Daybreak
1,869 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 22 hours ago - ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsDaybreak™ is a fresh, upbeat approach to morning devotions and prayer. Host Paul Sadek leads you in spiritual reflections and meditations from the daily Mass readings, Morning Prayer, the Holy Father’s teachings, writing of the saints, and more.
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Episodes
Daybreak for March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBHoly Thursday Saint of the Day: St. Venturino of Bergamo, 1304-1346; Dominican who became a brilliant preacher; in 1335, he announced his intention to make a pilgrimage to Rome; Pope Benedict XII feared that Venturino would try to crown himself pope, and forbade the pilgrimage, as did the Dominicans; Venturino was unaware of the bans, and made his way to Rome, and then to Avignon, where he was arrested and imprisoned until 1343; helped to organize a crusade against the Turks, who were th...
Daybreak for March 27, 2024
March 27, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBWednesday of Holy Week Saint of the Day: St. Rupert, 660-717; born to a noble Frankish family; appointed bishop of Worms, Germany; he took over the deserted town of luvavum about 697, which was renamed Salzburg, Austria, and founded a church, a monastery, and a school; brought in groups of missionaries; and established a nunnery at Nonnberg; died at Salzburg; venerated as the apostle to Bavaria and Austria Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/27/24 Gospel: Matthew 26:14-25
Daybreak for March 26, 2024
March 26, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBTuesday of Holy Week Saint of the Day: St. Margaret Clitherow, 1555-1586; born in Middleton, England; married John Clitherow, and entered the Catholic Church; she harbored fugitive priests, for which she was arrested; she was condemned to be pressed to death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/26/24 Gospel: John 13:21-33, 36-38
Daybreak for March 25, 2024
March 25, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBMonday of Holy Week Saint of the Day: St. Dismas, the "good thief"; a pious, unsubstantiated legend has Dismas and his partner, Gestas, robbing the Holy Family on their way to Egypt; but Dismas buys off Gestas so that they will not be harmed; and Jesus prophesies that the two will be crucified with him in Jerusalem, but that Dismas will accompany him to paradise Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/25/24 Gospel: John 12:1-11
Daybreak for March 24, 2024
March 24, 2024 07:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBPalm Sunday of the Lord's Passion Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/24/24 Gospel: Mark 15:1-39
Daybreak for March 23, 2024
March 23, 2024 07:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBSaturday of the Fifth Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Turbius de Mongrovejo, 1538-1606; born in Mayorga, Spain; became a lawyer, and, eventually chief-judge of the court of the inquisition at Granada; appointed archbishop of Lima, Peru, in 1580; following ordination and consecration, he arrived in Peru in 1581; he aided the poor and defended the rights of Indians suffering under Spanish occupation; he founded schools, churches, hospitals, and the first seminary in the New World; he als...
Daybreak for March 22, 2024
March 22, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBFriday of the Fifth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Nicholas Owen, 1550-1606; born in Oxford, England; became a carpenter, and built hiding places for Jesuit priests; became a Jesuit lay brother, and was arrested in 1594, and tortured, but refused to reveal the names of Catholic colleagues; ransomed by a wealthy Catholic; arrested again in 1606, and tortured to death; one of the 40 martyrs of England and Wales Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/22/24 Gospel: John 10:31-42
Daybreak for March 21, 2024
March 21, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBThursday of the Fifth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Nicholas of Flue, 1417-1487; born in Switzerland; married and had ten children by his wife; after serving in various civic posts, with the consent of his wife and family, he embraced the life of a hermit; he is reputed to have survived solely on the Holy Eucharist for the final 19 years of his life; known for his holiness and wisdom, he was regularly visited by civic leaders, powerful personages, and simple men and women with a var...
Daybreak for March 20, 2024
March 20, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBWednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Cuthbert, 634-687; became a monk at Melrose Abbey, and did missionary work; became prior of Lindisfarn, and then received permission to live as a hermit; elected bishop of Hexham in 685, and swapped sees with St. Eata to become bishop of Lindisfarn; spent the last two years of his life caring for the sick of the plague that decimated his diocese, working numerous miracles of healing, and gifted with the ability to prophesy; died a...
Daybreak for March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBSolemnity of St. Joseph, husband of Mary, Patron of the Universal Church Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/19/24 Gospel: Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24
Daybreak for March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBMonday of the Fifth Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 315-386; when he became bishop of Jerusalem, conflict arose with a neighboring Arian bishop; Cyril was condemned, driven from Jerusalem, and later vindicated; this experience was repeated twice; when he returned to Jerusalem, he found it torn with heresy, schism and strife, and wracked with crime; even Saint Gregory of Nyssa, who was sent to help, left in despair; they both went to the Council of Constantinople, wh...
