Daybreak

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Mathilda, 895-968; given in marriage to Henry the Fowler, who eventually became King of Germany; as queen, Mathilda visited and comforted the sick and the afflicted, instructed the ignorant, succored prisoners, and endeavored to convert sinners; when King Henry died, Mathilda gave up all worldly pomp; of her three sons, Otho afterward became Emperor, Henry was Duke of Bavaria, and St. Bruno  became Archbishop of Cologne Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/14/24 Gospel: John 5:31-47

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Agnellus of Pisa, 1195-1236; received into the Franciscans by St. Francis of Assisi, who sent him to Paris to start a Franciscan mission; Agnellus was then sent to England, where they began the Franciscan English province; he became friends with King Henry III, who called upon him to avert a civil war; during negotiations, Agnellus became ill, and died at Oxford Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/13/24 Gospel: John 5:17-30

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Peter of Nicomedia; a chamberlain at the court of Diocletian; arrested for being a Christian during the last great persecution of the Church at Diocletian's command; tortured and martyred in 303 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/12/24 Gospel: John 5:1-16

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Eulogius of Cordoba; a noted scholar of scripture, he was arrested in 850; after his release, he was named bishop of Cordoba; before being consecrated, he aided Leocritia, a young Moorish woman who had converted to Christianity; they were caught and beheaded in 859 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/11/24 Gospel: John 4:43-54

Fourth Sunday of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/10/24 Gospel: John 3:14-21

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Frances of Rome, 1384-1440; attracted to the religious life in her youth, but her parents had picked a nobleman for her husband; Frances and her brother-in-law's wife set out to serve the poor together; Frances requested and was given permission to found a society of women bound by no vows--they simply offered themselves to God and to the service of the poor Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/9/24 Gospel: Luke 18:9-14

Friday of the Third Week of Lent Commemoration of St. John of God, 1495-1550; came to a true conversion at the age of 40, when he went to Africa, hoping to be martyred; he was advised that this was not spiritually sound, so he returned to Spain and a religious goods store; he was moved by a sermon of St. John of Avila, and publicly beat himself, begging mercy; he was committed to a mental hospital, where he was visited by St. John of Avila, who advised him to become involved in tending to the needs of others; John of God established a house to tend to the needs of the sick poor, and lived a deep interior life; 20 years after his death, his followers formed the Brothers Hospitallers Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/8/24 Gospel: Mark 12:28-34

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent Commemoration of Saints Perpetua and Felicity; lived in the Third and Fourth Centuries in Carthage, North Africa; Perpetua, 22, was a noblewoman with an infant son; she refused to deny her Christian faith; Felicity was a slavewoman and expectant mother; they and three companions were sent to the public games in the amphitheater; Perpetua and Felicity were beheaded, the others were killed by beasts in 203 A.D.; Perpetua's diary ends the day before the games, and it was finished by an eyewitness Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/7/24 Gospel: Luke 11:14-23

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Colette, 1380-1447; orphaned at 17, she became a Franciscan tertiary, living in Corby Abbey, near Picardy, France; she left in response to a dream directing her to reform the Poor Claires; she founded seventeen convents with the reformed rule, and reformed several older convents; known for her sanctity, ecstasies, and visions of the Passion; prophesied her own death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/6/24 Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. John Joseph of the Cross, 1654-1739; became a Franciscan at the age of 16; three years after his profession, he was sent to found a monastery in Piedmont; he built another convent, and became master of novices, and later, provincial of the province of Naples; he suffered much, and was the victim of numerous calumnies, but succeeded in his work of instilling in his subjects a double spirit of contemplation and penance  Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/5/24 Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35

Monday of the Third Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Casimir, 1458-1483; even as a teenager, he lived a highly disciplined life, sleeping on the ground, spending much of the night in prayer, and dedicating himself to lifelong celibacy; nobles in Hungary asked Casimir's father, the king of Poland, to send his son to take over the country; Casimir found that his army was outnumbered, and returned home, where his father exiled him for three months; Casimir returned to prayer and study; he briefly served as king of Poland during his father's absence; he died of lung problems at the age of 25 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/4/24 Gospel: Luke 4:24-30

Third Sunday of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/3/24 Gospel: John 2:13-25

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Agnes of Bohemia, 1200-1282; daughter of King Ottocar and Queen Constance of Hungary; betrothed to Emperor Frederick II of Germany, but refused the marriage and became a Poor Claire; gifted with miracles Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/2/24 Gospel: Lukke 5:1-3, 11-32

Friday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Aubin, 470-550; entered the monastery of Tincillac when a youth, was elected Abbot when he was thirty-five, and was named Bishop of Angers in 529; known for his generosity to the sick and the indigent, widows, and orphans, for his work in ransoming slaves, and for his holiness and the many miracles he is reputed to have performed both during his lifetime and after his death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/1/24 Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Oswald; Danish by birth, St. Oswald studied in the household of his uncle, Archbishop Odo of Fleury, France, where he was ordained; in 962, he was made bishop of Worcester, where he worked to eliminate abuses, and built many monasteries; became archbishop of York in 972; associated for most of his public life with St. Dunstan and St. Ethelwold and when he died in 992 popular veneration joined his name to theirs; one of the three who helped to revive English monasticism Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/29/24 Gospel: Luke 16:19-31

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: Pope St. Hilary; born in Sardinia, pope from 461 to 468; successor to Pope St. Leo the Great; Hilary rebuilt many Roman churches and erected the chapel of St. John Lateran; validated the decisions of the General Councils of Nicaea, Ephesus, and Chalcedon; he consolidated the Church in Sandi, Africa, and Gaul; he died in Rome on February 28, 468 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/28/24 Gospel: Matthew 20:17-28

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Anne Line, 1563-1601; English martyr; disowned by her father when she married a Catholic; Anne hid Catholic priests in a London safe house; she aided Jesuit Father John Gerard until her arrest; Anne was hanged in Tyburn on February 27, 1601 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/27/24 Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12

Monday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Isabel of France, 1225-1270; sister of St. Louis and daughter of King Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile, she refused offers of marriage from several noble suitors to continue her life of virginity consecrated to God; she ministered to the sick and the poor, and after the death of her mother, founded the Franciscan Monastery of the Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Paris; she lived there, but never became a nun and refused to become abbess Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/26/24 Gospel: Luke 6:36-38

Second Sunday of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/25/24 Gospel: Mark 9:2-10

Saturday of the First Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Adela; benefactor and English princess. Adela was the youngest daughter of William the Conqueror. In 1080 she married Stephen of Blois. Throughout her life, Adela had an active role in English politics. She was famed for endowing churches and monastic institutions; she died in 1137 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/24/24 Gospel: Mark 5:43-48