{"ok":true,"date":"2027-07-23","dateKey":"07-23","liturgicalDay":"St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr","rank":"Double","color":"red","quoteOfTheDay":{"text":"Seek therefore first the Kingdom of God, and the justice of him, and all these things shall be given you besides.","author":"Holy Scripture","source":"Matthew 6:33, Original Douay-Rheims","treasuryHref":"/wisdom#seek-first-the-kingdom","category":"Divine Providence"},"season":"Time after Pentecost","novenas":[],"octaveContexts":[],"subject":"City of God in Exile: St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr - 2027-07-23","previewText":"St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr. Mary Is Mother of God and Mother of the Faithful. Resist every thin devotion that praises Mary while separating her from doctrine, sacrifice, and the life of grace.","plainText":"CITY OF GOD IN EXILE\nSt. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr\n2027-07-23 - Time after Pentecost - Double - red\nPLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDE FOR TODAY\nOrdination: the sacrament by which a baptized man is made a deacon, priest, or bishop and receives the grace and authority needed for that ministry.\nCommemoration: a shorter liturgical remembrance of another saint or observance occurring on the same day.\nMartyr: a Christian who was killed rather than deny Christ or abandon the Faith.\nThe full Breviary lessons preserve an older English translation. Read the modern explanation first; it identifies the people, event, and doctrine before the historical wording appears.\nTODAY IN THE ROMAN YEAR\nSt. Apollinaris preached the apostolic faith at Ravenna through beatings, exile, imprisonment, and final martyrdom. His endurance shows that opposition does not prove apostolic work false and that sacred office is fulfilled through doctrine, sacrifice, and care for souls rather than comfort. As a faithful servant of Mary, make room for the reign of Jesus Christ in the smallest duties. Renew your gift of self to Jesus through Mary. Nothing offered is too small when charity places it at the service of the King.\n\n\"These may be expressed in four words: to do all our actions by Mary, with Mary, in Mary and for Mary; so that we may do them all the more perfectly by Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus and for Jesus.\"\nSt. Louis-Marie de Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, no. 257\n\nSt. Louis de Montfort's fourfold practice is not a pious ornament laid over an unchanged life. It gives ordinary actions a new interior order. The soul renounces its own proud and hurried spirit, looks to Mary's dispositions, rests beneath her maternal care, and returns the act through her to Jesus Christ.\n\nOffer the day's ordinary work in this manner. Before beginning, surrender self-will; while working, imitate Mary's recollection and fidelity; when the work is finished, place it in her hands without seeking praise. Thus common duties become part of a consecrated life.\n\nPRACTICE\nPray for true shepherds and state necessary Catholic truths calmly despite fear of opposition.\n\nQUOTE OF THE DAY\n\"Seek therefore first the Kingdom of God, and the justice of him, and all these things shall be given you besides.\"\nHoly Scripture, Matthew 6:33, Original Douay-Rheims\n\nROMAN MARTYROLOGY - July 23\nThe birthday of the holy bishop Apollinaris, who was consecrated at Rome by the apostle Peter, and sent to Kavenna, where he endured for the faith of Christ many different tribulations. He afterwards preached the Gospel in JEmilia, where he converted many from the worship of idols. Fianlly, returning to Kavenna, he terminated his confession of Christ by a glorious martyrdom under the Caesar Vespasian. — At Le Mans, in France, St. Liborius, bishop and confessor. — At Rome, St. Kasyphus, martyr. — In the same city, the martyrdom of St. Primitiva, virgin and martyr. — Also, the holy martyrs Apollonius and Eugenius. — The same day, the birthday of the holy martyrs Trophimus and Theophilus. who received