{"ok":true,"date":"2028-09-26","dateKey":"09-26","liturgicalDay":"Sts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brébeuf, and Companions, Martyrs","rank":"Double of the Second Class","color":"red","quoteOfTheDay":{"text":"Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find, knock, and it shall be opened to you.","author":"Holy Scripture","source":"Matthew 7:7, Original Douay-Rheims","treasuryHref":"/wisdom#ask-seek-and-knock","category":"Prayer and the Interior Life"},"season":"Time after Pentecost","novenas":[{"title":"Novena to St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus","feast":"St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus","day":3,"totalDays":9,"startIsoDate":"2028-09-24","feastIsoDate":"2028-10-03","dayTitle":"Love of Jesus Without Limit","meditation":"The heart of the little way is love of Jesus. St. Thérèse did not seek remarkable deeds for their own sake; she desired that every sacrifice and the smallest action should become an answer to His love.","intention":"O my Jesus, grant that I may love Thee, as much as Saint Teresa, Thy Little Flower, loved Thee, and that I may say with her: ‘O my Jesus, I beg Thee only for Thy love without limits and without bounds. Grant, O my Jesus, that for love of Thee I may be a martyr. I wish to love Thee as Thou hast never been loved.’ And thou, O little Saint, succor and assist me that I may never show myself ungrateful to Him Who loved me so much. Amen.","preparatoryPrayer":"O glorious Teresa of the Infant Jesus, through whose unshaken confidence God was so glorified, obtain for me the same filial trust and love which animated thy innocent heart and soul. Grant that I may practice self-abnegation, patience and confidence, and that my confidence may be a fountain of blessings which God pours out upon me. As confidence was for thee the key to the greatest treasures of God, so it may induce me to throw myself into my Saviour’s arms and say with David: ‘In Thee, O my God, I put my trust, let me not be confounded.’ Amen.","prayerOfTheChurch":null,"prayer":null,"practice":"Perform one hidden act of love for Jesus with exceptional care, asking for no recognition and offering it for a soul in danger.","conclusion":"Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be. Then pray the Act of Oblation of Saint Teresa of the Infant Jesus: My Lord and my God! O Most Blessed Trinity! I desire to love Thee and to make Thee loved by mankind. Since Thou hast loved me so much as to give me the only begotten Son for my Saviour and my Spouse, the infinite treasures of His merits are mine. These merits I offer to Thee with joy, beseeching Thee to behold me only as in the Face of Jesus, and in His Sacred Heart burning with love. Moreover, I offer Thee all the merits of the saints—in heaven and on earth—together with their acts of love, and those of the holy Angels. Lastly, I offer Thee, O Blessed Trinity, the love and merits of the Blessed Virgin, my dearest Mother. To her I entrust this oblation, begging her to present it to Thee. Amen. Holy Child Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Victories, pray for us. Saint Teresa of the Infant Jesus, pray for us. Little Flower of Jesus, pray for us. Amen.","prayerLink":null,"sources":["Very Rev. Charles J. Callan, O.P., and Very Rev. John A. McHugh, O.P., Blessed Be God: A Complete Catholic Prayer Book (New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 1925), ‘Novena to Saint Teresa of the Infant Jesus: The Little Flower of Jesus’; Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur of Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York, March 19, 1925. The common prayer, daily prayers, Act of Oblation, and invocations are reproduced from this source; the meditation and faithful act supplied for each day are concise editorial applications of its proper prayer."]}],"octaveContexts":[],"subject":"City of God in Exile: Sts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brébeuf, and Companions, Martyrs - 2028-09-26","previewText":"Sts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brébeuf, and Companions, Martyrs. The Sacrifice of the Mass Is the Heart of Catholic Worship. Resist every reduction of the Mass to a memorial meal, community symbol, or religious performance.","plainText":"CITY OF GOD IN EXILE\nTHE DAILY PILGRIMAGE\n\"Now therefore, ye children, hear me: Blessed are they that keep my ways.