Daybreak for March 17, 2024
March 17, 2024 07:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBFifth Sunday of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/17/24 Gospel: John 12:20-33
Daybreak for March 16, 2024
March 16, 2024 07:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBSaturday of the Fourth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Finian Lobhar; Sixth Century Irish abbot and disciple of St. Columba; born in Leinster, Ireland; founded a church and monastery at Innisfallen; after a stay in Clonmore, he became abbot of Sword's Abbey, near Dublin; he was called "Lobhar," "the leper," because he contracted the disease from a young boy whom he had cured; died 560 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/16/24 Gospel: John 7:40-53
Daybreak for March 15, 2024
March 15, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBFriday of the Fourth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Aristobulus; one of the seventy-two sent out into the world by the early Church; possibly mentioned by St. Paul; believed to be Zebedee, the father of James and John; Aristobulus preached in Britain, though documentation is lacking; died in the First Century Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/15/24 Gospel: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
Daybreak for March 14, 2024
March 14, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBThursday of the Fourth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Mathilda, 895-968; given in marriage to Henry the Fowler, who eventually became King of Germany; as queen, Mathilda visited and comforted the sick and the afflicted, instructed the ignorant, succored prisoners, and endeavored to convert sinners; when King Henry died, Mathilda gave up all worldly pomp; of her three sons, Otho afterward became Emperor, Henry was Duke of Bavaria, and St. Bruno became Archbishop of Cologne Office o...
Daybreak for March 13, 2024
March 13, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBWednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Agnellus of Pisa, 1195-1236; received into the Franciscans by St. Francis of Assisi, who sent him to Paris to start a Franciscan mission; Agnellus was then sent to England, where they began the Franciscan English province; he became friends with King Henry III, who called upon him to avert a civil war; during negotiations, Agnellus became ill, and died at Oxford Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/13/24 Gospel: John 5...
Daybreak for March 12, 2024
March 12, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBTuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Peter of Nicomedia; a chamberlain at the court of Diocletian; arrested for being a Christian during the last great persecution of the Church at Diocletian's command; tortured and martyred in 303 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/12/24 Gospel: John 5:1-16
Daybreak for March 11, 2024
March 11, 2024 07:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBMonday of the Fourth Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Eulogius of Cordoba; a noted scholar of scripture, he was arrested in 850; after his release, he was named bishop of Cordoba; before being consecrated, he aided Leocritia, a young Moorish woman who had converted to Christianity; they were caught and beheaded in 859 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/11/24 Gospel: John 4:43-54
Daybreak for March 10, 2024
March 10, 2024 07:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBFourth Sunday of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/10/24 Gospel: John 3:14-21
Daybreak for March 9, 2024
March 09, 2024 08:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBSaturday of the Third Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Frances of Rome, 1384-1440; attracted to the religious life in her youth, but her parents had picked a nobleman for her husband; Frances and her brother-in-law's wife set out to serve the poor together; Frances requested and was given permission to found a society of women bound by no vows--they simply offered themselves to God and to the service of the poor Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/9/24 Gospel: Luke 18:9-14
Daybreak for March 8, 2024
March 08, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBFriday of the Third Week of Lent Commemoration of St. John of God, 1495-1550; came to a true conversion at the age of 40, when he went to Africa, hoping to be martyred; he was advised that this was not spiritually sound, so he returned to Spain and a religious goods store; he was moved by a sermon of St. John of Avila, and publicly beat himself, begging mercy; he was committed to a mental hospital, where he was visited by St. John of Avila, who advised him to become involved in tending t...
Daybreak for March 7, 2024
March 07, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBThursday of the Third Week of Lent Commemoration of Saints Perpetua and Felicity; lived in the Third and Fourth Centuries in Carthage, North Africa; Perpetua, 22, was a noblewoman with an infant son; she refused to deny her Christian faith; Felicity was a slavewoman and expectant mother; they and three companions were sent to the public games in the amphitheater; Perpetua and Felicity were beheaded, the others were killed by beasts in 203 A.D.; Perpetua's diary ends the day before the ga...
Daybreak for March 6, 2024
March 06, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBWednesday of the Third Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Colette, 1380-1447; orphaned at 17, she became a Franciscan tertiary, living in Corby Abbey, near Picardy, France; she left in response to a dream directing her to reform the Poor Claires; she founded seventeen convents with the reformed rule, and reformed several older convents; known for her sanctity, ecstasies, and visions of the Passion; prophesied her own death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/6/24 Gospel: Matt...
