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Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Saturday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/14/24 Gospel: John 3:13-17

Friday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the church, 349-407; after a dozen years as a priest in Syria, he became archbishop of Contantinople under the cloud of imperial politics; but his zeal led him to decisive action--bishops who bribed their way into office were deposed, and he called for concrete steps to share wealth with the poor; he was accused of gluttony, and there was much gossip about his spiritual direction of the rich widow Olympia; the archbishop of Alexandria and the empress became concerned about John's influence, and he was ultimately exiled, where he died Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/13/24 Gospel: Luke 6:39-42

Thursday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/12/24 Gospel: Luke 6:27-38

Wednesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Paphnutius; spent several years in the desert under the direction of St. Anthony, then became bishop in the Upper Thebaid; lost his right eye, was hamstrung in one leg, and was sent to work in the mines under Emperor Maximinus; after restoration of peace, Paphnutius returned to his flock; zealous in defending the Catholic faith against the Arian heresy; known for his holiness; he was an outstanding figure of the first General Council of the Church, held at Nicaea in the year 325 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/11/24 Gospel: Luke 6:20-26

Tuesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Peter Martinez; lived in the Tenth Century; he was a leader of the Spanish Reconquista, a centuries-long series of battles by Christian states to expel the Muslims (Moors), who from the 8th century ruled most of the Iberian Peninsula;  born in Galicia, Spain, he became a Benedictine in about 950; he was appointed abbot of St. Martin of Antealares at Compostela, and he was named archbishop of that see about 986; he is traditionally credited as one of the composers of the Salve Regina Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/10/24 Gospel: Luke 6:12-19

Monday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Peter Claver, 1581-1654; a native of Spain, sailed to the New World in 1610 to be a missionary; settled at Cartegena, a center of slave trade; as soon as a slave ship entered port, he went to the hold and gave the exhausted passengers medicines, food, bread, brandy, lemons, and tobacco; with the help of an interpreter, he gave basic instructions, and assured them of their human dignity and God's love; he instructed and baptized an estimated 300,000 slaves in 40 years; following an illness, he died Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/9/24 Gospel: Luke 6:6-11

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/8/24 Gospel: Mark 7:31-37

Saturday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Cloud, 522-560; grandson of Clovis, king of the Franks; his uncle attempted to assassinate him, but he escaped to Provence, where he put himself under the discipline of St. Severinus; Cloud untiringly instructed the people of the neighboring country, and died at the age of 36 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/7/24 Gospel: Luke 6:1-5

Friday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Eleutherius; lived in the Sixth Century, became abbot of St. Mark's, near Spoleto, and was favored by God with miracles; he once prayed with St. Gregory the Great for his health, and St. Gregory found himself able to participate in the Easter-eve fast; he was reputed to have brought a dead man back to life; he died in St. Andrew's monastery in Rome about the year 585 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/6/24 Gospel: Luke 5:33-39

Thursday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Teresa of Calcutta, 1910-1997; born of Albanian parents; joined the Loreto Sisters of Dublin at age 18; in 1946, she discerned a "call within a call"--to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them; volunteers who helped her became the core of the Missionaries of Charity; for the next four decades, Mother Teresa worked tirelessly on behalf of the poor; she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/5/24 Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

Wednesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Rosalia; left her home, and took up abode in a cave "for love of my Lord Jesus Christ"; 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 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/4/24 Gospel: Luke 4: 38-44

Tuesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Gregory the Great, 540-604; left his position as prefect of Rome, and became a Benedictine monk in his home; ordained a priest, and served as one of the pope's seven deacons; also served as papal representative in Constantinople; elected pope at the age of 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; known for his reform of the liturgy Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/3/24 Gospel: Luke 4:31-37

Monday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time; Labor Day in the United States Saint of the Day: St. Ingrid of Sweden; born in the 13th Century in Sweden, and lived under the spiritual direction of Peter of Dacia, a Dominican priest; she was the first Dominican nun in Sweden and in 1281 she founded the first Dominican cloister there; she died in 1282 surrounded by an aura of sanctity; Swedish bishops introduced her cause for canonization at the Council of Constance; unfortunately, her convent and relics were destroyed in the Reformation Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/2/24 Gospel: Luke 4:16-30

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 9/1/24 Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Saturday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Aidan of Lindisfarne; born in Ireland, may have studied under St. Senan before becoming a monk at Iona; became bishop of Lindisfarne and was known for his knowledge of the Bible, his learning, his eloquent preaching, his holiness, his distaste for pomp, his kindness to the poor, and the miracles attributed to him; founded a monastery at Lindisfarne which became a center of learning and missionary activity for all of northern England; died in 651 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/31/24 Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30

Friday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Jeanne Jugan, 1792-1879; foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor; born in the French region of Brittany during the French Revolution; at 25, she joined the Congregation of Jesus and Mary; in 1837, she rented a small cottage with two others, where they formed a small community devoted to prayer, helping the poor, and teaching catechism; more women came to them for help, and she attained an open convent to house 40 more; more young women heard about Jeanne's mission and joined her; by the time of her death, there were 2,400 Little Sisters of the Poor Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/30/24 Gospel: Matthew 25:1-13

Thursday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/29/24 Gospel: Mark 6:17-29

Wednesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430; sinner-turned-saint; spent years dabbling in heresy and sin, while his mother prayed and fasted for him; through grace, instruction from St. Ambrose, and God speaking to him through scripture, Augustine became one of the great saints of the early church; he turned, with a holy fierceness, against the decadent times in which he lived; he was both feared and loved Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/28/24 Gospel: Matthew 23:27-32

Tuesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Monica, 330-387; she became distressed when she learned that her son, Augustine, had accepted the Manichean heresy ("all flesh is evil") and that he was living an immoral life; she prayed and fasted for him; Augustine came under the influence of St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan; at Easter 387, St. Ambrose baptized Augustine and several of his friends; Monica knew that her life would end soon; she became ill and suffered for nine days before her death; almost all that we know of St. Monica comes from St. Augustine's writings, mostly from his "Confessions" Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/27/24 Gospel: Matthew 23:23-26

Monday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Jeanne-Elisabeth Bichier des Ages, 1773-1838; foundress of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross, a disciple of St. Andrew Fournet; Jeanne was of noble birth, but she committed herself to the service of oth­ers; her congregation was designed for teaching and hospital service; she died at Le Pay, Poitiers, France, and was canonized in 1947 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 8/26/24 Gospel: Matthew 23:13-22