Friday of week 5 in Ordinary TimeOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Bl. Jordan of Saxony OP (c.1185 - 1237)) Dominican Friar, Priest and Master of the Dominican Order.Blessed Jordan was born at Burgberg, Westphalia, around the year 1185. While studying in Paris he was attracted to the Dominican Order by Blessed Reginald and received the habit from him in 1220. On the death of Saint Dominic the friars elected him Master of the Order. For fifteen years he ministered to his brothers and sisters by his preaching, his letters, his edition of the Constitutions, his frequent visitations and the example of his life. More than one thousand novices were attracted to the Order during the tenure of his office. He directed Blessed Diana and her community in the way of perfection and governed all his subjects with gentleness and kindness. His love for Mary, the Mother of God, expressed itself by his decree that the Salve Regina was to be sung after compline. Blessed Jordan was shipwrecked and drowned on February 13, 1237.

Thursday of week 5 in Ordinary TimeOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Bl. Reginald of Orleans OP (c.1180 - 1220)) Dominican Friar and Priest.Blessed Reginald was born near Orleans about the year 1180. He became a doctor of law and taught at Paris. On his way to visit the Holy Land he stopped at Rome where he was captivated by Saint Dominic and the ideal of his Order. While there he fell dangerously ill, but was healed through the intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary then received the habit from Saint Dominic, the very habit which Our Lady had shown him. His example and eloquent preaching attracted many young men to the Order, first at Bologna and then at Paris. He died at Paris in 1220 and was buried at Notre Dame des Champs.

Saint Agatha, Virgin, MartyrOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | MassSt Agatha She was martyred at Catania in Sicily, probably during the persecution of Decius (250-253). Devotion to her was widespread in the Church in the earliest times and she is mentioned in the Roman Canon of the Mass. See the articles in the Catholic Encyclopaedia and Wikipedia.

Wednesday of week 5 in Ordinary Time, or Our Lady of Lourdes Office of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Our Lady of Lourdes) In 1858 the immaculate Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, near Lourdes in France, in the cavern called “de Massabielle.” Through this poor, fourteen-year-old girl, Mary calls on sinners to change their lives. She has inspired in the Church a great love of prayer and good works, especially in the service of the poor and the sick. See the articles in the Catholic Encyclopaedia and Wikipedia.(Saint Gobnait) Gobnait is a fifth-century Irish saint. Although there are many legends and traditions associated with her, there are few if any historical facts. This commonly happens to people whose memory is kept alive by tradition rather than written records, and it casts no doubt on her existence or her merits. See the article in Wikipedia.

Saint Scholastica, VirginOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | MassSt Scholastica (480 - 547) She was born in Nursia in about 480, the twin sister of St Benedict. She was dedicated to God from an early age and followed her brother to Cassino, where she died in about 547. See the article in Wikipedia.(The Shipwreck of Saint Paul) As related in the Acts of the Apostles, the ship taking Saint Paul as a prisoner to Rome was shipwrecked on the coast of Malta. Paul and his companions were welcomed by Publius, the prefect of the island, and spent three months on Malta, preaching and performing miracles. The event is celebrated as the birth of the Maltese Church.

Monday of week 5 in Ordinary TimeOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(St Teilo) Teilo lived in the sixth century, studying under St Paulinus at Llanddeusant and, as a monk, with St David at Mynyw. He founded his own monastery at Llandeilo Fawr where he probably died. A later tradition has St Teilo, accompanied by St David and St Padarn, make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He spent some years in Brittany. At Llandaff he is venerated as founder of the see.

