Daybreak

Friday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of the Queenship of Mary; the feast was established by Pope Pius XII in 1954; Mary's queenship is a share in Jesus' kingship; this observance is a logical followup to the Assumption, celebrated just one week later Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/22/25 Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40

Thursday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Pius X, 1835-1914; he encouraged Italian Catholics to become more politically involved; one of his first papal acts was to end the supposed right of governments to interfere by veto in papal elections; he denounced the ill treatment of indigenous peoples on the plantations of Peru, sent a relief commission to Messina after an earthquake, and sheltered refugees at his own expense; Pius X foresaw World War I, but it killed him; he said, "This is the last affliction the Lord will visit on me. I would gladly give my life to save my poor children from this ghastly scourge”; he died a few weeks after the beginning of the war, in 1914 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/21/25 Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14

Wednesday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, 1090-1153; joined the monastic community of Citeaux at age 20; within four years, they established a new house in the nearby valley of Wormwoods, with Bernard as abbot; he became known as an arbitrator and counselor; he intervened in a full-blown schism and settled it in favor of the Roman pontiff against the antipope; he was called upon to preach the Second Crusade across Europe; but the military had different ideals from those of Abbot Bernard, and the project ended as a complete military and moral disaster; this burden likely hastened Bernard's death, which came in 1153 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/20/2025 Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16

Tuesday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. John Eudes, 1601-1680; founded the Eudists--the Congregation of Jesus and Mary--devoted to the formation of the clergy by conducting diocesan seminaries; in his parish mission work, John was disturbed by the condition of prostitutes seeking to get out of that life; shelters were found, but it was insufficient; thus the birth of another religious community, the Sisters of Charity of the Refuge; John Eudes is probably best known for the central theme of his writings--Jesus as the source of holiness; Mary as the model of the Christian life Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/19/25 Gospel: Matthew 19:23-30

Monday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Helena; mother of Emperor Constantine the Great; between 326 and 328 A.D., Helena visited the Holy Places in the Middle East; she had many churches constructed, and ordered a pagan temple built over the site of the Crucifixion to be destroyed; in the ruins, she found three crosses; tradition holds that Helena brought a woman who was near death, and had her touch the three crosses, and she fully recovered when touching the third one; Helena declared it to be the "True Cross"; she died around 330 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/18/25 Gospel: Matthew 19:16-22

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/17/25 Gospel: Luke 12:49-53

Saturday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary, 975-1038; son of the Chief of the Magyars; baptized at the age of 10, along with his father; when he succeeded his father, he adopted a policy of Christianization of the country for political and religious reasons; under Stephen, one of every ten towns was required to build a church and support a priest; he abolished pagan customs, and was easily accessible to all, especially the poor; he died in 1038 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/16/25 Gospel: Matthew 19:13-15

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven Friday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/15/25 Gospel: Luke 1:39:56

Thursday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, 1894-1941; Conventual Franciscan priest arrested twice by the Nazis; took the place of a man sentenced to death, and was, himself, executed Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/14/25 Gospel: Matthew 18:21-19:1

Wednesday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Saints Pontian and Hippolytus; Pontian was Roman by birth, and was elected pope in 230, a time when a synod condemned Origen as a priest and teacher; in 235, Pontian was arrested and exiled in Sardinia; Hippolytus was the first antipope, and he was also exiled to Sardina in 235; they reconciled in the mines; both died in 235 A.D., and share the same feast day Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/13/25 Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20

Tuesday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, 1572-1641; widowed after seven years of marriage, St. Francis de Sales became her spiritual director; she wanted to become a nun, but St. Francis persuaded her to defer this decision; Francis told Jane of his plan to found an institute of women who would exemplify the virtues of Mary at the visitation--thus, their name, the Visitation Nuns; the congregation began when Jane was 45; she underwent numerous sufferings--St. Francis de Sales died, her son was killed, a plague ravaged France, and her daughter-in-law and son-in-law died; Jane Frances died while on a visitation of convents of the community Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/12/25 Gospel: Matthew 18:1-5. 10, 12-14

Monday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Clare of Assisi, 1194-1253; lifelong friend and spiritual student of St. Francis; at 18, she escaped from her father's house, and was placed in a Benedictine convent by St. Francis; as her father and uncles stormed the convent, she clung to the altar of the church, and remained adamant; her sister Agnes and others joined her; they lived a simple life of great poverty, austerity, and complete seclusion from the world, according to a Rule which Francis gave them as a Second Order; she became abbess at the age of 21, and remained in that position until her death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/11/25 Gospel: Matthew 17:22-27

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/10/25 Gospel: Luke 12:32-48

Saturday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, 1891-1942; brilliant philosopher from a Jewish family, she stopped believing in God at age 14; but the autobiography of St. Teresa so captivated Edith Stein that it led her to baptism in 1922; twelve years later, she became a Carmelite nun, taking the name, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross; she spent four years in the Cologne Carmel, and then moved to the Carmel in Echt, Netherlands; the Nazis occupied that country in 1940; they arrested all Jews who had become Christians; Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa--who was also Catholic--died in a gas chamber at Auschwitz in 1942 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/9/25 Gospel: Matthew 17:14-20

Friday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Dominic, 1170-1221; commissioned to be part of the preaching crusade against the Albigensian heresy; he continued itinerant preaching for ten years; his followers formed a community, and Dominic founded a religious house at Toulouse, the beginning of the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/8/25 Gospel: Matthew 16:24-28

Thursday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II and companions; elected to the papacy in 257; forbidden by the Romans to hold services, he and his deacons continued to worship in the chapel in the cemetary; one day in 258, as the pope preached, soldiers broke into the chapel and beheaded Sixtus; four of his eight attendants were also beheaded; the authorities executed another three later that day; St. Lawrence was martyred four days later. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/7/25 Gospel: Matthew 16:13-23

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord Wednesday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/6/25 Gospel: Luke 9:28-36

Tuesday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the Dedication of St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome; first raised by Pope Liberius in the mid-4th Century, completed in 1743; it has survived many restorations without losing its character as an early Roman basilica; the feast day is also known as "Our Lady of the Snows"--a wealthy couple pledged their fortune to the Mother of God, and as an affirmation, she produced a miraculous summer snowfall and told them to build a church on the site Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/5/25 Gospel: Matthew 14:22-36

Monday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, 1786-1859; ordained a priest because of his goodness, even though he had difficulty with his studies, especially Latin; became the Curé of Ars in 1818, and spent most of his mission in the confessional; toward the end of his life, he spent sixteen to eighteen hours per day administering the Sacrament of Penance; gifted with discernment of spirits, and read souls with ease; suffered diabolical attacks for thirty years; died at Ars Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/4/25 Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/3/25 Gospel: Luke 12:13-21