Daybreak for March 5, 2024
March 05, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBTuesday of the Third Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. John Joseph of the Cross, 1654-1739; became a Franciscan at the age of 16; three years after his profession, he was sent to found a monastery in Piedmont; he built another convent, and became master of novices, and later, provincial of the province of Naples; he suffered much, and was the victim of numerous calumnies, but succeeded in his work of instilling in his subjects a double spirit of contemplation and penance Office of Re...
Daybreak for March 4, 2024
March 04, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBMonday of the Third Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Casimir, 1458-1483; even as a teenager, he lived a highly disciplined life, sleeping on the ground, spending much of the night in prayer, and dedicating himself to lifelong celibacy; nobles in Hungary asked Casimir's father, the king of Poland, to send his son to take over the country; Casimir found that his army was outnumbered, and returned home, where his father exiled him for three months; Casimir returned to prayer and study; he ...
Daybreak for March 3, 2024
March 03, 2024 08:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBThird Sunday of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/3/24 Gospel: John 2:13-25
Daybreak for March 2, 2024
March 02, 2024 08:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBSaturday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Agnes of Bohemia, 1200-1282; daughter of King Ottocar and Queen Constance of Hungary; betrothed to Emperor Frederick II of Germany, but refused the marriage and became a Poor Claire; gifted with miracles Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/2/24 Gospel: Lukke 5:1-3, 11-32
Daybreak for March 1, 2024
March 01, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBFriday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Aubin, 470-550; entered the monastery of Tincillac when a youth, was elected Abbot when he was thirty-five, and was named Bishop of Angers in 529; known for his generosity to the sick and the indigent, widows, and orphans, for his work in ransoming slaves, and for his holiness and the many miracles he is reputed to have performed both during his lifetime and after his death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/1/24 Gospel...
Daybreak for February 29, 2024
February 29, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBThursday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Oswald; Danish by birth, St. Oswald studied in the household of his uncle, Archbishop Odo of Fleury, France, where he was ordained; in 962, he was made bishop of Worcester, where he worked to eliminate abuses, and built many monasteries; became archbishop of York in 972; associated for most of his public life with St. Dunstan and St. Ethelwold and when he died in 992 popular veneration joined his name to theirs; one of the three w...
Daybreak for February 28, 2024
February 28, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBWednesday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: Pope St. Hilary; born in Sardinia, pope from 461 to 468; successor to Pope St. Leo the Great; Hilary rebuilt many Roman churches and erected the chapel of St. John Lateran; validated the decisions of the General Councils of Nicaea, Ephesus, and Chalcedon; he consolidated the Church in Sandi, Africa, and Gaul; he died in Rome on February 28, 468 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/28/24 Gospel: Matthew 20:17-28
Daybreak for February 27, 2024
February 27, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBTuesday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Anne Line, 1563-1601; English martyr; disowned by her father when she married a Catholic; Anne hid Catholic priests in a London safe house; she aided Jesuit Father John Gerard until her arrest; Anne was hanged in Tyburn on February 27, 1601 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/27/24 Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12
Daybreak for February 26, 2024
February 26, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBMonday of the Second Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Isabel of France, 1225-1270; sister of St. Louis and daughter of King Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile, she refused offers of marriage from several noble suitors to continue her life of virginity consecrated to God; she ministered to the sick and the poor, and after the death of her mother, founded the Franciscan Monastery of the Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Paris; she lived there, but never became a nun and ref...
Daybreak for February 25, 2024
February 25, 2024 08:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBSecond Sunday of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/25/24 Gospel: Mark 9:2-10
Daybreak for February 24, 2024
February 24, 2024 08:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBSaturday of the First Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Adela; benefactor and English princess. Adela was the youngest daughter of William the Conqueror. In 1080 she married Stephen of Blois. Throughout her life, Adela had an active role in English politics. She was famed for endowing churches and monastic institutions; she died in 1137 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/24/24 Gospel: Mark 5:43-48
Daybreak for February 23, 2024
February 23, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBFriday of the First Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Polycarp, 69-155; bishop of Smyrna, disciple of Saint John the Apostle and friend of Saint Ignatius of Antioch; only one of the many letters written by Polycarp has been preserved, the one he wrote to the Church of Philippi in Macedonia; at 86, Polycarp was led into the crowded Smyrna stadium to be burned alive. The flames did not harm him and he was finally killed by a dagger Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/23/24 Gosp...
Daybreak for February 22, 2024
February 22, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBFeast of the Chair of St. Peter; commemorating Christ’s choosing Peter to sit in his place as the servant-authority of the whole Church Thursday of the First Week of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/22/24 Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19
Daybreak for February 21, 2024
February 21, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBWednesday of the First Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Peter Damian, 988-1072; joined the Benedictines, and became abbot; Pope Stephen IX made him cardinal-bishop of Ostia, where he battled simony, and encouraged his priests to observe celibacy and urged even the diocesan clergy to live together and maintain scheduled prayer and religious observance; upon his retirement, he continued to serve as a papal legate; on one such assignment in Ravenna, he was overcome with fever, and died wit...