their crown of martyrdom by being beaten with stones, scorched with fire, and finally struck with the sword, in the time of the emperor Diocletian. — In Bulgaria, many holy martyrs whom the impious emperor Nicephorus, whilst he was devastating the churches of God, put to death in various ways — by the sword, the halter, arrows, long imprisonment, and starvation. — At Rome, the saintly virgins Komula, Redempta, and Herundines, men tioned by pope St. Gregory in his writings. — In the same city, the departure from this life of St. Bridget, widow, whose sacred body was taken to Sweden on the 7th of October. Her feast is celebrated on the 8th of that month.\n\nHIGHLIGHTED SAINT\nSt. Apollinaris\nBishop and martyr who preached the faith received from the apostles at Ravenna.\nSt. Apollinaris is venerated as the first bishop of Ravenna, an early shepherd whose preaching of Christ brought persecution and suffering.\nTradition remembers repeated trials, banishment, and wounds borne for the Gospel. His feast teaches that apostolic ministry is not religious management: the bishop is called to preach, suffer, and guard souls.\nAsk St. Apollinaris to intercede for the Church's shepherds in exile, and for souls who must recognize true pastoral witness beneath suffering.\nFROM MATINS\nThe disciple of Peter sent to Ravenna.\nMatins - Second Nocturn - St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr\nRoman Breviary and St. Ambrose\n\"Still exhorting them to stand firm in the Faith.\"\n- The Breviary remembers St. Apollinaris as a disciple associated with St. Peter, ordained bishop and sent to Ravenna to preach Christ.\n- His apostolate is marked by conversions, deliverance, healings, repeated beatings, exile, imprisonment, and a final martyrdom endured while still strengthening the faithful.\n- The Third Nocturn joins his witness to St. Ambrose's teaching that Christ's kingdom is not of this world, and that the just man is made like God by knowledge of God and contempt for carnal motions.\nDo not stop exhorting souls because wounds have come. St. Apollinaris teaches apostolic endurance, episcopal courage, and firmness when false worship resists the Gospel.\nFULL BREVIARY LESSONS\nFourth Lesson\nApollinaris came from Antioch to Rome with the Prince of the Apostles, and was by him ordained a Bishop, and sent to Ravenna to preach the Gospel of the Lord Christ. He had already converted a great number of persons to the Christian Faith, when the idolatrous priests caught him and gave him a sharp flogging.\nA second riot was got up against him on account of one Boniface, a nobleman who had long been dumb, speaking, and his daughter being delivered from an unclean spirit. On this occasion Apollinaris was flogged again, and made to walk barefoot over hot embers. The fire did him no harm, and he was expelled from the city.\nFifth Lesson\nApollinaris lay hid for a while with certain Christians. Thence he went to Emilia, where he restored to life the dead daughter of the Patrician Rufinus, so that the whole household of Rufinus might believe in JESUS Christ. This affair greatly incensed the Prefect, who sent for Apollinaris, and earnestly dealt with him to induce him to cease spreading the Christian Faith in that city.\nAs Apollinaris paid no heed to the Prefect's orders, he was tortured on the rack, boiling water poured on his wounds, and his mouth bruised with a stone, after which he was ironed and cast into prison. On the fourth day he was put on board a ship and sent into banishment. The ship was wrecked, and he so came to Mysia, thence to the shores of the Danube, and afterwards into Thrace.\nSixth Lesson\nHowever, the devil in the temple of Serapis declared that he could not give oracles, while the disciple of the Apostle Peter abode in these parts, and after a long search Apollinaris was found and commanded again to take ship. Thus he went back to Ravenna, where he was denounced by the same idolatrous priests as before, and given into the keeping of a centurion.