Daybreak

Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Adela; youngest daughter of William the Conqueror; marries Stephen of Blois in 1080; she had an active role in English politics, and was famed for endowing churches and monastic institutions Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/24/25 Gospel: Mark 9:14-29

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/23/25 Gospel: Luke 6:27-38

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter Saturday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/22/25 Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19

Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Peter Damian, 988-1072; became a professor, but left his teaching to devote full-time prayer with the Benedictines; Peter succeeded the abbot, and founded five additional hermitages; Pope Stephen IX made Peter the cardinal-bishop of Ostia; he worked to combat simony, and encouraged his priests to observe celibacy and to live together, observing scheduled times of prayer and religious observance; after retiring as cardinal-bishop, he was still called upon as a papal legate; on one such mission to Ravenna, he developed a fever, and died with his monks surrounding him, praying the Divine Office Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/21/25 Gospel: Mark 8:34-9:1

Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Saints of the Day: Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto; in 1917 three Portuguese children received apparitions of Our Lady near Fatima, Portugal; Mary asked them to learn to read and write, and to pray the rosary for peace and for the end of the war; they were also to pray for sinners and for the conversion of Russia; less than two years later, Francisco died of influenza; Jacinta died of influenza in 1920, offering her suffering for the conversion of sinners, peace in the world, and for the Holy Father; their cousin, Lucia dos Santos, became a Carmelite nun, and died in 2005 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/20/25 Gospel: Mark 8:27-33

Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Barbatus of Benevento, 610-682; born in Italy, ordained in Marcona, and sent to Benevento; in 663, the city was under siege by Emperor Constans II, and Barbatus predicted that the assault would end; when peace came, he was named bishop of Benevento; he attended the council of Constantinople in 680, and died in Benevento Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/19/25 Gospel: Mark 8:22-26

Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Colman of Lindisfarne, 605-675; Irish bishop of Lindisfarne, England; born at Connaught; defended the Celtic ecclesiastical practices, and refused to accept King Oswy's decision on the Roman rites; moved his Irish and English monks to the Isle of Innishboffin, and later moved the English monks to Mayo; praised by Blessed Alcuin and St. Bede Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/18/25 Gospel: Mark 8:14-21

Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the Seven Founders of the Order of Servites; in 1240, seven noblemen of Florence mutually decided to withdraw from the city to a solitary place for prayer and direct service of God; in 1244, they adopted a religious habit, similar to the Dominican habit, and chose to live under the rule of St. Augustine; they came to the United States from Austria in 1852 and settled in New York and later in Philadelphia; community members combined monastic life and active ministry Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/17/25 Gospel: Mark 8:11-13

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/16/25 Gospel: Luke 6:17, 20-26

Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Jordan; met St. Dominic in Paris in 1220, and became a Dominican; on the death of Dominic in 1222, Jordan was elected second master general of the Dominicans; he expanded the order; he was a powerful preacher; St. Albert the Great became a Dominican after hearing one of Jordan's sermons; Jordan died in a shipwreck in 1227, on his way to the Holy Land Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/15/25 Gospel: Mark 8:1-10

Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Cyril and Methodius; Ninth Century brothers in a part of Greece inhabited by many Slavs; they became missionaries, teachers, and patrons of the Slavic peoples; when the Duke of Moravia requested political independence and ecclesiastical autonomy, it changed the lives of Cyril and Methodius; Cyril invented an alphabet; together they translated the Gospels, the psalter, Paul's letters, and the liturgical books into Slavonic; Cyril and Methodius journeyed to Rome, and saw their Slavonic liturgy approved by Pope Adrian II; Cyril, long an invalid, died in Rome 50 days after taking the monastic habit; Methodius continued mission work for 16 more years; they were named co-patrons of Europe by Pope John Paul II Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/14/25 Gospel: Mark 7:31-37

Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Catherine de Ricci, 1522-1589; born in Florence, Italy; entered the convent of Dominican nuns in Prat, Tuscany, in her fourtheenth year; became novice mistress, and then subprioress; at 25, she became perpetual prioress; she corresponded with St. Philip Neri, and--while yet living--appeared to him in Rome in a miraculous manner; she experienced the "Ecstacy of the Passion" every week for twelve years from Thursday noon to Friday at 4 p.m.; died after a long illness Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/13/25 Gospel: Mark 7:24-30

Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Julian the Hospitaler; killed his noble parents in a case of mistaken identity; he and his wife went to Rome, and received absolution; on returning home, he built an inn and a hospital for the poor, caring for a leper--reputed to be an angel Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/12/25 Gospel: Mark 7:14-23

Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/11/25 Gospel: Mark 7:1-13

Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Scholastica, 480-542; twin sister of St. Benedict; founded a religious community for women near Monte Cassino, where Benedict governed; the twins visited each other once per year; on their final visit, Scholastica sensed that he death was near, and asked Benedict to stay until the next morning; he refused, so Scholastica asked God to make it happen--which resulted in a severe thunderstorm; three days later, Benedict, in prayer, saw the soul of his sister rising heavenward Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/10/25 Gospel: Mark 6:53-56

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/9/25 Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Luke the Younger; Tenth Century hermit and wonder-worker whose solitary hermitage in Thessaly, Greece, became known as the Soterion, “the place of healing”; he tried to become a religious but was arrested as an escaped slave and imprisoned for a time; he finally became a hermit on Mount Joannitsa. near Corinth; there he was revered for his holiness and miracles, which earned him the surname Thaumaturgus, or "wonder-worker"; he died in 946 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/7/25 Gospel: Mark 6:14-29

Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Paul Miki and companions, the Japanese martyrs; in 1597, 26 martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki; among them were priests, brothers, and laymen, Franciscans, Jesuits, and members of the Secular Franciscan Order; Brother Paul Miki, a Jesuit and a native of Japan, has become the best known among the martyrs of Japan; while hanging upon a cross, Paul Miki preached to the people, forgiving his executioners; when missionaries returned to Japan in the 1860's, they found that thousands of Christians around Nagasaki had secretly preserved the faith Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/6/25 Gospel: Mark 6:7-13

Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Agatha, 230-251; arrested as a Christian in Sicily during the persecution of Decius; she was tortured, and sent to a house of prostitution to be mistreated; she was preserved from being violated, but was put to death; patroness of Palermo and Catania Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/5/25 Gospel: Mark 6:1-6

Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Andrew Corsini, 1302-1373; born in Florence, he was wild in his youth, but converted to a holy life and became a Carmelite monk; he became known in Florence as a prophet and a miracle worker; he was named bishop of Fiesole in 1349, a post which he held for twelve years; he was sent by Pope Urban V to Bologna to settle disputes between nobles and commoners; he died in Fiesole Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/4/25 Gospel: Mark 5:21-43