\" - Proverbs 8:32\n\"Fear not, little flock, for it hath pleased your Father to give you a kingdom. [...] For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.\" - Luke 12:32-34\nSts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brébeuf, and Companions, Martyrs\n2028-09-26 - Time after Pentecost - Double of the Second Class - red\nPLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDE FOR TODAY\nMartyr: a Christian who was killed rather than deny Christ or abandon the Faith.\nApostolic: belonging to the faith, mission, teaching, or authority handed down from Christ through the apostles.\nDivine Providence: God's wise and loving governance of creation, by which He directs all things without destroying human freedom.\nTODAY IN THE ROMAN YEAR\nThe Time after Pentecost is the long school of the Holy Ghost. The fire given at Pentecost must become doctrine believed, worship guarded, commandments kept, homes ordered, tongues governed, and charity practiced without novelty or disorder. With Mary, receive the silence in which God prepares His deepest works. Consecrate speech to Jesus through Mary and ask that no word be spent merely to serve vanity or irritation.\n\n\"God the Son consented that she should hardly ever speak, though He had communicated His wisdom to her.\"\nSt. Louis-Marie de Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, no. 4\n\nOur Lady's silence is not emptiness, timidity, or ignorance. Wisdom dwells within her, and therefore speech is not used to prove that she possesses it. She speaks when charity and God's will require speech; otherwise she keeps the mystery entrusted to her and allows the Word Himself to be heard.\n\nA soul beginning the interior life must learn this custody. Much grace is dissipated through unnecessary explanation, argument, and self-defense. Before speaking today, ask whether the words protect truth, fulfill duty, or help a soul. If they merely relieve the pressure of self-love, remain with Mary in silence.\n\nPRACTICE\nOffer one deliberate sacrifice for the conversion and perseverance of souls, and ask the North American Martyrs for courage to remain faithful when duty becomes costly.\n\nQUOTE OF THE DAY\n\"Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find, knock, and it shall be opened to you.\"\nHoly Scripture, Matthew 7:7, Original Douay-Rheims\n\nNOVENA IN PROGRESS\nNovena to St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus - Day 3 of 9\n\nPreparing for St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus on 2028-10-03.\n\nTODAY'S MYSTERY\nLove of Jesus Without Limit\n\nPREPARATORY PRAYER\nO glorious Teresa of the Infant Jesus, through whose unshaken confidence God was so glorified, obtain for me the same filial trust and love which animated thy innocent heart and soul. Grant that I may practice self-abnegation, patience and confidence, and that my confidence may be a fountain of blessings which God pours out upon me. As confidence was for thee the key to the greatest treasures of God, so it may induce me to throw myself into my Saviour’s arms and say with David: ‘In Thee, O my God, I put my trust, let me not be confounded.’ Amen.\n\nMEDITATION\nThe heart of the little way is love of Jesus. St. Thérèse did not seek remarkable deeds for their own sake; she desired that every sacrifice and the smallest action should become an answer to His love.\n\nPETITION\nO my Jesus, grant that I may love Thee, as much as Saint Teresa, Thy Little Flower, loved Thee, and that I may say with her: ‘O my Jesus, I beg Thee only for Thy love without limits and without bounds. Grant, O my Jesus, that for love of Thee I may be a martyr. I wish to love Thee as Thou hast never been loved.’ And thou, O little Saint, succor and assist me that I may never show myself ungrateful to Him Who loved me so much. Amen.\n\nA FAITHFUL ACT\nPerform one hidden act of love for Jesus with exceptional care, asking for no recognition and offering it for a soul in danger.