\nThis centurion was a secret worshipper of Christ, and in the night he let Apollinaris go. When it became known some of the officers of justice followed after him, caught him on the road, beat him till they thought he was dead, and left him. Some Christians took him up, but on the seventh day, still exhorting them to stand firm in the Faith, he departed this life with the glorious splendour of martyrdom. His body was buried hard by the wall of the city.\nSeventh Lesson, St. Ambrose on Luke 22\n\"My kingdom,\" our God hath said, \"is not of this world.\" Man, then, must strive, not to be equal with God, but to be like unto God. Christ alone is the full image of God, as being the brightness of His Father's glory, and the express image of His Person.\nBut the righteous man is made after the image of God, in so far as, for the sake of following the example of his God, he, through knowledge of God, setteth no esteem upon this world, and looketh down upon all carnal motions of the will, through having taken in that Word whereby we are fed unto life everlasting; and this is the end whereto we eat the Body of Christ, namely, that we may have eternal life.\nEighth Lesson\nThe reward which is promised unto us is not meat and drink, but a part in that grace and that life which come down from heaven. Neither are the twelve thrones to be understood as meaning chairs for bodies to sit in, but as meaning a dignity like that of God Himself, wherein they that have left all and followed Christ shall judge as Christ doth, not by dint of cross-examinations, but by simple knowledge of the heart, rewarding the good, and condemning the evil.\nThus are the Apostles erected into a ghostly tribunal, for the rewarding of faith and the cursing of unbelief, by their might breaking back errors, and laying upon blasphemers the just punishment of hatred.\nNinth Lesson\nLet us, then, turn about, and look well to it that there be no strife among us, which of us shall be accounted the greatest. That this strife arose among the Apostles, is not an excuse but a caution for us.\nIf it was only after a while that Peter was converted, Peter, who had started up at the first command of the Lord, who can promise himself to be converted forthwith? Have a care, then, of boasting; have a care of the world. He who was commanded to strengthen his brethren was he who was able to say, \"Behold, we have forsaken all, and have followed Thee.\"\nTHE PILGRIM'S SPIRITUAL CONFERENCE\nMary Is Mother of God and Mother of the Faithful\nThe Church places this truth before you today: The Blessed Virgin Mary is truly Mother of God, and her maternal office belongs to the order of Christ's Incarnation, Passion, and grace. Do not hurry past it as though doctrine belonged only to books and controversies. A revealed truth is also a light by which the soul must judge its loyalties, its fears, its habits, and the duties immediately before it. Marian doctrine protects the truth about Christ: one divine Person, truly God and truly man, born of the Virgin Mother.\nThe grace to be practiced is Pastoral courage, drawn from today's saintly witness. Ask God for more than the natural appearance of this virtue. Temperament may make an action seem easy for a time, but supernatural virtue remains faithful because God is worthy of obedience, even when feeling offers no assistance and no one notices the cost. Imitate Mary's hidden life. Let fidelity be complete even when the work is ordinary and no human eye rewards it.\nThere is also an enemy to recognize: Resist every thin devotion that praises Mary while separating her from doctrine, sacrifice, and the life of grace. Do not study this danger only in other people. Look quietly for the door by which it seeks entrance into your own soul - perhaps through delay, curiosity, resentment, human respect, attachment to comfort, or the desire to control the outcome. Dying to self today means choosing pastoral courage when pride, comfort, fear, resentment, or human respect asks for control.