Episodes

  • December 28: Holy Innocents, Martyrs—Feast

    December 28: Holy Innocents, Martyrs—Feast
    Dec 27 2024
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    December 28: Holy Innocents, Martyrs—Feast

    AD 1
    Patron Saints of babies, abandoned babies, children’s choirs, students, and altar servers
    Invoked against ambition, jealousy
    Pre-Congregation canonization
    Liturgical Color: Red

    Quote:
    When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.” ~Matthew 2:16–18

    Prayer:
    Dear Holy Innocents, you were treated with the utmost cruelty even before you were capable of understanding such cruelty. God permitted your suffering, and now He exalts you forever as the first witnesses to Him who shed your blood. Please pray for me, that I will always bear witness to Christ in my life and will walk with peace and joy amidst the sufferings in this life. Holy Innocents, 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
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    9 mins
  • The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—Feast

    The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—Feast
    Dec 28 2024
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    The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—Feast
    Sunday within the Octave of Christmas

    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    How I would like to return to my childhood and attend the simple yet profound school that is Nazareth! How wonderful to be close to Mary, learning again the lesson of the true meaning of life, learning again God’s truths…First, we learn from its silence…The silence of Nazareth should teach us how to meditate in peace and quiet, to reflect on the deeply spiritual, and to be open to the voice of God’s inner wisdom and the counsel of his true teachers…Second, we learn about family life…May it show us the family’s holy and enduring character and exemplify its basic function in society: a community of love and sharing, beautiful for the problems it poses and the rewards it brings, in sum, the perfect setting for rearing children—and for this there is no substitute. ~Pope Paul VI, Address from Nazareth

    Prayer:
    Most Holy Family of Nazareth, you were a true school of love in which the perfection of family love grew strong. Please bestow upon me, my family, and families everywhere the grace needed to more fully imitate the love you shared, so that families everywhere will continue to be the fundamental building block of the world. Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us and have mercy on all. 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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    12 mins
  • December 27: Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist—Feast

    December 27: Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist—Feast
    Dec 26 2024
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    December 27: Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist—Feast

    Early First Century–c. 101
    Patron Saint of arms manufacturers, art dealers, authors, basketmakers, bookbinders, booksellers, publishers, butchers, candlemakers, compositors, editors, engravers, friendships, glaziers, government officials, harvests, lithographers, notaries, painters, papermakers, printers, saddlemakers, scholars, sculptors, theologians, and winemakers
    Invoked against burns, epilepsy, foot problems, hailstorms, and poisoning
    Pre-Congregation canonization
    Liturgical color: White

    Quote:
    Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.” So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?” It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written. ~John 21:20–25

    Prayer:
    Saint John the Apostle, at a young age you heard Jesus’ call to follow Him, and you willingly accepted. During His ministry, you grew in a profound and mystical love of your Lord, and that love increased throughout your life. Please pray for me, that this pure and holy love will increase in my life so that I can share that love with others. Saint John the Apostle, 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
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    15 mins
  • December 26: Saint Stephen, the First Martyr—Feast

    December 26: Saint Stephen, the First Martyr—Feast
    Dec 25 2024
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    December 26: Saint Stephen, the First Martyr—Feast

    Early First Century–c. 33–36
    Patron Saint of altar servers, builders, casket makers, deacons, horses, masons, and quarrymen
    Invoked against headaches
    Pre-Congregation canonization
    Liturgical Color: Red

    Quote:
    “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.” When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them;” and when he said this, he fell asleep. ~Acts 7:51–60

    Prayer:
    Saint Stephen, you were graced to be the first follower of Christ who was martyred for your faith. You did not shy away from the cruelty and hatred of your persecutors but spoke the truth to them and prayed that they be forgiven. Please also pray for me, that I will be forgiven for the sins I have committed against others and will follow you by offering my life wholeheartedly to Christ every day of my life. Saint Stephen, 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 25: Nativity of the Lord—Solemnity

    December 25: Nativity of the Lord—Solemnity
    Dec 15 2025
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    December 25: Nativity of the Lord—Solemnity

