Episodes

  • December 11: Saint Damasus I, Pope—Optional Memorial

    December 11: Saint Damasus I, Pope—Optional Memorial
    Dec 10 2024
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    December 11: Saint Damasus I, Pope—Optional Memorial

    c. 305–384
    Patron Saint of archeologists
    Pre-Congregation canonization
    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    You who read, whoever you are, recognize the equal merit of the two to whom Damasus the bishop has dedicated this inscription after their rewards. The Jewish people stoned Stephen when he was instructing them on a better course, he who carried off the trophy from the enemy: the faithful deacon first laid hold of martyrdom. When a raving gang was pressing holy Tarsicius to reveal to the uninitiated the sacraments of Christ that he was carrying, he wished rather to release his spirit, struck down, than to betray the heavenly limbs to mad dogs. ~An epitaph written by Pope Saint Damasus

    Prayer:
    Pope Saint Damasus, you lived during a transformative time in the history of the Church. Through you, God navigated the Church of your day, leading toward a fuller image of the Kingdom of Heaven. Please pray for me, that I, in my own way, will make myself more fully available to God so that He can use me to help navigate His Church through the challenges it faces in my day and age. Pope Saint Damasus, 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 image: public domain, via Wikimedia
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    14 mins
  • December 10: Our Lady of Loreto—Optional Memorial

    December 10: Our Lady of Loreto—Optional Memorial
    Dec 9 2024
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    December 10: Our Lady of Loreto—Optional Memorial

    Patron Saint of aviators and builders

    Quote:
    I was indeed happy when on the way to Loreto. Our Lady had chosen an ideal spot in which to place her Holy House. Everything is poor, simple, and primitive; the women still wear the graceful dress of the country and have not, as in the large towns, adopted the modern Paris fashions. I found Loreto enchanting. And what shall I say of the Holy House? I was overwhelmed with emotion when I realized that I was under the very roof that had sheltered the Holy Family. I gazed on the same walls Our Lord had looked on. I trod the ground once moistened with the sweat of St. Joseph’s toil, and saw the little chamber of the Annunciation, where the Blessed Virgin Mary held Jesus in her arms after she had borne Him there in her virginal womb. I even put my Rosary into the little porringer used by the Divine Child. How sweet those memories! ~Autobiography of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

    Prayer:
    Our Lady of Loreto, your home was a sacred place. Within it, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Within your home, you raised your divine Son and saw Him grow in grace and virtue. The love you shared with your Son in that home was pure and perfect in every way. Please pray for me, that my home will more fully reflect the grace and virtue that abounded in your home so that my home will become more like your Holy House. Our Lady of Loreto, 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 image: public Domain via Metmuseum
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    12 mins
  • December 9: Saint Juan Diego, Hermit—Optional Memorial

    December 9: Saint Juan Diego, Hermit—Optional Memorial
    Dec 8 2024
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    December 9: Saint Juan Diego, Hermit—Optional Memorial

    1474–1548
    Patron Saint of Indigenous peoples
    Canonized by Pope John Paul II on July 31, 2002
    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    I beg you to entrust your message to someone more known and respected so that he will believe it. I am only a simple Indian whom you have sent as a messenger to an important person. Therefore, he didn’t believe me, and I do not want to greatly disappoint you.—My dearest son, you must understand that there are many more noble men to whom I could have entrusted my message and yet, it is because of you that my plan will succeed. Return to the bishop tomorrow. Tell him that it is I myself, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, who is sending you. ~Reported conversation between Our Lady and Juan Diego

    Prayer:
    Saint Juan Diego, when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to you, she called you, “Juanito, the most humble of my sons…” In your humility, you obeyed her instructions and, through you, the Mother of God was able to evangelize an entire nation. Please pray for me, that I will also grow in humility so that the Mother of God can use me for her purpose, in accord with God’s perfect will. Saint Juan Diego, 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: Main
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    15 mins
  • December 8: Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary—Solemnity

    December 8: Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary—Solemnity
    Dec 7 2024
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    December 8: Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary—Solemnity
    Patronal Feast of the United States—Holy Day of Obligation

    c. 15 BC
    Patron Saint of the United States, clothmakers, clothworkers, coopers, upholsterers, the Amazon rainforest, and numerous dioceses, cities, and countries
    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful. ~From the Apostolic Constitution issued by Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854

    Prayer:
    Most holy Mother, you are the Immaculate Conception, God’s most precious treasure and His singular delight. To your intercession and mediation I entrust my life. Take me to your Son and pour forth His grace upon me and upon the whole world. I entrust to you every care, concern, confusion, struggle, and cross. I turn to you for every grace of faith, hope, and love from Heaven, so that I can become more fully conformed to the image of your Son Who alone is the Savior of the World. Mother Mary, the Immaculate Conception, 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, public domain via Wikimedia: Main
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    11 mins
  • December 7: Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor—Memorial