\nDo the faithful act and entrust its fruit to divine Providence, God's wise and loving governance of all things. Place effort and outcome into Our Lady's hands so that the whole offering may be presented to her Divine Son. Confidence in God is not passivity: obey, pray, work, and accept that visible success, consolation, or immediate relief may not be given. God remains faithful when the duty is hidden and the outcome uncertain. Therefore, perform the duty that belongs to you, use the lawful means God has provided, and then surrender the fruit. Receive obscurity and lack of recognition as a school of self-forgetfulness, not as permission for discouragement. Complete every duty faithfully, giving the least-noticed duty the same care under Our Lady's gaze, and leave its value entirely to God.\nThe Church's witness: this truth manifests the Church's mark of holy; the witness placed beside it is St. Cyril of Alexandria.\nYour resolution before God: Pray for true shepherds and state necessary Catholic truths calmly despite fear of opposition.\nCarry this word: A true shepherd does not stop strengthening the flock because truth has brought wounds.\nTHE PILGRIM'S MIRROR\n\"Regard not much who is with thee, nor who is against thee, but be this thy greatest study, that God may be with thee.\"\nThomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book II, chapter 2, p. 55\nHuman approval is a poor compass. With Mary, seek first to be faithful to Jesus Christ and His Church, whether praise follows or not.\n\nThe desire to be supported can subtly alter judgment before you notice it. It softens a necessary word, delays a duty, or makes loneliness appear to be proof that fidelity was mistaken. Examine the act by Catholic truth and your real obligations; then leave the company or opposition of men in God's hands.\nToday's Practice: Perform right acts without checking whether anyone noticed.\nDAILY EXAMEN\nThank God for the hidden graces of the day. Ask Our Lady to teach you to treasure what Heaven sees rather than what the world applauds.\n- For what grace or mercy should I thank God today?\n- What sin, fault, neglected duty, or resistance to grace must I confess?\n- What definite amendment will I carry into tomorrow?\nPRAYER\nO Lord, through St. Apollinaris, give Thy Church faithful bishops and give me courage to confess Christ without bitterness.\nDAILY RULE FOR THE PILGRIM\nA brief rule to keep every day:\nBegin with morning prayer\nAdore the Blessed Trinity and offer the whole day to Jesus through Mary before other duties claim the mind.\nKeep the Angelus\nPause morning, noon, and evening to remember the Incarnation.\nSeek Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament\nAttend Holy Mass when duty permits; otherwise make a Spiritual Communion and renew desire for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.\nReturn to Jesus and Mary\nUse frequent holy aspirations during work, waiting, suffering, and temptation.\nPray the Rosary\nKeep the mysteries of Christ before the mind with Our Lady and learn to imitate what they contain.\nEnd with night prayer and examen\nGive thanks, confess faults, forgive injuries, make a practical amendment, and entrust the night to Our Lady.\nCONTINUE STUDY\nThe Mother of My Lord: https://cityofgodinexile.com/scripture-treasury/luke-1-43-the-mother-of-my-lord-and-the-marian-guard-of-christological-truth?entered=1\nOpen this day in the Sacred Calendar: https://cityofgodinexile.com/sacred-calendar?date=2027-07-23&entered=1\nOpen this day's Daily Pilgrimage: https://cityofgodinexile.com/daily-dispatch?date=2027-07-23&entered=1\nBrowse the Formation Index: https://cityofgodinexile.com/daily-dispatch/formation?entered=1","html":"\n\n \n \n \n City of God in Exile: St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr - 2027-07-23\n \n \n
\n St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr. Mary Is Mother of God and Mother of the Faithful. Resist every thin devotion that praises Mary while separating her from doctrine, sacrifice, and the life of grace.\n
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City of God in Exile