5th Sunday in Ordinary TimeOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(St Jerome Emiliani (1486 - 1537)) He was born near Venice in 1486. He started his career as a soldier but after he was taken prisoner and then miraculously liberated, he devoted himself to helping the poor, distributing his own possessions among them also. Two priests joined him in this task and in 1532 he founded a religious order, the Clerks Regular of Somaschi, for the relief of poor and orphaned children. He died at Somaschi (near Bergamò) in 1537. See the articles in Wikipedia and the Catholic Encyclopaedia.(St Josephine Bakhita (1869 - 1947)) Josephine Bakhita was born near Jebel Agilere in South Darfur (Sudan). Kidnapped when still very young, she experienced the cruelty of slavery as she was sold several times in slave markets of Africa. Finally she was rescued by an Italian family and brought to Italy where she not only became a Christian but also felt the call to consecrate her life to God as a sister. She joined the Canossian Daughters of Charity and lived the rest of her life at Schio, a small village near Vicenza. She died on 8 February, 1947.(St Cuthman of Steyning) The story of St Cuthman is told in the Acta Sanctorum of the Bollandists (1658), from an anonymous source. Cuthman was a shepherd, who after his father died, had to look after his crippled mother. They fell on hard times, and Cuthman was forced to beg from door to door. He set out from his home, perhaps at Chidham near Bosham, going eastwards, pushing his mother in a one-wheeled cart or wheelbarrow which he made. A rope from the handles over his shoulders took part of the weight. The rope broke, and he improvised a new one from withies. Some haymakers who were watching laughed at him, but a heavy rainstorm ruined their hay and taught them a lesson.Cuthman decided that when the makeshift rope of withies gave way he would take it as a sign from God that he should stop at that place and build a church. It happened at the place we call Steyning. His biographer gives us his prayer: “Father Almighty, you have brought my wanderings to an end; now enable me to begin this work. For who am I, Lord, that I should build a house to name? If I rely on myself, it will be of no avail, but it is you who will assist me. You have given me the desire to be a builder; make up for my lack of skill, and bring the work of building this holy house to its completion.” After building a hut to accommodate his mother and himself, he set to work to build the church. The local people helped him, and those who did not found themselves in trouble. As the church neared completion, Cuthman had difficulty with a roof-beam. A stranger showed him how to fix it. When Cuthman asked his name, he replied “I am he in whose name you are building this church.”We can picture Cuthman living in Steyning, continuing his work as shepherd and builder, but above all (as his biographer attests) as a man of prayer. He had accomplished his great work for God; the church he built would stand as his memorial.Cuthman was venerated as a saint before the Norman Conquest. After the conquest his relics were transferred to Fécamp, since the Steyning church had been given to the Abbey there. In charters of William the Conqueror Steyning is sometimes called “St Cuthman’s Port” or “St Cuthman’s Parish”. In “lives” which were preserved at Fécamp it is said that he was born about 681 A.D., probably at Chidham, near Bosham, which is about 25 miles from Steyning. If this is so, his parents would have heard the preaching of St Wilfrid, the Apostle of Sussex (680-685), and no doubt became Christian. Did Wilfrid himself baptise the child Cuthman? Some authorities give him a date later than this, but at least it can be said that Cuthman’s church was in existence in 857, for we know that King Ethelwulf was buried there in that year.In Norman times Steyning was a minster church, administered by a college of secular canons. This college was dissolved in 1260 and vicars were appointed by the Abbey of Fécamp. It was at this time that the church was re-dedicated in honour of St Andrew, which is its dedication today.However, Cuthman’s name and exploits were not forgotten. There is a German engraving of him with his “cart” dated about 1450 and a choir seat carving at Ripon Cathedral dating from a few decades later. And at Chidham, where he was born, there was a Guild of St Cuthman, which was subject to a tax in 1522 under Henry VIII. Finally in 1658 the Bollandists transcribed and printed his Life, giving his feast day as February 8th. Visitors to Steyning to this day will see the representation of “The Boy with a Cart” on the town sign, and Christopher Fry’s play of that name continues to keep his memory green.

Saturday of week 4 in Ordinary Time, or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary Office of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | Mass(Saturday memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary) ‘On Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed.‘Saturdays stand out among those days dedicated to the Virgin Mary. These are designated as memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This memorial derives from Carolingian times (9th century), but the reasons for having chosen Saturday for its observance are unknown. While many explanations of this choice have been advanced, none is completely satisfactory from the point of view of the history of popular piety.‘Whatever its historical origins may be, today the memorial rightly emphasizes certain values to which contemporary spirituality is more sensitive. It is a remembrance of the maternal example and discipleship of the Blessed Virgin Mary who, strengthened by faith and hope, on that “great Saturday” on which Our Lord lay in the tomb, was the only one of the disciples to hold vigil in expectation of the Lord’s resurrection. It is a prelude and introduction to the celebration of Sunday, the weekly memorial of the Resurrection of Christ. It is a sign that the Virgin Mary is continuously present and operative in the life of the Church.’Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2001), §188(Saint Mel) Saint Mel or Moel died in 488. He is said to have been a Briton who came to Ireland with Saint Patrick, his uncle, with whom he worked until he was ordained in Ardagh. He is one of the earliest Irish saints and gave the religious veil to Saint Brigid. See the article in Wikipedia.(Saints Gonsalo Garzia, Peter Baptista and Companions, Martyrs) (Blessed Pius IX, Pope)

Saints Paul Miki and his Companions, MartyrsOffice of Readings | Morning Prayer | Evening Prayer | Night Prayer | MassSt Paul Miki (1564/6 - 1597) He was born in Japan between 1564 and 1566. He joined the Society of Jesus and preached the gospel to the Japanese people with great success. When a persecution of the Catholics arose he was arrested together with twenty-five others. Mocked and tortured, they were eventually taken to Nagasaki on 5 February 1597, bound to crosses and speared.SS. Gonsalo Garcia, Peter Baptista and Companions (- 1597) Gonsalo Garcia was born in Bassein, near Bombay (Vasai / Mumbai) in around 1557. He was educated by the Jesuits, who took him with them on a mission to Japan when he was 15. He spent eight years in Japan, quickly learning the language and becoming a popular catechist. He left the mission and set up as a trader. As his business expanded he found himself making frequent visits to Manila in the Philippines, where he got to know the Franciscans and eventually became a Franciscan lay brother. In 1592 he sailed, together with other Franciscans including Peter Baptista, on an embassy from the Spanish Governor to the Emperor of Japan. He worked as a preacher for four years and the simplicity of the Franciscans’ mission won them many Japanese friends and converts, including the shōgun Toyotomi Hideyoshi.At length the enmity of the local Buddhist authorities combined with suspicion of Spanish political motives and the shōgun’s attitude changed. The Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries were arrested, mutilated, and on 5 February 1597 crucified at Nagasaki. They included five European Franciscan missionaries, one Mexican Franciscan missionary, three Japanese Jesuits and seventeen Japanese laymen including three young boys.(Waitangi Day)

Pope Francis' top diplomats met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on April 19, where the two sides discussed migrants and refugees following months of clashes between U.S. church leaders and the Trump administration over immigration policy and foreign aid.