Daybreak

Wednesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. John Paul II, 1920-2005; born in Wadowice, Poland; he was elected pope in 1978, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years; in his 27 years of papal ministry, John Paul II wrote 14 encyclicals and five books, canonized 482 saints and beatified 1,338 people Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/22/25 Gospel: Luke 12:39-48

Tuesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Hilarion, 291-371; abbot and disciple of St. Anthony the Great; born in Tabatha, Palestine, and educated in Alexandria, Egypt; stayed with St. Anthony in the desert before becoming a hermit at Majuma, near Gaza, Israel; in 356, Hilarion returned to the desert, but found that his fame had spread there; he fled to Sicily to escape notice, but Hesychius traced him there; the two went to Dalmatia, Croatia, and then to Cyprus; Hilarion performed so many miracles that crowds flocked to him when it was discovered he was in any region; he died on Cyprus Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/21/25 Gospel: Luke 12:35-38

Monday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Paul of the Cross, 1694-1775; born in northern Italy; he developed a devotion to Christ's passion; he was known as one of the most popular preachers of his day; in 1720, he founded the Congregation of the Passion--the Passionists--whose members combined devotion to Christ’s passion with preaching to the poor, and rigorous penances; Paul was elected superior general of the congregation in 1747, and spent the remainder of his life in Rom Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/20/25 Gospel: Luke 12:13-21

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/19/25 Gospel: Luke 18:1-8

Feast of St. Luke; he wrote a major portion of the New Testament, a two-volume work comprising the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles; tradition holds him to be a native of Antioch; he became a companion to St. Paul; he died about 84 A.D. Saturday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/18/25 Gospel: Luke 10:1-9

Friday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch; born in Syria, converted to Christianity, and became bishop of Antioch; in 107 A.D., the Emperor forced the Christians to choose between apostasy and death; Ignatius was condemned to be put to death in Rome; he is known for the seven letters that he sent during the long journey from Antioch to Rome--five to the churches in Asia Minor, one to Polycarp, and one to the Christians of Rome asking them not to try to prevent his martyrdom; Ignatius bravely met the lions in the Circus Maximus in about 107 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/17/25 Gospel: Luke 12:1-7

Thursday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, 1647-1690; became a Visitation Nun at age 24; in 1674, she received the first of her revelations; she felt "invested" with the presence of God; during the next 13 months, Christ appeared to her at intervals, and told her that his human heart was to be the symbol of his divine-human love; some of Margaret Mary's own sisters were hostile, but Jesuit Claude de la Colombière recognized her genuineness and supported her; Christ called her to be a sacrificial victim for the shortcomings of her own sisters; she served as novice mistress and assistant superior, and died at the age of 43 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/16/25 Gospel: Luke 11:47-54

Wednesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila, 1515-1582; she was a woman of prayer, discipline, and compassion; her ongoing conversion was an arduous lifelong struggle, involving ongoing purification and suffering; she spent much of her time and energy seeking to reform herself and the Carmelites, to lead them back to the full observance of the primitive Rule; she founded over a half-dozen new monasteries; her writings, especially the Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle, have helped generations of believers Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/15/25 Gospel: Luke 11:42-46

Tuesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. Callistus I; lived in the first part of the Third Century; he was a slave, with money entrusted to him; he lost the money, and fled Rome; his master caught him as he was about to jump into the sea, and released him under the assumption that he could recover some of the money; later, he was arrested for fighting in a synagogue, for which he was arrested, denounced as a Christian, and forced to work in the mines of Sardinia; he was rescued by Pope Victor, who sent him to Antrium; Pope Zephyrinus put Callistus in charge of the burial chambers along the Appian Way, still known as the Catacombs of San Callisto; he was pope from 217 to 222 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/14/25 Gospel: Luke 11:37-41

Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Theophilus of Antioch; bishop of Antioch, and an early Christian apologist; a philosopher in the eastern Roman Empire, he began to study the Scriptures with the intention of attacking the Christian faith but was soon converted; he wrote an apology in three books addressed to Autolycus which demonstrated the superiority of Christianity over the immoral myths of pagan religion; it also developed the doctrine of the Logos (Word), and used the word "Triad" for the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; died in 181 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/13/25 Gospel: Luke 11:29-32

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/12/25 Gospel: Luke 17:11-19

Saturday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. John XXIII, 1881-1963; in 1958, he was elected pope, and took the name John XXIII; it was originally expected that Pope John XXIII would only serve a short time before passing away and that he would make no significant changes to Church practice; but his most influential decision was the call for an ecumenical council which would be known as Vatican II; Pope John XXIII generally maintained a good reputation among those who remembered him and he was often titled "the Good" Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/11/25 Gospel: Luke 11:27-28

Friday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Francis Borgia, 1510-1572; a member of the Spanish nobility, but when his wife died, he became a Jesuit priest; he had to help the cook, gathering wood for the fire and sweeping the floor, but never complained; the only time he became angry was when anyone treated him with respect as if he was still a Duke; he preached everywhere, and spread the Society of Jesus all over Spain and Portugal; under his guidance, the Jesuits grew to be a very great help to the Church in many lands Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/10/25 Gospel: Luke 11:15-26

Thursday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorials of St. Denis and Companions, first bishop of Paris, died about 258 A.D.; and St. John Henry Newman, 1801-1890, Anglican converted to Catholicism, canonized 2019 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/9/25 Gospel: Luke 11:5-13

Wednesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Keyne; a Fifth Century holy woman, one of the 24 children of King Brychan of Brecknock, Wales; after refusing several offers of marriage, she became a hermitess on the banks of the Severn River in Somersetshire, England; she lived there for several years and traveled much, and was then persuaded by her nephew, St. Cadoc, to return to Wales; she founded numerous churches in South Wales, Cornwall, and perhaps Somerset Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/8/25 Gospel: Luke 11:1-4

Tuesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary; originally, "Our Lady of Victory," in honor of the victory in the Battle of Lepanto, attributed to the praying of the rosary Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/7/25 Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

Monday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Blessed Marie Rose DuRocher, 1811-1849; born at St. Antoine, Quebec, Canada; she helped her brother, a parish priest, and in the process established the first Canadian parish Sodality for young women; in 1843, she was invited by Bishop Bourget to found a new congregation of women dedicated to Christian education; she founded the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary; in spite of many obstacles, her community flourished, and she remained unswerving in her concern for the poor; worn out by her many labors, Marie Rose DuRocher died at the age of 38 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/6/25 Gospel: Luke 10:25-37

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/5/25 Gospel: Luke 17:5-10

Saturday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, 1181-1226; a serious illness caused him to abandon his frolicking life as leader of Assisi's youth; lengthy and difficult prayer led him to a self-emptying; from the cross in the neglected field-chapel of San Damiano, Christ told him, “Francis, go out and build up my house, for it is nearly falling down”; he gave up all of his possessions, he had no intention of founding an order, but once it began he protected it and accepted all the legal structures needed to support it; his devotion and loyalty to the Church were absolute; two years before his death, received the stigmata, the painful wounds of Christ in his hands, feet, and side; Francis died in 1221 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/4/25 Gospel: Luke 10:17-24

Friday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Adalgott; he was a monk in the Benedictine Monastery of Clairvaux, where St. Bernard trained his successors; he was appointed the abbot of the Benedictines in Dissentis, where he became known  for his care of the sick and poor; when Adalgott was named bishop of Chur, he conducted an apostolate for the suffering of the region, founding a hospital in 1150; he died in 1165 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/3/25 Gospel: Luke 10:13-16