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St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr

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2027-07-23 - Time after Pentecost - Double - red

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“Walk whilst you have the light, that the darkness overtake you not.”
John 12:35
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Plain-Language Guide for Today

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Ordination
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the sacrament by which a baptized man is made a deacon, priest, or bishop and receives the grace and authority needed for that ministry.
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Commemoration
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a shorter liturgical remembrance of another saint or observance occurring on the same day.
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Martyr
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a Christian who was killed rather than deny Christ or abandon the Faith.

The full Breviary lessons preserve an older English translation. Read the modern explanation first; it identifies the people, event, and doctrine before the historical wording appears.

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Today in the Roman Year

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St. Apollinaris preached the apostolic faith at Ravenna through beatings, exile, imprisonment, and final martyrdom. His endurance shows that opposition does not prove apostolic work false and that sacred office is fulfilled through doctrine, sacrifice, and care for souls rather than comfort.

As a faithful servant of Mary, make room for the reign of Jesus Christ in the smallest duties.

Renew your gift of self to Jesus through Mary. Nothing offered is too small when charity places it at the service of the King.

“These may be expressed in four words: to do all our actions by Mary, with Mary, in Mary and for Mary; so that we may do them all the more perfectly by Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus and for Jesus.”

St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, no. 257

St. Louis de Montfort's fourfold practice is not a pious ornament laid over an unchanged life. It gives ordinary actions a new interior order. The soul renounces its own proud and hurried spirit, looks to Mary's dispositions, rests beneath her maternal care, and returns the act through her to Jesus Christ.

Offer the day's ordinary work in this manner. Before beginning, surrender self-will; while working, imitate Mary's recollection and fidelity; when the work is finished, place it in her hands without seeking praise. Thus common duties become part of a consecrated life.

Pray for true shepherds and state necessary Catholic truths calmly despite fear of opposition.

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Quote of the Day

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“Seek therefore first the Kingdom of God, and the justice of him, and all these things shall be given you besides.”
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Holy Scripture, Matthew 6:33, Original Douay-Rheims

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Roman Martyrology - July 23

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The birthday of the holy bishop Apollinaris, who was consecrated at Rome by the apostle Peter, and sent to Kavenna, where he endured for the faith of Christ many different tribulations. He afterwards preached the Gospel in JEmilia, where he converted many from the worship of idols. Fianlly, returning to Kavenna, he terminated his confession of Christ by a glorious martyrdom under the Caesar Vespasian. — At Le Mans, in France, St. Liborius, bishop and confessor. — At Rome, St. Kasyphus, martyr. — In the same city, the martyrdom of St. Primitiva, virgin and martyr. — Also, the holy martyrs Apollonius and Eugenius. — The same day, the birthday of the holy martyrs Trophimus and Theophilus. who received their crown of martyrdom by being beaten with stones, scorched with fire, and finally struck with the sword, in the time of the emperor Diocletian. — In Bulgaria, many holy martyrs whom the impious emperor Nicephorus, whilst he was devastating the churches of God, put to death in various ways — by the sword, the halter, arrows, long imprisonment, and starvation. — At Rome, the saintly virgins Komula, Redempta, and Herundines, men tioned by pope St. Gregory in his writings. — In the same city, the departure from this life of St. Bridget, widow, whose sacred body was taken to Sweden on the 7th of October. Her feast is celebrated on the 8th of that month.

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Highlighted Saint

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St. Apollinaris

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Bishop and martyr who preached the faith received from the apostles at Ravenna.

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St. Apollinaris is venerated as the first bishop of Ravenna, an early shepherd whose preaching of Christ brought persecution and suffering.

Tradition remembers repeated trials, banishment, and wounds borne for the Gospel. His feast teaches that apostolic ministry is not religious management: the bishop is called to preach, suffer, and guard souls.

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Ask St. Apollinaris to intercede for the Church's shepherds in exile, and for souls who must recognize true pastoral witness beneath suffering.

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From Matins

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The disciple of Peter sent to Ravenna.

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Matins - Second Nocturn - St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr

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Roman Breviary and St. Ambrose, Proper lessons for St. Apollinaris and Homily on St. Luke

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“Still exhorting them to stand firm in the Faith.”
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  • The Breviary remembers St. Apollinaris as a disciple associated with St. Peter, ordained bishop and sent to Ravenna to preach Christ.
  • His apostolate is marked by conversions, deliverance, healings, repeated beatings, exile, imprisonment, and a final martyrdom endured while still strengthening the faithful.
  • The Third Nocturn joins his witness to St. Ambrose's teaching that Christ's kingdom is not of this world, and that the just man is made like God by knowledge of God and contempt for carnal motions.
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Do not stop exhorting souls because wounds have come. St. Apollinaris teaches apostolic endurance, episcopal courage, and firmness when false worship resists the Gospel.

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Full Breviary Lessons

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Fourth Lesson

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Apollinaris came from Antioch to Rome with the Prince of the Apostles, and was by him ordained a Bishop, and sent to Ravenna to preach the Gospel of the Lord Christ. He had already converted a great number of persons to the Christian Faith, when the idolatrous priests caught him and gave him a sharp flogging.