\n\nCONCLUSION\nPray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be. Then pray the Act of Oblation of Saint Teresa of the Infant Jesus: My Lord and my God! O Most Blessed Trinity! I desire to love Thee and to make Thee loved by mankind. Since Thou hast loved me so much as to give me the only begotten Son for my Saviour and my Spouse, the infinite treasures of His merits are mine. These merits I offer to Thee with joy, beseeching Thee to behold me only as in the Face of Jesus, and in His Sacred Heart burning with love. Moreover, I offer Thee all the merits of the saints—in heaven and on earth—together with their acts of love, and those of the holy Angels. Lastly, I offer Thee, O Blessed Trinity, the love and merits of the Blessed Virgin, my dearest Mother. To her I entrust this oblation, begging her to present it to Thee. Amen. Holy Child Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Victories, pray for us. Saint Teresa of the Infant Jesus, pray for us. Little Flower of Jesus, pray for us. Amen.\nROMAN MARTYROLOGY - September 26\nAt Nicomedia, the birthday of the holy martyrs Cyprian, and Justina, virgin. Under the emperor Diocletian and the governor Eutholmius. Justina suffered much for the faith of Christ and converted Cyprian, who, while a magician, endeavored to bring her under the influence of his magical practices. She afterwards suffered martyrdom with him. Their bodies being exposed to the beasts, were taken away in the night by some Christian sailors, and carried to Rome. They were subsequently taken into the Constantinian basilica, and deposited near the baptistery. — At Rome, the holy martyr Callistratus, and forty-nine other soldiers, who endured martyrdorn together, in the persecution of Diocletian. The companions of Callistratus were converted to Christ on seeing him miraculously delivered from drowning in the sea, where he had been thrown sewed up in a bag. — Also, at Rome, pope St. Eusebius. — At Bologna, St. Eusebius, bishop and confessor. — At Brescia, St. Vigilius, bishop. — At Albano, St. Senator. — In the territory of Frascati, the blessed abbot Mlus, founder of the monastery of CryptaFerrata, a man of eminent sanctity. — At Citta-diCastello, St. Amantius, a priest distinguished for the gift of miracles.\n\nGOSPEL OF THE DAY\nBlessed shall you be when men shall hate you for the Son of man's sake.\nSts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brébeuf, and Companions, Martyrs - Luke 6:17-23\n\"Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.\"\nDo not seek conflict, but do not purchase acceptance by hiding Christ. Ask the martyrs for patient courage: speak truth with charity, remain at duty, and entrust visible results to God.\n\nTHE CHURCH'S READING OF THE GOSPEL\nWhat This Gospel Teaches\nOur Lord does not call hatred good. He calls blessed the fidelity that endures hatred for His sake and refuses to abandon Him when the world punishes confession.\nThe North American Martyrs carried the Gospel where the work demanded privation, danger, patience, and finally blood. Their reward was not earthly safety but the kingdom promised by Christ.\nThe same Gospel joins suffering to mercy: the multitude came to hear Christ and to be healed. Missionary endurance exists so that wounded souls may hear the truth and receive the life of grace.\nError corrected: The false prudence that treats rejection as proof that the whole Faith should no longer be preached.\n- Where does this error tempt me in practice?\n- What act does this Gospel require of me today?\n\nTODAY'S SAINT OR FEAST\nSts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brébeuf, and Companions\nThe North American Martyrs - missionaries who spent and were spent for souls.\nThe proper feast kept in the dioceses of the United States honors eight Jesuit missionaries whose preaching and blood consecrated the first fruits of the Faith in North America: John de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues, Gabriel Lalemant, Anthony Daniel, Charles Garnier, Noel Chabanel, René Goupil, and John de Lalande.\nHoly Mother Church places upon their feast the words of the Apocalypse: they came out of great tribulation and made their robes white in the Blood of the Lamb. Their Epistle gives the missionary heart of St. Paul: 'I most gladly will spend and be spent myself for your souls.' Their martyrdom was not a search for suffering, but the final cost of refusing to abandon the souls entrusted to them.\nAsk the North American Martyrs for a love stronger than fear. Their feast does not permit zeal to become harshness or charity to become silence: souls are loved by giving them Christ and remaining faithful when fidelity costs dearly.