 59minThursday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Leonard of Noblac; Sixth Century Hermit-abbot, a convert of St. Remigius; he was a French courtier offered a bishopric, but became a recluse at Micy, France; he then lived at Limoges, France, and he was given land by the royal court on which he founded Noblac Abbey, later called Saint-Leonard; he died in 559 A.D.; he is a patron of Women in labor and prisoners of war Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/6/25 Gospel: Luke 15:1-10
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Daybreak for November 5, 2025
05/11/2025 Duration: 59minWednesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Elizabeth; cousin to the Virgin Mary; her husband, Zechariah, desiring a child, went to pray in the temple, and his prayer was answered; Elizabeth became pregnant shortly after; Mary visited Elizabeth, and the baby leaped in Elizabeth's womb; although Elizabeth's neighbors assumed the child would be named Zechariah, her husband insisted that John be his name, as the angel Gabriel had instructed him; he was, of course, later known as John the Baptist Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/5/25 Gospel: Luke 14:25-33
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Daybreak for November 4, 2025
04/11/2025 Duration: 59minTuesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, 1538-1584; ordained a priest at age 25, and was then consecrated archbishop of Milan; he deserves the credit for keeping the Council of Trent in session when at several points it was on the verge of breaking up; when he was finally able to spend time on his diocese, St. Charles found it in much need of reform, accomplished through a provincial council of all bishops under him; during the plague and famine of 1576, St. Charles attempted to feed 60,000 to 70,000 per day; St. Charles Borromeo died in 1584 at the age of 46 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/4/25 Gospel: Luke 14:15-24
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Daybreak for November 3, 2025
03/11/2025 Duration: 51minMonday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, 1579-1639; son of a black or indiginous freed woman of Peru and a Spanish Grandee; his parents never married, and Martin bore the appearance of his mother; his father abandoned the family, and Martin grew up in poverty; he became a lay helper for the Dominicans, who eventually asked him to make full religious profession; many of his nights were spent in prayer and penitential practices; his days were filled with nursing the sick and caring for the poor; he was instrumental in founding an orphanage, took care of slaves brought from Africa, and managed the daily alms of the priory; many of his fellow religious took Martin as their spiritual director, but he continued to call himself a “poor slave”; he was a good friend of another Dominican saint of Peru, Rose of Lima Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/3/25 Gospel: Luke 14:12-14
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Daybreak for November 2, 2025
02/11/2025 Duration: 59minCommemoration of all of the Faithful Departed - All Souls Day 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/2/25 Gospel: John 6:37-40
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Daybreak for November 1, 2025
01/11/2025 Duration: 59minSolemnity of All Saints Saturday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/1/25 Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12a
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Daybreak for October 31, 2025
31/10/2025 Duration: 51minFriday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Wolfgang; born in Swabia, Germany; became a Benedictine, and was appointed head of the monastery school; in 972, he was named bishop of Regensburg; he brought the clergy of the diocese into his reforms, restored monasteries, promoted education, preached enthusiastically, and was renowned for his charity and aid to the poor; he also served as tutor to Emperor Henry II while he was still king; St. Wolfgang died near Linz, Austria, in 994 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/31/25 Gospel: Luke 14:1-6
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Daybreak for October 30, 2025
30/10/2025 Duration: 51minThursday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Serapion of Antioch; much praised by St. Jerome and Eusebius of Caesarea for his theological writings, and he was considered one of the chief theologians of his era; he became bishop of Antioch, Syria, in 190, and. was revered as a theologian; only fragments of his work have survived; among the extant writings are a letter to the Church of Rhossus forbidding the reading of the non-canonical Gospel of St. Peter and a letter against the heresy of Montanism—which held that its leaders were not just messengers of God, but “possessed” by God; St. Serapion died in 211 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/30/25 Gospel: Luke 13:31-35
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Daybreak for October 29, 2025
29/10/2025 Duration: 51minWednesday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Abraham of Rostov; born in Galicia, Russia, and practiced the local pagan religion; when struck with a serious illness, he called on Christ, and was miraculously cured; he became a Christian, was baptized, and became a monk; he went to the city of Rostov, where he began his ministry among the pagan peoples; he built two parish churches as well as a monastery, and many institutions for the poor and suffering; he died in the 11th Century Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/29/25 Gospel: Luke 13:22-30
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Daybreak for October 28, 2025
28/10/2025 Duration: 51minFeast of Saints Simon and Jude, two of the Twelve Apostles Tuesday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/28/25 Gospel: Luke 6:12-16
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Daybreak for October 27, 2025
27/10/2025 Duration: 51minMonday 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
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Daybreak for October 26, 2025
26/10/2025 Duration: 59min30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/26/25 Gospel: Luke 18:9-14
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Daybreak for October 24, 2025
25/10/2025 Duration: 51minFriday 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
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Daybreak for October 25, 2025
25/10/2025 Duration: 59minSaturday 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
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Daybreak for October 23, 2025
23/10/2025 Duration: 51minThursday 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