    December 7: Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor—Memorial
    Dec 6 2024
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    December 7: Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor—Memorial

    c. 339–c. 397
    Patron Saint of beekeepers, bishops, candlemakers, domestic animals, geese, honey cake bakers, learning, livestock, police officers, schoolchildren, security personnel, starlings, and wax refiners
    Pre-Congregation canonization
    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    To avoid dissensions we should be ever on our guard, more especially with those who drive us to argue with them, with those who vex and irritate us, and who say things likely to excite us to anger. When we find ourselves in company with quarrelsome, eccentric individuals, people who openly and unblushingly say the most shocking things, difficult to put up with, we should take refuge in silence, and the wisest plan is not to reply to people whose behavior is so preposterous. Those who insult us and treat us contemptuously are anxious for a spiteful and sarcastic reply: the silence we then affect disheartens them, and they cannot avoid showing their vexation; they do all they can to provoke us and to elicit a reply, but the best way to baffle them is to say nothing, refuse to argue with them, and to leave them to chew the cud of their hasty anger. This method of bringing down their pride disarms them, and shows them plainly that we slight and despise them. ~Saint Ambrose

    Prayer:
    Saint Ambrose, God called you to become bishop, and you responded. Once ordained, you embraced your new calling with vigor and unwavering devotion. Through you, many lives were touched and continue to be touched through your writings and witness. Please pray for me, that I will be more fully open to God’s will for my life, always surrendering my own preferences and embracing God’s. Saint Ambrose of Milan, 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: Public domain via Wikimedia: Main
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    15 mins
  • December 6: Saint Nicholas, Bishop—Optional Memorial

    December 6: Saint Nicholas, Bishop—Optional Memorial
    Dec 5 2024
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    December 6: Saint Nicholas, Bishop—Optional Memorial

    c. 270–c. 346
    Patron Saint of children, sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, brewers, pawnbrokers, unmarried people, Russia, and numerous countries and cities
    Pre-Congregation canonization
    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ~Matthew 19:21

    Prayer:
    Saint Nicholas, through your intercession, God has touched many lives. The legends of your life have inspired faith throughout the centuries, just as your priestly and episcopal ministry impacted the people of your day. Please pray for me, that I will become a true saint and fulfill the mission God has given to me. Saint Nicholas of Myra, 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: Public domain via Wikimedia
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    12 mins
  • December 4: Saint John Damascene, Priest, Religious and Doctor—Optional Memorial

    December 4: Saint John Damascene, Priest, Religious and Doctor—Optional Memorial
    Dec 3 2024
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    December 4: Saint John Damascene, Priest, Religious and Doctor—Optional Memorial

    c. 676–749
    Patron Saint of pharmacists, icon painters, and theology students
    Pre-Congregation canonization
    Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1890
    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    In other ages God had not been represented in images, being incorporate and faceless. But since God has now been seen in the flesh, and lived among men, I represent that part of God which is visible. I do not venerate matter, but the Creator of matter, who became matter for my sake and deigned to live in matter and bring about my salvation through matter…But I do not venerate it in absolute terms as God! How could that which, from non-existence, has been given existence, be God?…Is not the wood of the Cross, three times blessed, matter?… And the ink, and the most Holy Book of the Gospels, are they not matter? The redeeming altar which dispenses the Bread of life, is it not matter?… And, before all else, are not the flesh and blood of Our Lord matter? Either we must suppress the sacred nature of all these things, or we must concede to the tradition of the Church the veneration of the images of God and that of the friends of God who are sanctified by the name they bear, and for this reason are possessed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. ~Saint John Damascene

    Prayer:
    Saint John Damascene, you sensed God calling you out of the world to a place where you could enter into deep communion with Him. In that holy monastery, you were formed in virtue and holy learning. God then used you in remarkable ways for the good of the Church and His glory. Please pray for me, that I will embrace the deeper conversion I need so as to be better equipped to serve God as He wills. Saint John Damascene, 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: Public domain, via Wikimedia
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    14 mins
  • December 3: Saint Francis Xavier, Priest—Memorial

    December 3: Saint Francis Xavier, Priest—Memorial
    Dec 2 2024
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    December 3: Saint Francis Xavier, Priest—Memorial

    1506–1552
    Patron Saint of foreign missions, missionaries, navigators, and parish missions
    Invoked against plague epidemics
    Canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622
    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    By the favor of God we all arrived in Japan in perfect health on the 15th of August, 1549. We landed at Cagoxima, the native place of our companions. We were received in the most friendly way by all the people of the city, especially the relations of Paul, the Japanese convert, all of whom had the blessing to receive the light of truth from heaven, and by Paul’s persuasion became Christians. During our stay at Cagoxima the people appeared to be wonderfully delighted with the doctrines of the divine law, so entirely new to their ears. Japan is a very large empire entirely composed of islands. One language is spoken throughout, not very difficult to learn…The Japanese are very ambitious with honors and distinctions, and think themselves superior to all nations in military glory and valor…They are, in short, a very warlike people, and engaged in continual wars among themselves; the most powerful in arms bearing the most extensive sway. They have all one sovereign, although for one hundred and fifty years past the princes have ceased to obey him, and this is the cause of their perpetual feuds. ~From a letter to the Jesuits in Europe, from Saint Francis Xavier

    Prayer:
    Saint Francis Xavier, the Gospel was planted deep in your heart through the Spiritual Exercises given to you by Saint Ignatius, your founder. Those exercises transformed your life, and through you, many other lives were touched. Please pray for me, that I will be open to the transformation that God wants for me, so that I can then go forth to share His love with others. Saint Francis Xavier, 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: Joseph-Marie Vien, CC0, via Wikimedia
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    16 mins