Episodes

  • November 9: Dedication of the Lateran Basilica—Feast

    November 9: Dedication of the Lateran Basilica—Feast
    Nov 8 2024
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    November 9: Dedication of the Lateran Basilica—Feast

    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his Body. ~John 2:19–21

    Prayer:
    Christ our Savior, through the intercessions of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, I pray for the Church today. I pray for your abundant mercy upon every sinner whom you are calling into your Church for reconciliation. I pray for my local parish, diocese, country, and the Universal Church headed in Rome. I especially pray for the Holy Father, the pastor of the Lateran Basilica and shepherd of the whole Church. Draw him close to You, make him holy, and use him to draw many people to Yourself. Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, pray for us. Jesus I trust in You.

    Source of content: mycatholic.life
    Copyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.


    Tango7174, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia
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    9 mins
  • November 4: Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop—Memorial

    November 4: Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop—Memorial
    Nov 3 2024
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    November 4: Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop—Memorial

    1538–1584
    Patron Saint of apple orchards, bishops, catechism writers, catechists, catechumens, seminarians, starchmakers, and spiritual directors
    Invoked against abdominal pain, colic, stomach diseases, and ulcers
    Canonized by Pope Paul V on November 1, 1610
    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    Most dearly beloved brethren, If you should look diligently into what was written in the Old Law about the excellence and purity of priests and other ministers serving the altar, and what was written about external cleanliness of body, it will surely enough become clear to you how much more excellent and pure, and how much more free from all stain and blemish of body, and even more of soul, the ministers and priests of the Law of the Gospel must be. For if we compare the New Law’s most holy sacrifice of the immaculate Lamb, the sacrifice of the Son of our God and Lord offered daily on the altar to God the Father for our sins, with those irrational victims slaughtered in the Temple of Solomon on prescribed days, what else will that be, if not to compare shadow to reality, darkness to light, earth to heaven, or rather brute animals to the most high God of gods, our savior Jesus Christ? ~Saint Charles Borromeo to newly ordained priests

    Prayer:
    Saint Charles Borromeo, you were born into privilege, but once ordained, you became a fervent follower of Christ and a holy shepherd of God’s people. Please pray for me, that I will follow your example of Church reform by applying the fervor you had to my own soul and family. May all I do always be done for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Saint Charles Borromeo, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

    Source of content: mycatholic.life
    Copyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.


    Image from Lawrence OP, Flickr
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    15 mins
  • November 3: Saint Martin de Porres, Religious—Optional Memorial

    November 3: Saint Martin de Porres, Religious—Optional Memorial
    Nov 2 2024
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    November 3: Saint Martin de Porres, Religious—Optional Memorial

    1579–1639
    Patron Saint of African-Americans, biracial people, barbers, innkeepers, the poor, Peru, public health workers, public schools, television, and interracial and social justice
    Canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 6, 1962
    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    Certain that he deserved more severe punishment for his sins than others did, he would overlook their worst offenses. He was tireless in his efforts to reform the criminal, and he would sit up with the sick to bring them comfort. For the poor he would provide food, clothing and medicine. He did all he could to care for poor farmhands, blacks, and mulattoes who were looked down upon as slaves, the dregs of society in their time. Common people responded by calling him, “Martin the charitable.” He excused the faults of others. He forgave the bitterest injuries, convinced that he deserved much severer punishments on account of his own sins. ~From the canonization homily of Saint John XXIII

    Prayer:
    Saint Martin de Porres, your poverty and rejection did not deter you from pursuing the love of God. Your love of God then filled you with many virtues and a deep love for God’s people. Pray for me, that I may learn humility from your life and will never waver in my commitment to prayer, so that God can do great things in me and through me for the world. Saint Martin de Porres, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

    Source of content: mycatholic.life
    Copyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.


    Image from Lawrence OP, Flickr
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    14 mins
  • November 2: All Souls’ Day—Commemoration

    November 2: All Souls’ Day—Commemoration
    Nov 1 2024
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    November 2: All Souls’ Day—Commemoration

    Liturgical Color: White, Violet, or Black

    Quote:
    Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection in mind; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin. ~ 2 Maccabees 12:42–46

    Prayer:
    Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, all the angels and saints, I beg for an outpouring of Your Divine Mercy upon every poor sinner and every poor soul in Purgatory. Cleanse them all, especially my family and friends who have died, and bring them into the full beauty and splendor of Your presence. Please also pour Your mercy down upon my poor soul, and free me from every sin and every attachment I have to sin. Increase my virtue, and draw me into union with You, my God. Angels and saints of God, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You.

