Daybreak

Monday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/15/25 Gospel: John 19:25-27

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross; commemorating the discovery of the True Cross in 326, its initial exaltation for public veneration in 335, and the recovery of the Cross from the Persians in 628 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/14/25 Gospel: John 3:13-17

Saturday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, 349-407; his name is a tribute to his preaching, meaning "golden-mouthed"; he reluctantly became bishop of Constantinople; but his zeal led him to decisive action, including deposing bishops who had bribed their way into office; he called for concrete steps to share wealth with the poor; Theophilus, the bishop of Alexandria, and the Empress Eudoxia were determined to discredit John; the empress finally had him exiled, where he died Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/13/25 Gospel: Luke 6:43-49

Friday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/12/25 Gospel: Luke 6:39-42

Thursday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Theodora of Alexandria; a maiden of Alexandria, Egypt, who fell into a life of sin, repented, and spent her remaining days in virtual anonymity as a hermit in the Thebaid, in the southern region of Egypt, atoning through abstinence and mortifications; the fact that she was a woman was not discovered until her death in 491 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/11/25 Gospel: Luke 6:27-38

Wednesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Apollinaris Franco; born in Old Castile, Spain, educated in law at Salamanca; he entered the Franciscans, and was sent to Japan in 1614; he served as superior of the Franciscan Mission until his arrest in 1617; he was imprisoned in Omura until 1622, and then was burned alive Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/10/25 Gospel: Luke 6:20-26

Tuesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Peter Claver, 1581-1654; as a Jesuit, he sailed to Cartagena , a port city in the Caribbean, where the slave trade flourished; as soon as a slave ship entered the port, Peter Claver moved into its infested hold to minister to the ill-treated and exhausted passengers; after the slaves were herded off of the ship, Peter Claver plunged in among them with medicines, food, bread, brandy, lemons, and tobacco; with the help of interpreters, he gave them basic instruction and assured them of their human dignity; he instructed and baptized an estimated 200,000 slaves; after a long illness, he died in 1854 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/9/25 Gospel: Luke 6:12-19

Feast of the Nativity of Mary Monday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/8/25 Gospel: Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/7/25 Gospel: Luke 14:25-33

Saturday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saints of the Day: Saints Felix and Augebert; Englishmen who were captured and sold into slavery in France; they were ransomed by Pope Gregory I the Great; Felix became a priest, Augebert a deacon; while preparing to return to England as mis­sionaries, they were slain by pagans in Champagne, France, in the 7th Century Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/6/25 Gospel: Luke 6:1-5

Friday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Teresa of Calcutta, 1910-1997; while serving as a Sister of Loretto, she received a "call within a call" to serve the poorest of the poor; she established the Missionaries of Charity; in 1948, she went to the slums for the first time; by the early 1960's, she was sending her sisters to other parts of India; the world took note of Mother Teresa, and she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979; by 1997, her sisters numbered nearly 4,000; after meeting Pope John Paul II for the last time, she returned to Calcutta and spent her final weeks receiving visitors and instructing her Sisters Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/5/25 Gospel: Luke 5:33-39

Thursday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Rosalia; daughter of Sinibald, Lord of Roses and Quisquina, and a descendant of the great Charlemagne; lived much of her life alone in a cave; she practiced great mortifications and lived in constant communion with God; she died alone in 1160; her body was discovered several centuries later, in 1625, during the pontificate of Pope Urban VIII Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/4/25 Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

Wednesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Gregory the Great, 540-604; prefect of Rome before age 30, elected pope at age 50; he removed unworthy priests from office, forbade taking money for many services, emptied the papal treasury to ransom prisoners of the Lombards and to care for persecuted Jews and the victims of plague and famine; he reformed the liturgy and strengthened respect for doctrine; one of the key doctors of the western Church, along with Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/3/25 Gospel: Luke 4:38-44

Tuesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Brocard; French by birth, he went to Mount Carmel; he was elected prior, and asked Albert, the patriarch of Jerusalem, to draw up a rule for the monks; this rule became the foundation of the Carmelite order; Brocard ruled for 35 years, and died in 1231 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/2/25 Gospel: Luke 4:31-37

Monday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Simeon the Stylite, 390-459; he entered a monastery and became a hermit; in 423 he imposed on himself the unusual mortification of living atop a pillar only a few feet in diameter and about ten feet high; one bishop even brought him Holy Communion; Simeon devoted himself to prayer, but also gave exhortations twice daily; he urged his listeners to pray for the salvation of souls Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/1/25 Gospel: Luke 4:16-30

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/31/25 Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-14

Saturday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Narcisa De Jesus Martillo Moran, 1832-1869; born in Ecuador, orphaned at an early age, she worked as a seamstress; she resolved to consecrate her virginity to Christ and to spend the rest of her life offering prayers and penances to God in expiation for mankind’s sins; she spent eight hours per day in prayer, four hours per night in mortifications, ate a very austere diet, and lived in humble living quarters; she was frequently seen in a state of ecstasy; she died at the age of 37 in Lima, Peru Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/30/25 Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30

Friday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist; the drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist, who prepared the way of the Lord Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/29/25 Gospel: Mark 6:17-29

Thursday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430; a Christian at 33, a priest at 36, a bishop at 41; after being immersed in creature comforts, following his conversion, Augustine turned, with a holy fierceness, against the many demon-thrusts rampant in his day; he fulfilled the office of prophet; like Jeremiah and other greats, he was hard-pressed but could not keep quiet Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/28/25 Gospel: Matthew 24:42-51

Wednesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Monica, 330-387; mother of St. Augustine; she ceaselessly prayed for his conversion, and for him to leave his immoral lifestyle; Augustine was baptized by St. Ambrose in 387; after a brief but severe illness, Monica died in 387 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/27/25 Gospel: Matthew 23:27-32