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15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/14/24 Gospel: Mark 6:7-13

Saturday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Henry II, 973-1024; born in Hildesheim, Bavaria; became Duke of Bavaria when his father died in 995, and emperor when his cousin Otto III died in 1002; crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Benedict VIII; also miraculously cured by St. Benedict; wanted to be a Benedictine, and lived as an oblate Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/13/24 Gospel: Matthew 10:24-33

Friday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. John the Iberian; a noble of southern Georgia, also called Iberia, and a military leader; went with his son, St. Euthymius, to Mount Olympias in Bethynia, and then to Mount Athos in Macedonia; there, he founded a monastery which endured into the 20th Century; died 1002 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/12/24 Gospel: Matthew 10:16-23

Thursday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Benedict, 480-547; born into a distinguished family in central Italy; drawn to monasticism, he became a hermit, and then withdrew to a high cave in the mountains; some monks chose him as their leader for a time, but many disagreed with his strictness; he conceived of gathering various families of monks into one “Grand Monastery” to give them the benefit of unity, fraternity, and permanent worship in one house; he then began to build Monte Cassino; the rule which gradually developed prescribed a life of liturgical prayer, study, manual labor, and living together in community under a common abbot Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/11/24 Gospel: Matthew 10:7-15

Wednesday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Veronica Giuliani, 1660-1727; native of Binasco, near Milan, Italy, born in 1660; she entered the Capuchins in 1677, and served as novice mistress for 34 years; received a stigmata in 1697, and had visions, the accounts of which are quite detailed; she remained practical in spite of her ecstatic experiences; became abbess in 1716, a role she served until her death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/10/24 Gospel: Matthew 10:1-7

Tuesday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions, the Chinese martyrs; the 120 martyrs in this group died between 1648 and 1930; Augustine Zhao Rong was a Chinese soldier who accompanied Bishop John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse of the Paris Foreign Mission Society to his martyrdom in Beijing; all 120 were canonized on October 1, 2000 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/9/24 Gospel: Matthew 9:32-38

Monday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Priscilla; she and her husband, Aquila, the tent-maker, were forced to leave Rome, and settled in Corinth, where they provided lodging for Paul--who may have converted them to Christianity; they went with Paul to Ephesus, and then back to Rome; they suffered martyrdom in Asia Minor according to the Roman martyrology, but one tradition has them martyred in Rome Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/8/24 Gospel: Matthew 9:18-26

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/7/24 Gospel: Mark 6:1-6

Saturday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Maria Goretti, 1890-1902; daughter of a poor Italian tenant farmer; on a hot July afternoon, an 18-year-old neighbor, Alessandro, attempted to molest her, and ended up stabbing her multiple times; Maria was taken to a hospital, where she died; Alessandro was sentenced to 30 years in prison; while there, he received a dream--or vision--of Maria gathering flowers and offering them to him; his life changed, and he was released after 27 years; he immediately sought the forgiveness of Maria's mother; at Maria’s canonization in 1950, a 66-year-old Alessandro Serenelli knelt among the quarter-million people and cried tears of joy Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/6/24 Gospel: Matthew 9:14-17

Friday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria, 1502-1539; born in Cremona, Italy; ordained a priest at the age of 26; sent to Milan, and he laid the foundations of three religious congregations, one for men, one for women, and an association of married couples; Anthony encouraged such innovations as the collaboration of the laity in the apostolate, frequent Communion, the Forty Hours devotion, and the ringing of church bells at 3:00 p.m. on Fridays; on a mission of peace, Anthony became seriously ill and was brought home for a visit to his mother; he died at Cremona at the age of 36 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/5/24 Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13

Thursday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time; Independence Day in the United States Optional Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal, 1271-1336; daughter of Pedro III, future king of Aragon; given in marriage to Denis, king of Portugal, at age 12; she exercised both piety and charity, and remained devoted to her husband, whose infidelity to her was a scandal to the kingdom; Denis gave up his life of sin, and Elizabeth became a peacemaker among family; after the death of her husband, she retired as a tertiary to a Poor Clare monastery--and she brought about peace between her son Alfonso, now king of Portugal, and his son-in-law, the king of Castile Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/4/24 Gospel: Matthew 9:1-8

Feast of St. Thomas, apostle; died about 72 A.D. Wednesday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/3/24 Gospel: John 20:24-29

Tuesday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Otto of Bamberg, 1060-1139; born in Swabia, served Emperor Henry IV in various posts; Otto was appointed bishop of Bamberg in 1103; he was a figure in the reconciliation of the pope and Emperor Henry V; headed a mission to Pomerania, and made numerous converts among the local inhabitants; known as the Apostle of Pomerania Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/2/24 Gospel: Matthew 8:23-27

Monday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Junipero Serra, 1713-1784; born on Spain’s island of Mallorca, and joined the Franciscans; set out to convert native peoples in the New World; worked in central Mexico and the Baja Peninsula, and then traveled 900 miles north to set his first mission, San Diego; other missions followed; Junipero’s missionary life was a long battle with cold and hunger, with unsympathetic military commanders and even with danger of death from non-Christian native peoples--but he baptized over 6,000 people and confirmed 5,000; he gave the Native Americans the faith and a decent standard of living Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/1/24 Gospel: Matthew 8:18-22

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/30/24 Gospel: Mark 5:21-43

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul Saturday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/29/24 Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19

Friday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Irenaeus, 130-202; as bishop of Lyons, he foughts the Gnostics, who claimed "secret" knowledge which Jesus had only revealed to a few; Irenaeus' work gradually ended the influence of the Gnostics; circumstances of his death remain unclear, but he is regarded as a martyr Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/28/24 Gospel: Matthew 8:1-4

Thursday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria, 378-444; began his career as archbishop of Alexandria with impulsive--often violent--actions; but he championed the cause of orthodoxy against the heresy of Nestorius, who taught that in Christ there were two persons, one human and one divine; at the Council of Ephesus in 431, Cyril condemned Nestorianism and proclaimed Mary truly the “God-bearer”—the mother of the one Person who is truly God and truly human Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/27/24 Gospel: Matthew 7:21-29

Wednesday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, 1902-1975; knew, in 1918, that God was asking something of him; ordained a priest in 1925; in 1928, he realized that his mission was to found Opus Dei, an institution within the Catholic Church dedicated to helping people in all walks of life to follow Christ, to seek holiness in their daily life and grow in love for God and their fellow men and women; Opus Dei eventually spread first in Spain, and then in other countries; in 1946, St. Josemaria moved to Rome and worked closely with some the Vatican II council fathers; died suddenly in 1975 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/26/24 Gospel: Matthew 7:15-20

Tuesday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. William of Vercelli, 1085-1142; became a hermit on Monte Vergine, Italy, and attracted so many followers that a monastery was built; in time, the austerity of his rule led to dissension, and to keep peace, he left, and was taken under the care of Roger I of Naples; Roger built him a monastery at Salermo; William founded monasteries throughout Naples, and died at the Guglielmo monastery near Nusco Italy Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/25/24 Gospel: Matthew 7:6, 12-14