Daybreak

Friday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, 1891-1942; a brilliant philosopher who stopped believing in God when she was 14, Edith Stein was so captivated by reading the autobiography of Teresa of Avila that she began a spiritual journey that led to her baptism in 1922; twelve years later she imitated Saint Teresa by becoming a Carmelite, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross; the Nazis arrested all Dutch Jews who had become Christians; Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa, also a Catholic, died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/9/24 Gospel: Matthew 16:24-28

Thursday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Dominic, 1170-1221; on a journey through France, he came face-to-face with the Albigensian heresy, and was commissioned to be part of the preaching crusade against it; Dominic and three Cistercians began itinerant preaching, and eventually became a community, the beginning of the Order of Preachers, or Dominicans; Dominic’s ideal, and that of his Order, was to organically link a life with God, study, and prayer in all forms, with a ministry of salvation to people by the word of God Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/8/24 Gospel: Matthew 16:13-23

Wednesday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II; elected pope in 257, and repaired the rift between the sees of Rome and Carthage that had developed over the issue of baptism and rebaptism; forbidden to hold services, Sixtus and his deacons worshipped in the cemetery chapel; in 258, soldiers broke into the chapel and beheaded Sixtus, along with four of his eight attendants; Lawrence was martyred four days later Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/7/24 Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord Tuesday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/6/24 Gospel: Mark 9:2-10

Monday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the Dedication of St. Mary Major Basilica; raised at the order of Pope Liberius, rebuilt by Pope Sixtus III in 431; the largest church in the world honoring God through Mary Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/5/24 Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/4/24 Gospel: John 6:24-35

Saturday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Gamaliel; rabbinical teacher, mentor of St. Paul; mentioned in the Acts of the Apostle as advising the Jewish Sanhedrin in Jerusalem to release St. Peter and other apostles; reportedly became a Christian Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/3/24 Gospel: Matthew 14:1-12

Thursday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, 1696-1787; born near Naples, graduated in law at the age of 16; entered the ecclesiastical state, and was ordained a priest in 1726; in 1732, he discerned a call from God to found the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer--also known as the Redemptorists--to labor for the salvation of the most abandoned souls; appointed bishop of St. Agatha in 1756, and retired to his convent in 1775, where he died Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/1/24 Gospel: Matthew 13:47-53

Wednesday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, 1491-1556; he sought a mililtary career, but after an injury which required a long convalescence, he read a Life of Christ and lives of the saints, and began his conversion; in 1534, he and six others began the Society of Jesus, with the approval of Pope Paul III; Ignatius centered his spiritual life on the essential foundations of Christianity—the Trinity, Christ, the Eucharist Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/31/24 Gospel: Matthew 13:44-46

Tuesday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, 380-450; bishop and doctor of the church; called "Chrysologus," or "golden-worded," because of his oratorical excellence; appointed bishop of Ravenna in 433, and got rid of the last vestiges of paganism among his people; he also counseled the heretic, Eutyches, in order to prevent division, but warned him of the consequences of opposing the pope; Peter died at Imola, Italy Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/30/23 Gospel: Matthew 13:36-43

Monday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus; close friends of Jesus; Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and Martha made a profound statement of faith Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/29/24 Gospel: John 11:19-27

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/28/24 Gospel: John 6:1-15

Saturday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time Saints of the Day: Saints Natalie and Aurelius; Aurelius was the son of a Moor, and orphaned as a child, secretly raised a Christian by his aunt during the Moorish persecution of Christians; he married a half-Moorish woman, Sabigotho, who took the name Natalie when she converted to Christianity; they were both beheaded in 852 for practicing their faith openly, together with George, a monk from Jerusalem whom Aurelius had befriended Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/27/24 Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30

Friday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/26/24 Gospel: Matthew 13:18-23

Feast of St. James, apostle; died 44 A.D. Thursday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/25/24 Gospel: Matthew 20:20-28

Wednesday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Sharbel Makhlouf, 1828-1898; joined the Monastery of St. Maron at Annaya, Lebanon, at the age of 23; lived as a hermit from 1875 until his death; with a reputation for holiness, people sought him to receive a blessing and to be remembered in his prayers; he followed a strict fast and was very devoted to the Blessed Sacrament; he occasionally administered the sacraments to nearby villages; died late afternoon, Christmas eve, 1898 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/24/24 Gospel: Matthew 13:1-9

Tuesday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Bridget of Sweden, 1303-1373; married to the Swedish king, Magnus II, mother of eight children, including St. Catherine of Sweden; Magnus gave Bridget land and buildings to found a monastery for men and women, an order which was eventually known as the Bridgetines; in 1350, Bridget made a pilgrimage to Rome, never to return to Sweden; her pilgrimage to the Holy Land was marred by shipwreck and the death of her son, Charles, and eventually led to her own death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/23/24 Gospel: Matthew 12:46-50

Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, died about 63 A.D.; the "Apostle to the Apostles" Monday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/22/24 Gospel: John 20:1-2, 11-18

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/21/24 Gospel: Mark 6:30-34

Saturday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Apollinarius, sent by St. Peter to Ravenna, Italy, as its first bishop; his preaching was so successful, that the pagans expelled him three times; he died of injuries on his fourth try, in about 79 A,D, Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/20/24 Gospel: Matthew 12:14-21