    Quote:
    In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. ~Luke 2:1–7

    Prayer:
    Most Holy Savior of the World, You are the Light that scattered the darkness. You chose to be born in the most humble conditions, elevating humility as a means of great holiness. As we celebrate Your birth, I pray that You will also be born in my life, and through me, into the world. May this Christmas be a time in which I come to know You more fully and intimately, joining the shepherds in their adoration of You, so that I can share in the abundant new life You came to bestow. Holy Savior, have mercy on 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
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    11 mins
  • December 23: Saint John of Kanty (Cantius), Priest—Optional Memorial

    December 23: Saint John of Kanty (Cantius), Priest—Optional Memorial
    Dec 15 2025
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    December 23: Saint John of Kanty (Cantius), Priest—Optional Memorial

    c. 1390–1473
    Patron Saint of teachers, students, priests, pilgrims, Lithuania, and Poland
    Canonized by Pope Clement XIII on July 16, 1767
    Liturgical Color: Violet

    Quote:
    Fight all false opinions, but let your weapons be patience, sweetness and love. Roughness is bad for your own soul and spoils the best cause. ~Saint John of Kanty

    Prayer:
    Saint John Cantius, though you were a great intellectual, your humility and deep faith, coupled with your genuine love for those whom you ministered to, had a lasting effect upon the people of your community, and upon all of Poland. Please pray for me, that I will learn from your life and imitate your virtues so that I, too, will one day be counted among the saints. Saint John Cantius, 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.

    Photo: Saint John Kanty Parish, Buffalo, NY
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    10 mins
  • December 21: Saint Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor—Optional Memorial

    December 21: Saint Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor—Optional Memorial
    Dec 15 2025
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    December 21: Saint Peter Canisius, Priest and Doctor—Optional Memorial

    1521–1597
    Patron Saint of the Catholic press, Germany, and writers of catechisms
    Canonized and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI on May 21, 1925
    Liturgical Color: Violet

    Quote:
    There I felt that a great consolation and the presence of grace had been granted to me through these intercessors [Peter and Paul]. They confirmed my mission in Germany and seemed to transmit to me, as an apostle of Germany, the support of their benevolence. You know, Lord, in how many ways and how often on that same day you entrusted Germany to me, which I was later to continue to be concerned about and for which I would have liked to live and die. ~Journal entry of Saint Peter Canisius after a papal blessing and prayer in Saint Peter’s Basilica

    Prayer:
    Saint Peter Canisius, God called you into His service at a crucial time when the Church in Germany and all of Europe was experiencing confusion and was in need of reform. Your deep faith in Christ, coupled with your theological knowledge, enabled you to be a holy instrument of conversion for countless people for centuries afterward. Please pray for me, that I will learn from your example and become an apostle to those to whom I am sent. Saint Peter Canisius, 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: SchiDD, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia
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    14 mins
  • December 14: Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor—Memorial

    December 14: Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor—Memorial
    Dec 11 2025
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    December 14: Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor—Memorial

    c. 1542–1591
    Patron Saint of contemplatives, mystical theology, and Spanish poets
    Canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on December 27, 1726
    Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI in 1926
    Commonly referred to as the “Mystical Doctor”
    Liturgical Color: White

    Quote:
    In order to expound and describe this dark night, through which the soul passes in order to attain to the Divine light of the perfect union of the love of God, as far as is possible in this life, it would be necessary to have illumination of knowledge and experience other and far greater than mine; for this darkness and these trials, both spiritual and temporal, through which happy souls are wont to pass in order to be able to attain to this high estate of perfection, are so numerous and so profound that neither does human knowledge suffice for the understanding of them, nor experience for the description of them; for only he that passes this way can understand it, and even he cannot describe it. ~Prologue of Ascent to Mount Carmel, Saint John of the Cross

    Prayer:
    Saint John of the Cross, through the sufferings you endured in your youth and as a friar, God purified you and called you deeper. You responded, and through you the Carmelites were reformed, and from you came a wealth of spiritual treasures in your teachings. Please pray for me, that I will never shy away from the sufferings of the Cross but will see those sufferings as the means of my deeper union with our loving God. Saint John of the Cross, 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.

    Museo Nacional de Arte, Public domain, via Wikimedia
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    18 mins