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Sixth Sunday of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/14/23 Gospel: John 14:15-21

Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of Saints Nereus and Achilleus; First Century martyrs, written of by Pope St. Damasus some 300 years after their deaths; they were soldiers in the Roman army, and converted by a "miracle of faith"; martyred, but by what means unknown Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/12/23 Gospel: John 15:12-17

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Odilo of Cluny, 962-1049; born to a noble family in Auvergne, France; became a Benedictine in 990, and was elected abbot in 994; sold treasures of the Church to feed the poor during a famine in 1006; trusted advisor to popes and kings Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/11/23 Gospel: John 15:9-11

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Damien de Veuster of Molokai, 1840-1889; born in Belgium joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; went to the Hawaiian leper colony on Molokai in 1873, and remained permanently, caring for the people's physical, medical, and spiritual needs; contracted Hansen's disease himself, and died of its complications Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/10/23 Gospel: John 15:1-8

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Pachomius, 292-348; after his discharge from the emperor's army, he was baptized, and joined an anchorite, Palemon; the two build a monastery on the banks of the Nile, and in a short time some one hundred monks joined them; ten other monasteries were built for men, and two nunneries for women; before Pachomius' death, there were seven thousand monks in his houses; his order lasted in the East until the 11th Century Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/9/23 Gospel: John 14:27-31

Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Victor Maurus; native of Mauretania; a Christian from his youth, but not arrested for the faith until he was an elderly man; tortured and executed under Maximian in Milan around 303 A.D.; a church was erected over his grave, and many miracles were reported at the shrine Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/8/23 Gospel: John 14:21-26

Fifth Sunday of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/7/23 Gospel: John 14:1-12

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Petronax, 670-747; joined the Benedictines in Brescia, italy; in 717 he was asked by Pope St. Gregory to examine the ruins of Monte Cassino, damaged by the Lombards in 580; he gathered the hermits who were living there and began rebuilding; he was elected abbot, and ruled Monte Cassino for three decades; known as the "second founder of Monte Cassino" Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/6/23 Gospel: John 14:7-14

Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Hilary of Arles, 400-449; born of a noble family in Lorraine, France; joined St. Honoratus at Lerins Abbey; Honoratus became bishop of Arles, and when he died Hilary succeded him in 429; known for his austerities, aid to the poor, and ransoming captives Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/5/23 Gospel: John 14:1-6

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. John Payne, 1532-1582; born in England, and was ordaine in Douai in 1576; he went back to England, and was arrested within a year; after release, he left England, but returned in 1579, and was again arrested after having been betrayed; he was imprisoned and tortured in the Tower of London, and finally condemned to death; one of the Martyrs of England and Wales Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/4/23 Gospel: John 13:16-20

Feast of Saints Philip and James, apostles; little is known of James, the Son of Alphaeus, also known as "James the Lesser"; Philip came from Bethsaida, and took a long time to realize who Jesus was, as evidenced by his request, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/3/23 Gospel: John 14:6-14

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Memorial of St. Athanasius, 296-373; became bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, and continued the fight against Arianism, fought by his predecessor; he was exiled five times for his defense of the doctrine of Christ's divinity; almost all of his dogmatic and historical writings are polemic, directed against every aspect of Arianism Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/2/23 Gospel: John 10:22-30

Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker; instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1955 to foster devotion to St. Joseph, and as a response to the "May Day" celebrations of the Communists Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/1/23 Gospel: John 10:11-18

Fourth Sunday of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/30/23 Gospel: John 10:1-10

Saturday of the Third Week of Easter Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, 1347-1380; entered the Dominican Third Order at 18; became very influential, publicly; worked for the crusade against the Turks, and for Church unity during the Great Schism Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/29/23 Gospel: John 6:60-69

Friday of the Third Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Peter Chanel, 1803-1841; born in France, and joined the Marists after ordination; went as a missionary to Futuna Island, northeast of Fiji, where he learned the language and maintained a serene and gentle spirit, plus endless patience; when the chieftain's son asked to baptized, the chieftain ordered Fr. Peter to be clubbed to death; but within two years after Peter Chanel's death, the entire island became Catholic, and has remained so Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/28/23 Gospel: John 6:52-59

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Zita, 1212-1278; became a housekeeper for a rich weaver in Lucca, Italy, at the age of 12, and remained with the family for the rest of her life; found time every day to attend mass and recite prayers, as well as carry out her household duties; her employers eventually gave Zita free reign over her working schedule, and she busied herself with viists to the sick and imprisoned; sought out by important people; patroness of domestic workers Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/27/23 Gospel: John 6:44-51

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter Saint of the Day: St. Cletus; third Bishop of Rome, succeeding St. Linus; reigned from 76 to his death in 89 A.D.; styled by authoritative sources as a martyr; buried near St. Linus on the Vatican Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/26/23 Gospel: John 6:35-40

Feast of St. Mark, evangelist, died circa 68 A.D. Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/25/23 Gospel: Mark 16:15-20

Monday of the Third Week of Easter Optional Memorial of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, 1577-1622; lawyer-turned-Franciscan Capuchin monk; as a missionary to Switzerland, he was so successful that local Protestants claimed that he was a spy for the Austrian emperor; also served as head of the Congregation for the Spreading of the Faith; stabbed to death in a church in 1622 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/24/23 Gospel: John 6:22-29