A second riot was got up against him on account of one Boniface, a nobleman who had long been dumb, speaking, and his daughter being delivered from an unclean spirit. On this occasion Apollinaris was flogged again, and made to walk barefoot over hot embers. The fire did him no harm, and he was expelled from the city.

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Fifth Lesson

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Apollinaris lay hid for a while with certain Christians. Thence he went to Emilia, where he restored to life the dead daughter of the Patrician Rufinus, so that the whole household of Rufinus might believe in JESUS Christ. This affair greatly incensed the Prefect, who sent for Apollinaris, and earnestly dealt with him to induce him to cease spreading the Christian Faith in that city.

As Apollinaris paid no heed to the Prefect's orders, he was tortured on the rack, boiling water poured on his wounds, and his mouth bruised with a stone, after which he was ironed and cast into prison. On the fourth day he was put on board a ship and sent into banishment. The ship was wrecked, and he so came to Mysia, thence to the shores of the Danube, and afterwards into Thrace.

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Sixth Lesson

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However, the devil in the temple of Serapis declared that he could not give oracles, while the disciple of the Apostle Peter abode in these parts, and after a long search Apollinaris was found and commanded again to take ship. Thus he went back to Ravenna, where he was denounced by the same idolatrous priests as before, and given into the keeping of a centurion.

This centurion was a secret worshipper of Christ, and in the night he let Apollinaris go. When it became known some of the officers of justice followed after him, caught him on the road, beat him till they thought he was dead, and left him. Some Christians took him up, but on the seventh day, still exhorting them to stand firm in the Faith, he departed this life with the glorious splendour of martyrdom. His body was buried hard by the wall of the city.

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Seventh Lesson, St. Ambrose on Luke 22

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"My kingdom," our God hath said, "is not of this world." Man, then, must strive, not to be equal with God, but to be like unto God. Christ alone is the full image of God, as being the brightness of His Father's glory, and the express image of His Person.

But the righteous man is made after the image of God, in so far as, for the sake of following the example of his God, he, through knowledge of God, setteth no esteem upon this world, and looketh down upon all carnal motions of the will, through having taken in that Word whereby we are fed unto life everlasting; and this is the end whereto we eat the Body of Christ, namely, that we may have eternal life.

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Eighth Lesson

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The reward which is promised unto us is not meat and drink, but a part in that grace and that life which come down from heaven. Neither are the twelve thrones to be understood as meaning chairs for bodies to sit in, but as meaning a dignity like that of God Himself, wherein they that have left all and followed Christ shall judge as Christ doth, not by dint of cross-examinations, but by simple knowledge of the heart, rewarding the good, and condemning the evil.

Thus are the Apostles erected into a ghostly tribunal, for the rewarding of faith and the cursing of unbelief, by their might breaking back errors, and laying upon blasphemers the just punishment of hatred.

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Ninth Lesson

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Let us, then, turn about, and look well to it that there be no strife among us, which of us shall be accounted the greatest. That this strife arose among the Apostles, is not an excuse but a caution for us.

If it was only after a while that Peter was converted, Peter, who had started up at the first command of the Lord, who can promise himself to be converted forthwith? Have a care, then, of boasting; have a care of the world. He who was commanded to strengthen his brethren was he who was able to say, "Behold, we have forsaken all, and have followed Thee."

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The Pilgrim's Spiritual Conference

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Mary Is Mother of God and Mother of the Faithful

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The Church places this truth before you today: The Blessed Virgin Mary is truly Mother of God, and her maternal office belongs to the order of Christ's Incarnation, Passion, and grace. Do not hurry past it as though doctrine belonged only to books and controversies. A revealed truth is also a light by which the soul must judge its loyalties, its fears, its habits, and the duties immediately before it. Marian doctrine protects the truth about Christ: one divine Person, truly God and truly man, born of the Virgin Mother.