\nHIGHLIGHTED SAINT FROM THE MARTYROLOGY\nPope St. Eusebius\nA saint in the Martyrology whose defense of penance illuminates the present day.\n\"Eusebius taught the unhappy to weep for their crimes.\" - Pope St. Damasus I, epitaph for Pope St. Eusebius\nWhen Christians who had denied the Faith sought to return, Pope St. Eusebius defended mercy without falsifying it. The fallen were not beyond forgiveness, but reconciliation required repentance and penance. For preserving the Church's discipline and the true bonds of peace, he was driven from Rome and died in exile in Sicily.\nLearn about Pope St. Eusebius and the fallen: https://cityofgodinexile.com/champions-of-orthodoxy/pope-st-eusebius-and-the-fallen-mercy-penance-and-the-peace-that-cannot-be-falsified?entered=1\n\nTHE PILGRIM'S SPIRITUAL CONFERENCE\nThe Sacrifice of the Mass Is the Heart of Catholic Worship\nThe Church places this truth before you today: Catholic worship is centered on the true Sacrifice of the altar, offered by the priest in union with Christ the eternal High Priest. 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. The same sacrificial worship belongs to the Church throughout the world; it is not a local invention or a merely human assembly rite.\nThe grace to be practiced is Apostolic fortitude willing to spend and be spent for souls, 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. Practice recollected silence: not refusal of necessary truth, but restraint governed by charity and duty.\nThere is also an enemy to recognize: Resist every reduction of the Mass to a memorial meal, community symbol, or religious performance. 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 apostolic fortitude willing to spend and be spent for souls 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. When tempted to defend yourself unnecessarily, remain peaceful beneath God's knowledge. Give full attention to the person or duty before you instead of preparing the next thing you wish to say.\nThe Church's witness: this truth manifests the Church's mark of catholic; the witness placed beside it is Council of Trent.\nYour resolution before God: Offer one deliberate sacrifice for the conversion and perseverance of souls, and ask the North American Martyrs for courage to remain faithful when duty becomes costly.\nCarry this word: The faithful soul receives the day before it spends it.\nTHE PILGRIM'S MIRROR\n\"If it be lawful and expedient to speak, speak then of God and of such things as are to the edifying of thy soul or of thy neighbour's.\"\nThomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book I, chapter 10, p. 18\nSpeech is a stewardship. Our Lady's recollection teaches the pilgrim that silence is not emptiness but a guard placed around charity and truth.\n\nNot every true observation must be spoken, and not every fault must be exposed by you. Before speaking, ask whether the words serve God's truth, a real duty, or the good of a soul. If they serve only irritation, curiosity, or the wish to appear discerning, let silence make the sacrifice.\nToday's Practice: Omit unnecessary remarks and use the silence to make holy aspirations.\nDAILY EXAMEN\nReview your conversations. Ask whether your words made Christ better known or merely made self more visible.\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, place this day beneath Thy Providence. Keep my mind in truth, my heart in charity, and my work in obedience until evening.\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\nWhat Is the Mass?: https://cityofgodinexile.com/catechism-foundations/what-is-the-mass?entered=1\nOpen this day in the Sacred Calendar: https://cityofgodinexile.com/sacred-calendar?date=2028-09-26&entered=1\nOpen this day's Daily Pilgrimage: https://cityofgodinexile.com/daily-dispatch?date=2028-09-26&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: Sts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brébeuf, and Companions, Martyrs - 2028-09-26\n \n \n
\n Sts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brébeuf, and Companions, Martyrs. The Sacrifice of the Mass Is the Heart of Catholic Worship. Resist every reduction of the Mass to a memorial meal, community symbol, or religious performance.\n
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City of God in Exile