Daybreak for February 20, 2024
February 20, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBTuesday of the First Week of Lent Saints of the Day: Saints Jacinta (1910-1920) and Francisco (1908-1919); Jacinta, Francisco, and their cousin Lucia Dos Santos, received apparitions of Our Lady from May 13 to October 13, 1917, near Fatima, Portugal; they were told to learn to read and write, and to pray the rosary to bring an end to the war Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/20/24 Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15
Daybreak for February 19, 2024
February 19, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBMonday of the First Week of Lent Saint of the Day: St. Colman of Lindisfarne, 605-675; Irish bishop of Lindisfarne, England, a disciple of St. Columba; defended Celtic ecclesiastical practices, and led a group of Irish and English monks to the Isle of Innishboffin, near Connaught, later moving the English monks to Mayo Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/19/24 Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46
Daybreak for February 18, 2024
February 18, 2024 08:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBFirst Sunday of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/18/24 Gospel: Mark 1:12-15
Daybreak for February 17, 2024
February 17, 2024 08:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBSaturday after Ash Wednesday Commemoration of the Seven Founders of the Servite Order; 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, choosing to live under the Rule of St. Augustine and adopting the name of the Servants of Mary; they came to the United States from Austria in 1852 and settled in New York and later in Philadelphi...
Daybreak for February 16, 2024
February 16, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBFriday after Ash Wednesday Saint of the Day: St. Daniel; lived in the Third and Fourth Centuries; he and four companions, Elias, Isaias, Jeremy and Samuel were Egyptians who visited Christians condemned to work in the mines of Cilicia during Maximus' persecution; they were arrested at the gates of Caesaria, Palestine, accused of being Christians, and beheaded; Porphyry, a servant of St. Pamphilus demanded that the bodies be buried, and he was tortured and then burned to death when it was...
Daybreak for February 15, 2024
February 15, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBThursday after Ash Wednesday Saint of the Day: St. Jordan; Jordan of Saxony met St. Dominic in Paris, and became a Dominican himself in 1220; in 1222, on the death of Dominic, Jordan was elected second master general of the Dominicans; he expanded the order, sent missionaries to Denmark, and frequently preached at universities to young students; St. Albert the Great became a Dominican after hearing one of his sermons; Jordan died in 1237 in a shipwreck on the coast of Syria
Daybreak for February 14, 2024
February 14, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBAsh Wednesday - The Beginning of Lent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/14/24 Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Daybreak for February 13, 2024
February 13, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBTuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Catherine de Ricci, 1522-1589; born in Florence, and from her infancy, showed a great attraction to prayer; entered the convent of the Dominican nuns at Prat in Tuscany, in her fourteenth year; became mistress of novices, subprioress, and at age 25, perpetual prioress; her sanctity attracted many to her side, including a correspondence with St. Philip Neri; she experienced the "Ecstacy of the Passion" every week from Thursd...
Daybreak for February 12, 2024
February 12, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBMonday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Julian the Hospitaller; according to legend, in the Fourth Century, he killed his parents in a case of mistaken identity; Julian and his wife went to Rome to receive absolution; when they returned, he built an inn and a hospital for the poor; he even gave a leper his own bed. the leper was an angel Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/12/24 Gospel: Mark 8:11-13
Daybreak for February 11, 2024
February 11, 2024 08:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBSixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/11/24 Gospel: Mark 1:40-45
Daybreak for February 9, 2024
February 09, 2024 08:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBFriday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Alto; Eighth Century hermit and missionary of Irish or Anglo-Saxon descent, who lived in a simple hut in the wild lands of Germany; King Pepin gave him a parcel of land on which Alto built an abbey; the monastery was ravaged by the Huns, but was restored in 1000 as a Benedictine house; it was taken over by the Brigittines in the Fifteenth Century; Also died in 760 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/9/24 Gospel: ...
Daybreak for February 8, 2024
February 08, 2024 08:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBThursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, 1486-1537; ill-mannered soldier of the city-state of Venice; arrested, and while in prison, learned to pray; returned to Venice, took charge of the education of his nephews, and began studying for the priesthood; after his ordination, plague and famine swept northern Italy, and Jerome cared for the sick and fed the hungry; he also founded three orphanages, a shelter for penitent prostitutes and a hospit...
Daybreak for February 7, 2024
February 07, 2024 08:00 - 59 minutes - 55 MBWednesday of the Fifth 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"; became a hermit on Mount Joannitsa. near Corinth; revered for his holiness and miracles Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 2/7/24 Gospel: Mark 7:14-23