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Wednesday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Arsenius the Great, 354-450; served as tutor to the children of Emperor Theodosius I; became a monk in Alexandria, Egypt, studying with St. John the Dwarf; in 434, he went to the rock of Troe, then to Memphis, Egypt, and to the island of Canopus, near Alexandria; he died at Troe Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/19/23 Gospel: Matthew 11:25-27

Tuesday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis, 1550-1614; overcame a life of gambling, and was moved the preaching of a Capuchin friar; tried twice to enter the Capuchins, but was unsuccessful, because of a sore on his leg; studied for priesthood, and was ordained at 34, and then started his own congregation which care for the sick; at his final illness, he left his bed to see if other patients needed help Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/18/23 Gospel: Matthew 11:20-24

Monday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time Saints of the Day: Carmelite Nuns of Compiegne; Discalced Carmelite nuns who were caught up in the French Revolution, and sentenced to death in 1794; they went to the guillotine singing the "Salve Regina" Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/17/23 Gospel: Matthew 10:34-11:1

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/16/23 Gospel: Matthew 13:1-23

Saturday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Bonaventure, 1221-1274; became a Franciscan at the age of 22; elected general minister of the Order, and structured the order through effective legislation, and an organized spirituality based on the vision and insights of Saint Francis; died while participating in the Second Council of Lyon Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/15/23 Gospel: Matthew 10:24-33

Friday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, 1656-1680; daughter of a Christian Algonquin and a Mohawk chief; lost her parents to a smallpox epidemic which left her disfigured and half-blind; moved by the words of the "Blackrobes"--Jesuit missionaries--who stayed with her uncle, she converted at the age of 19; she grew in grace rapidly, but was always in danger; fled 200 miles north to a Christian Indian village; took a vow of virginity at age 23; died the afternoon before Holy Thursday, 1680 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/14/23 Gospel: Matthew 10:16-23

Thursday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Henry, 972-1024; German king and Holy Roman Emperor; helped Pope Benedict VIII to quell disturbances in Rome; sought a stable peace throughout Europe; fostered the reform of ecclesiastical and monastic life Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/13/23 Gospel: Matthew 10:7-15

Wednesday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Saints of the Day: Saints John Jones (2530-1598) and John Wall (1620-1679); two friars martyred in England in the 16th and 17th Centuries; John Jones was Welsh, and was twice imprisoned for administering the sacraments before he left England in 1590; joined the Franciscans and returned to England, where he ministered to Catholics until he was imprisoned, and condemned to death; John Wall was born in England, but educated Belgium; returned to England secretly, and was accused of being part of a plot to murder the king; he was arrested, imprisoned, and executed Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/12/23 Gospel: Matthew 10:1-7

Tuesday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Benedict, 480-547; born in central Italy, and drawn to monasticism; lived in a cave as a hermit for three years; some followers chose him as their leader, but disliked his strictness; but he had the idea of gathering various families of monks to give them the benefit of unity, fraternity, and permanent worship in one house; he began building Monte Cassino; The Rule that gradually developed prescribed a life of liturgical prayer, study, manual labor, and living together in community under a common abbot Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/11/23 Gospel: Matthew 9:32-38

Monday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Anthony Pechersky, 983-1073; born in Ukraine; after spending time on Mount Athos in Greece, he founded a hermitage in Kiev, which became known as the "Caves of Kiev"; founded another monastery in Chernagov; one of the fathers of Ukrainian monasticism Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/10/23 Gospel: Matthew 9:18-26

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/9/23 Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30

Saturday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Jeanne-Marie Kerguin, 1864-1900; born to a poor peasant family in France; joined the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in 1887, and was sent to Paris, then to Carthage in Northern Africa; health problems forced her to go to Rome to recover; she then went to China, and was almost immediately hospitalized with typhus; during a crackdown on foreign missionaries during the Boxer Rebellion, she was executed Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/8/23 Gospel: Matthew 9:14-17

Friday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Palladius; first bishop of Ireland, and immediate predecessor to St. Patrick; consecrated a bishop by Pope Celestine I, and sent to Ireland; his mission apparently had little impact on the people; he sailed to Scotland to preach to the Picts, but died shortly after arriving Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/7/23 Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13

Thursday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Maria Goretti, 1890-1902; daughter of a poor Italian tenant farmer; she was attacked by a neighbor, Alessandro, who stabbed her with a dagger; she died about 24 hours after the attack; while in prison, Alessandro had a dream of Maria gathering flowers, and offering them to him, and his life was changed; upon his release, he sought the forgiveness of Maria's mother, and was present at Maria's canonization Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/6/23 Gospel: Matthew 9:1-8

Wednesday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria, 1502-1539; gave up life as a doctor to become a religious; helped to found three religious congregations--one for men, one for women, and another for married couples--the Barnabites; he encouraged the collaboration of laity in the apostolate, frequent communion, Forty Hours devotion, and the ringing of church bells on Friday at 3 p.m.; died at the age of 36 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/5/23 Gospel: Matthew 8:28-34

Tuesday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Independence Day in the U.S. Optional Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal, 1271-1336; given in marriage to Denis, King of Portugal, at the age of 12; practiced piety and charity; became a peacemaker between royal family members; after being widowed, she retired to a monastery of Poor Clares Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/4/23 Gospel: Matthew 8:23-27

Feast of St. Thomas, apostle; known, unfortunately, for his doubt, but also for his faith; believed to have evangelized and preached in India; died 72 A.D. Monday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/3/23 Gospel: John 20:24-29

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/2/23 Gospel: Matthew 10:37-42

Saturday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Junipero Serra, 1713-1784; born in Mallorca, Spain, joined the Franciscans, and became famous as a preacher; gave it up and followed his desire to convert the Native peoples of the New World; founded missions in San Diego, Monterey/Carmel, San Antonio/San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco and San Juan Capistrano, and San Buenaventura; baptized 5,000; brought the native Americans the gift of faith and a decent standard of living Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 7/1/23 Gospel: Matthew 8:5-17

Friday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome; in 64 A.D., nearly half of Rome was destroyed by fire, likely caused by Nero; Nero blamed the Christians; many Christians were put to death, likely including Peter and Paul Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 6/30/23 Gospel: Matthew 8:1-4