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“Now therefore, ye children, hear me: Blessed are they that keep my ways.”

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Proverbs 8:32

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Sts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brébeuf, and Companions, Martyrs

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2028-09-26 - Time after Pentecost - Double of the Second Class - red

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“Fear not, little flock, for it hath pleased your Father to give you a kingdom. […] For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Luke 12:32–34
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Plain-Language Guide for Today

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Martyr
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a Christian who was killed rather than deny Christ or abandon the Faith.
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Apostolic
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belonging to the faith, mission, teaching, or authority handed down from Christ through the apostles.
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Divine Providence
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God's wise and loving governance of creation, by which He directs all things without destroying human freedom.
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Today in the Roman Year

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The Time after Pentecost is the long school of the Holy Ghost. The fire given at Pentecost must become doctrine believed, worship guarded, commandments kept, homes ordered, tongues governed, and charity practiced without novelty or disorder.

With Mary, receive the silence in which God prepares His deepest works.

Consecrate speech to Jesus through Mary and ask that no word be spent merely to serve vanity or irritation.

“God the Son consented that she should hardly ever speak, though He had communicated His wisdom to her.”

St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, no. 4

Our Lady's silence is not emptiness, timidity, or ignorance. Wisdom dwells within her, and therefore speech is not used to prove that she possesses it. She speaks when charity and God's will require speech; otherwise she keeps the mystery entrusted to her and allows the Word Himself to be heard.

A soul beginning the interior life must learn this custody. Much grace is dissipated through unnecessary explanation, argument, and self-defense. Before speaking today, ask whether the words protect truth, fulfill duty, or help a soul. If they merely relieve the pressure of self-love, remain with Mary in silence.

Offer one deliberate sacrifice for the conversion and perseverance of souls, and ask the North American Martyrs for courage to remain faithful when duty becomes costly.

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Quote of the Day

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“Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find, knock, and it shall be opened to you.”
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Holy Scripture, Matthew 7:7, Original Douay-Rheims

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Novena in Progress

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Day 3 of 9

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Novena to St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus

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Preparing for St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus on 2028-10-03.

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Today's Mystery

Love of Jesus Without Limit

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Preparatory Prayer

O glorious Teresa of the Infant Jesus, through whose unshaken confidence God was so glorified, obtain for me the same filial trust and love which animated thy innocent heart and soul. Grant that I may practice self-abnegation, patience and confidence, and that my confidence may be a fountain of blessings which God pours out upon me. As confidence was for thee the key to the greatest treasures of God, so it may induce me to throw myself into my Saviour’s arms and say with David: ‘In Thee, O my God, I put my trust, let me not be confounded.’ Amen.

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Meditation

The heart of the little way is love of Jesus. St. Thérèse did not seek remarkable deeds for their own sake; she desired that every sacrifice and the smallest action should become an answer to His love.

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Petition

O my Jesus, grant that I may love Thee, as much as Saint Teresa, Thy Little Flower, loved Thee, and that I may say with her: ‘O my Jesus, I beg Thee only for Thy love without limits and without bounds. Grant, O my Jesus, that for love of Thee I may be a martyr. I wish to love Thee as Thou hast never been loved.’ And thou, O little Saint, succor and assist me that I may never show myself ungrateful to Him Who loved me so much. Amen.

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A Faithful Act

Perform one hidden act of love for Jesus with exceptional care, asking for no recognition and offering it for a soul in danger.

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Conclusion

Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be. Then pray the Act of Oblation of Saint Teresa of the Infant Jesus: My Lord and my God! O Most Blessed Trinity! I desire to love Thee and to make Thee loved by mankind. Since Thou hast loved me so much as to give me the only begotten Son for my Saviour and my Spouse, the infinite treasures of His merits are mine. These merits I offer to Thee with joy, beseeching Thee to behold me only as in the Face of Jesus, and in His Sacred Heart burning with love. Moreover, I offer Thee all the merits of the saints—in heaven and on earth—together with their acts of love, and those of the holy Angels. Lastly, I offer Thee, O Blessed Trinity, the love and merits of the Blessed Virgin, my dearest Mother. To her I entrust this oblation, begging her to present it to Thee. Amen. Holy Child Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Victories, pray for us. Saint Teresa of the Infant Jesus, pray for us. Little Flower of Jesus, pray for us. Amen.