The grace to be practiced is Pastoral courage, drawn from today's saintly witness. Ask God for more than the natural appearance of this virtue. Temperament may make an action seem easy for a time, but supernatural virtue remains faithful because God is worthy of obedience, even when feeling offers no assistance and no one notices the cost. Imitate Mary's hidden life. Let fidelity be complete even when the work is ordinary and no human eye rewards it.

There is also an enemy to recognize: Resist every thin devotion that praises Mary while separating her from doctrine, sacrifice, and the life of grace. Do not study this danger only in other people. Look quietly for the door by which it seeks entrance into your own soul - perhaps through delay, curiosity, resentment, human respect, attachment to comfort, or the desire to control the outcome. Dying to self today means choosing pastoral courage when pride, comfort, fear, resentment, or human respect asks for control.

Do the faithful act and entrust its fruit to divine Providence, God's wise and loving governance of all things. Place effort and outcome into Our Lady's hands so that the whole offering may be presented to her Divine Son. Confidence in God is not passivity: obey, pray, work, and accept that visible success, consolation, or immediate relief may not be given. God remains faithful when the duty is hidden and the outcome uncertain. Therefore, perform the duty that belongs to you, use the lawful means God has provided, and then surrender the fruit. Receive obscurity and lack of recognition as a school of self-forgetfulness, not as permission for discouragement. Complete every duty faithfully, giving the least-noticed duty the same care under Our Lady's gaze, and leave its value entirely to God.

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The Church's witness: this truth manifests the Church's mark of holy; the witness placed beside it is St. Cyril of Alexandria.

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Your Resolution Before God

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Pray for true shepherds and state necessary Catholic truths calmly despite fear of opposition.

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A true shepherd does not stop strengthening the flock because truth has brought wounds.
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The Pilgrim's Mirror

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How shall I imitate Christ today?

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“Regard not much who is with thee, nor who is against thee, but be this thy greatest study, that God may be with thee.”
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Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book II, chapter 2, p. 55

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Human approval is a poor compass. With Mary, seek first to be faithful to Jesus Christ and His Church, whether praise follows or not.

The desire to be supported can subtly alter judgment before you notice it. It softens a necessary word, delays a duty, or makes loneliness appear to be proof that fidelity was mistaken. Examine the act by Catholic truth and your real obligations; then leave the company or opposition of men in God's hands.

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Today's Practice

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Perform right acts without checking whether anyone noticed.

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Daily Examen

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Three questions before night prayer

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Thank God for the hidden graces of the day. Ask Our Lady to teach you to treasure what Heaven sees rather than what the world applauds.

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  • For what grace or mercy should I thank God today?
  • What sin, fault, neglected duty, or resistance to grace must I confess?
  • What definite amendment will I carry into tomorrow?
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Prayer

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O Lord, through St. Apollinaris, give Thy Church faithful bishops and give me courage to confess Christ without bitterness.

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Daily Rule for the Pilgrim

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A brief rule to keep every day:

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Begin with morning prayer

Adore the Blessed Trinity and offer the whole day to Jesus through Mary before other duties claim the mind.

Keep the Angelus

Pause morning, noon, and evening to remember the Incarnation.

Seek Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament

Attend Holy Mass when duty permits; otherwise make a Spiritual Communion and renew desire for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Return to Jesus and Mary

Use frequent holy aspirations during work, waiting, suffering, and temptation.

Pray the Rosary

Keep the mysteries of Christ before the mind with Our Lady and learn to imitate what they contain.

End with night prayer and examen

Give thanks, confess faults, forgive injuries, make a practical amendment, and entrust the night to Our Lady.

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Continue Study

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Carry today's lesson into a focused chapter from the library.

\n The Mother of My Lord\n
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Persevere, pilgrim.

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The gates remain open to the faithful.

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