Daybreak

Tuesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brebeuf, and companions, the North American martyrs; arrived in Quebec in 1636 to work among the Huron Indians; Isaac Jogues was captured by a Mohawk party, and was tomahawked and beheaded on October 18, 1642; Jean de Brebeuf composed catechisms and a dictionary in Huron, but died in 1649 after four hours of extreme torture Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/19/21 Gospel: Luke 12:35-38

Feast of St. Luke; author of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles; died about 84 A.D. Monday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/18/21 Gospel: Luke 10:1-9

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/17/21 Gospel: Mark 10:35-45

Saturday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, 1647-1690; Visitation nun who received revelations from Jesus over 13 months, instructing that his human heart be the symbol of his divine-human love Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/16/21 Gospel: Luke 12:8-12

Friday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila, 1515-1582; along with St. John of the Cross, a reformer of the Carmelite order; a woman of prayer, discipline, and compassion; her writings, especially “The Way of Perfection” and “The Interior Castle” have helped generations of believers Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/15/21 Gospel: Luke 12:1-7

Thursday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. Callistus I; slave in an imperial Roman household who lost money he was to deposit; was eventually released, and was arrested for brawling in a Jewish synagogue; released, and became superintendent of the Christian cemetery in Rome, still known as the Cemetery of St. Callistus; became an advisor to the pope, and was eventually elected to the office; martyred during a local disturbance in Rome, the first pope–except for Peter–to be recognized as a martyr Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/14/21 Gospel: Luke 11:47-54

Wednesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Edward the Confessor, 1003-1066; sent to Normandy as a youth, when the Danes invaded England; acclaimed King of England in 1042; built St. Peter’s Abbey at Westminster, site of the present Abbey, where he is buried; his piety gained him the surname, “the confessor” Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/13/21 Gospel: Luke 11:42-46

Tuesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Edwin of Northumbria, 586-633; pagan king who converted through the efforts of his wife’s chaplain; spent the remaining six years of his reign as a devout Catholic monarch who brought peace to his kingdom; slain in battle and was venerated as a martyr Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/12/21 Gospel: Luke 11:37-41

Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, 1881-1963; born of a farming family in northern Italy; named a cardinal and patriarch of Venice in 1953; a month short of entering his 78th year, he was elected pope; called the Second Vatican Council, and criticized the “prophets of doom”; on his deathbed, he said, “It is not that the gospel has changed; it is that we have begun to understand it better.” Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/11/21 Gospel: Luke 11:29-32

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/10/21 Gospel: Mark 10:17-30

Saturday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Denis and companions; Denis is regarded as the first bishop of Paris; sent to Gaul from Rome in the Third Century; beheaded in the persecution under Emperor Valerius in 258 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/9/21 Gospel: Luke 11:27-28

Friday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Keyne; lived in the Fifth Century, daughter of King Brychan of Brecknock, Wales; became a hermitess in Somersetshire, England, traveled widely, and founded numerous churches Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/8/21 Gospel: Luke 11:15-26

Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary Thursday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/7/21 Gospel: Luke 11:5-13

Wednesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Blessed Marie Rose Durocher, 1811-1849; born in Quebec; invited by her bishop to found the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, a congregation of women dedicated to Christian education; she remained unswerving in her concern for the poor Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/6/21 Gospel: Luke 11:1-4

Tuesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, 1819-1867; born in Bavaria, he came to the United States in 1843; worked under St. John Neumann in Pittsburg; served in parish ministry in Maryland, and trained Redemptorist students; appealed to President Lincoln not to draft his students for military service during the Civil War, though some were; preached throughout the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states, and was then assigned to New Orleans, where he died of yellow fever, contracted while visiting the sick Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/5/21 Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, 1181-1226; a poor little man who astounded and inspired the Church by taking the gospel literally, actually following all that Jesus said and did, joyrfully, without limit, and without a sense of self-importance; received the stigmata two years before his death, at age 44 Monday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/4/21 Gospel: Luke 10:25-37

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/3/21 Gospel: Mark 10:2-16

Memorial of the Guardian Angels Saturday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/2/21 Gospel: Matthew 18:1-5, 10

Friday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, 1873-1897; entered the Carmelite convent at the age of 15, died at age 24; she saw a redemptive suffering in quiet suffering; came to Carmel “to save souls and pray for priests”; her autobiography, “The Story of a Soul,” is read and loved throughout the world Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/1/21 Gospel: Luke 10:13-16

Thursday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Jerome, 345-420; scripture scholar; an avid student, thorough scholar, prodigious letter-writer, and consultant to monk, bishop, and pope; translated the Bible into Latin, a version which became known as the Vulgate Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/30/21 Gospel: Luke 10:1-12