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Fifth Sunday of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/6/25 Gospel: John 8:1-11

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Vincent Ferrer, 1350-1419; entered the Dominicans in his native Spain at age 19; ordained a priest by Cardinal Peter de Luna, who later became an antipope at Avignon; Vincent spent the last 20 years of his life spreading the Good News in Spain, France, Switzerland, the Low Countries and Lombardy, stressing the need of repentance and the fear of coming judgment; Vincent had no part in the Council of Constance, which ended the Western schism Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/5/25 Gospel: John 7:40-53

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Isidore of Seville, 560-636; born in Cartagena, brother of Saints Leander, Fulgentius, and Florentina; succeeded his elder brother as bishop of Seville; he ordered the building of seminaries, wrote a Rule for religious orders, and founded schools that taught every branch of learning; he wrote a dictionary, an encyclopedia, a history of Goths, and a history of the world; he has been suggested by some as the patron of the Internet; during the last six months of his life, he increased his charities so much that his house was crowded from morning till night with the poor of the countryside Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/4/25 Gospel: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St Agape; she and her sisters were Third- and Fourth-Century Christians in Thessalonica who possessed copies of the scriptures, a crime punishable by death under the Roman persecution; all were martyred in 304 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/3/25 Gospel: John 5:31-47

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Francis of Paola, 1416-1507; became a hermit at the age of 15; in 1436, he and two companions began a community that is considered the foundation of the Minim Friars; Francis was credited with many miracles and had the gifts of prophecy and insight into men's hearts; he became a friend of King Louis XI of France and his son, Charles VIII, who endowed several monasteries for the Minims; Francis spent the rest of his life at the monastery of Plessis, France, which Charles built for him Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/2/25 Gospel: John 5:17-30

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Hugh of Grenoble, 1053-1132; born in the Dauphine region, and became a canon of the cathedral in Valence; in 1080, while attending a synod in Avignon, Hugh was named bishop of Grenoble; he attempted a massive reform of the diocese, but was discouraged, and left to become a Benedictine; the pope ordered him back to Grenoble; St. Hugh gave land to St. Bruno on which the Grande Chartreuse was founded, thus starting the Carthusians Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 4/1/25 Gospel: John 5:1-16

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Guy of Pomposa; born in Italy and gave everything to the poor; he spent three years, as a hermit, on the island of Po River; he become the abbot of St. Severus; he became a much sought after spiritual adviser; he died in 1046 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/31/25 Gospel: John 4:43-54

Fourth Sunday of Lent - Laetare Sunday Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/30/25 Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Berthold; considered by many to be the Twelfth Century founder of the Carmelite order; born in Limoges, France, ordained a priest, and joined his brother Aymeric--the Latin patriarch of Antioch--in the Crusades; on Mount Carmel, found a group of hermits, joined them, and established a rule; Aymeric appointed Berthod the first Carmelite superior general; he headed the Carmelites for 45 years, and died in 1195 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/29/25 Gospel: Luke 18:9-14

Friday of the Third Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Tutilo; Ninth- and Tenth-Century monk and artist; member of the Benedictines of St. Gall, Switzerland, and noted for his abilities as a painter, sculptor, musician, poet, metalworker, and orator; taught at the abbey school, and was also noted for his adherence to obedience; died in 915 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/28/25 Gospel: Mark 12:28-34 

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. John of Egypt; Fourth Century hermit. a noted prophet of his era; he became a hermit at the age of twenty, and was walled up in a hermitage near Assiut, with a single window opening onto the public;from there, he preached to crowds each weekend; he predicted two military victories for Emperor Theodosius I, and they were proven accurate in 388 and 392; John died in 394 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/27/25 Gospel: Luke 11:14-23

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Basil the Younger; Tenth Century hermit with gifts of prophecy; living near Constantinople when he was imprisoned and tortured as a spy; his miracles and prophecies won him his freedom, and he returned to his hermitage with a disciple, Gregory; there, he denounced the immorality of the aristocracy, including Princess Anastasia, an activity that brought him persecution; he died in 952 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/26/25 Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/25/25 Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

Monday of the Third Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Aldemar, 950-1080; born in Capua, Italy; he became a monk at Monte Cassino; when Princess Aloara built a new convent in Capua, Aldemar became the director of religious in the established house, where he performed many miracles; Aldemar was reassigned by his abbot to Monte Cassino, which angered the princess; so Aldemar went to Boiana, Italy, where a companion involved in the dispute tried to kill him; Aldemar fled, and established several more religious houses Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/24/25 Gospel: Luke 4:24-30

Third Sunday of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/23/25 Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Nicholas Owen, 1550-1606; born at Oxford, England, and became a carpenter, building hiding places for Jesuit priests in mansions; he became a Jesuit lay brother in 1580, and was arrested in 1594; he was tortured, but refused to reveal the names of his Catholic colleagues; he was released when a ransom was paid by a wealthy Catholic; Nicholas was again arrested in 1606 and imprisoned in the tower of London; he was subjected to such vicious torture that he died of it Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/22/25 Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Friday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Enda, 450-530; Irishman noted for his military feats who was convinced by his sister St. Fanchea to renounce his warring activities and marry; when he found his fiancee dead, he decided to become a monk and went on pilgrimage to Rome, where he was ordained; he returned to Ireland, built churches at Drogheda, and then secured from his brother-in-law King Oengus of Munster the island of Aran, where he built the monastery of Killeaney, from which ten other foundations on the island developed; with St. Finnian of Clonard, he is considered the founder of Irish monasticism Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/21/25 Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Martin of Braga, 520-580; born in Pannonia, along the Danube;he made a pilgrimage to Palestine and then settled in Spain; regarded as one of the outstanding scholars of his age, he converted many Arians, built Dumium Monastery, and then became bishop of Braga and metropolitan of Galicia; several of his treatises have survived Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/20/25 Gospel: Luke 16:19-31

Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/19/25 Gospel: Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 315-386; raised in Jerusalem and well-educated, especially in the scriptures; as a priest, he was given the task during Lent of catechizing those preparing for Baptism and catechizing the newly baptized during the Easter season; folllowing his consecration, conflict rose between Cyril and Acacius, bishop of the rival nearby see of Caesarea, and an Arian; Cyril was condemned, driven from Jerusalem, and later vindicated; upon his return to Jerusalem, he found the city torn with heresy, schism and strife, and wracked with crime; even Saint Gregory of Nyssa, who was sent to help, left in despair; the two went to the council of Constantinople, where Cyril accepted the word consubstantial—that is, Christ is of the same substance or nature as the Father; the bishops of the Council praised Cyril as a champion of orthodoxy against the Arians Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/18/25 Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12