    Source of content: mycatholic.life
    Copyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.


    Public Domain, via Wikimedia
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    12 mins
  • November 1: All Saints’ Day—Solemnity

    November 1: All Saints’ Day—Solemnity
    Oct 31 2024
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    November 1: All Saints’ Day—Solemnity

    Holy Day of Obligation
    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” ~ Revelation 7:9–10

    Prayer:
    All saints in Heaven, I thank you for the holy witness you each have given to the Church and rejoice in the blessings you now enjoy in Heaven. Please pray for me and for all people, that every one of us will become holy, bearing witness to Christ with our lives, and one day enter Heaven. May God pour forth an abundance of grace upon the world through the example you set and the prayers you now pray before His throne. All saints of God, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

    Source of content: mycatholic.life
    Copyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.


    Main, Lawrence OP, Flickr
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    11 mins
  • October 28: Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles—Feast

    October 28: Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles—Feast
    Oct 27 2024
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    October 28: Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles—Feast

    First Century
    Patron Saint of curriers, woodcutters, and tanners (Simon); hopeless causes and hospital workers (Jude)
    Pre-Congregation canonization
    Liturgical Color: Red

    Quote:
    In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. ~Luke 6:12–16

    Prayer:
    Saints Simon and Jude, you were both privileged to learn from Jesus Himself. After His Ascension, you were among the first to receive the Holy Spirit and ordination as bishops. God used you to then go forth and fulfill His command to share the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Please pray for me, that I will more fully understand my mission within the Body of Christ and will fulfill my duties with diligence and love. Saints Simon and Jude, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

    Source of content: mycatholic.life
    Copyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.


    Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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    10 mins
  • October 24: Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop—Optional Memorial

    October 24: Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop—Optional Memorial
    Oct 23 2024
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    October 24: Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop—Optional Memorial

    1807–1870
    Patron Saint of the Catholic press, textile merchants, and weavers
    Canonized by Pope Pius XII on May 7, 1950
    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    Love in a man who preaches the Word of God is like fire in a musket. If a man were to throw a bullet with his hands, he would hardly make a dent in anything; but if he takes this same bullet and ignites some gunpowder behind it, it can kill. It is much the same with the Word of God. If God’s Word is spoken only naturally, it does very little; but if it is spoken by a priest who is filled with the fire of charity—the fire of love of God and neighbor—it will wound vices, kill sins, convert sinners, and work wonders. We can see this in the case of St. Peter, who walked out of the upper room afire with the love he had received from the Holy Spirit, with the result that through just two sermons he converted 8,000 people, three in the first sermon and five in the second. ~from the Autobiography of Saint Anthony Mary Claret (#439)

    Prayer:
    Saint Anthony Mary Claret, God set your heart on fire with a love for Him so deep that it overflowed into the hearts of every sinner you encountered. Please pray for me, that I will grow deeper in my love of God, and from that love will love others whom I encounter every day. Saint Anthony, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

    Source of content: mycatholic.life
    Copyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.


    H. Zell, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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    14 mins
  • October 23: Saint John of Capistrano, Priest—Optional Memorial

    October 23: Saint John of Capistrano, Priest—Optional Memorial
    Oct 22 2024
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    October 23: Saint John of Capistrano, Priest—Optional Memorial

    1386–1456
    Patron Saint of military chaplains, judges, jurists, and lawyers
    Canonized by Pope Alexander VIII on October 16, 1690
    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    Those who are called to the table of the Lord must glow with the brightness that comes from the good example of a praiseworthy and blameless life. They must completely remove from their lives the filth and uncleanness of vice. Their upright lives must make them like the salt of the earth for themselves and for the rest of mankind. The brightness of their wisdom must make them like the light of the world that brings light to others. They must learn from their eminent teacher, Jesus Christ, what he declared not only to his apostles and disciples, but also to all the priests and clerics who were to succeed them, when he said, “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world.” …By the brightness of their holiness they must bring light and serenity to all who gaze upon them. They have been placed here to care for others. Their own lives should be an example to others, showing how they must live in the house of the Lord. ~From the treatise “Mirror of the Clergy,” by Saint John of Capistrano

    Prayer:
    Saint John of Capistrano, your taste of worldly power and wealth was unsatisfying, leading you to search for more. The suffering of your imprisonment helped open your eyes to God, and you turned to Him and never turned back. Please pray for me, that I will come to the same deep conviction in my life that God alone is what matters. May I become completely devoted to Him, serving His will alone. Saint John of Capistrano, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

    Source of content: mycatholic.life
    Copyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.


    Images via Wikimedia: Main
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    12 mins