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Roman Martyrology - September 26

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At Nicomedia, the birthday of the holy martyrs Cyprian, and Justina, virgin. Under the emperor Diocletian and the governor Eutholmius. Justina suffered much for the faith of Christ and converted Cyprian, who, while a magician, endeavored to bring her under the influence of his magical practices. She afterwards suffered martyrdom with him. Their bodies being exposed to the beasts, were taken away in the night by some Christian sailors, and carried to Rome. They were subsequently taken into the Constantinian basilica, and deposited near the baptistery. — At Rome, the holy martyr Callistratus, and forty-nine other soldiers, who endured martyrdorn together, in the persecution of Diocletian. The companions of Callistratus were converted to Christ on seeing him miraculously delivered from drowning in the sea, where he had been thrown sewed up in a bag. — Also, at Rome, pope St. Eusebius. — At Bologna, St. Eusebius, bishop and confessor. — At Brescia, St. Vigilius, bishop. — At Albano, St. Senator. — In the territory of Frascati, the blessed abbot Mlus, founder of the monastery of CryptaFerrata, a man of eminent sanctity. — At Citta-diCastello, St. Amantius, a priest distinguished for the gift of miracles.

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Gospel of the Day

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Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you for the Son of man's sake.

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Sts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brébeuf, and Companions, Martyrs - Luke 6:17-23

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“Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.”
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Do not seek conflict, but do not purchase acceptance by hiding Christ. Ask the martyrs for patient courage: speak truth with charity, remain at duty, and entrust visible results to God.

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The Church's Reading of the Gospel

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What This Gospel Teaches

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Our Lord does not call hatred good. He calls blessed the fidelity that endures hatred for His sake and refuses to abandon Him when the world punishes confession.

The North American Martyrs carried the Gospel where the work demanded privation, danger, patience, and finally blood. Their reward was not earthly safety but the kingdom promised by Christ.

The same Gospel joins suffering to mercy: the multitude came to hear Christ and to be healed. Missionary endurance exists so that wounded souls may hear the truth and receive the life of grace.

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Error corrected: The false prudence that treats rejection as proof that the whole Faith should no longer be preached.

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  • Where does this error tempt me in practice?
  • What act does this Gospel require of me today?
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Today's Saint or Feast

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Sts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brébeuf, and Companions

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The North American Martyrs - missionaries who spent and were spent for souls.

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The proper feast kept in the dioceses of the United States honors eight Jesuit missionaries whose preaching and blood consecrated the first fruits of the Faith in North America: John de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues, Gabriel Lalemant, Anthony Daniel, Charles Garnier, Noel Chabanel, René Goupil, and John de Lalande.

Holy Mother Church places upon their feast the words of the Apocalypse: they came out of great tribulation and made their robes white in the Blood of the Lamb. Their Epistle gives the missionary heart of St. Paul: 'I most gladly will spend and be spent myself for your souls.' Their martyrdom was not a search for suffering, but the final cost of refusing to abandon the souls entrusted to them.

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Ask the North American Martyrs for a love stronger than fear. Their feast does not permit zeal to become harshness or charity to become silence: souls are loved by giving them Christ and remaining faithful when fidelity costs dearly.

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Highlighted Saint from the Martyrology

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Pope St. Eusebius

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A saint in the Martyrology whose defense of penance illuminates the present day.

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“Eusebius taught the unhappy to weep for their crimes.”
Pope St. Damasus I, epitaph for Pope St. Eusebius
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When Christians who had denied the Faith sought to return, Pope St. Eusebius defended mercy without falsifying it. The fallen were not beyond forgiveness, but reconciliation required repentance and penance. For preserving the Church's discipline and the true bonds of peace, he was driven from Rome and died in exile in Sicily.

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Learn about Pope St. Eusebius and the fallen

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The Pilgrim's Spiritual Conference

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The Sacrifice of the Mass Is the Heart of Catholic Worship

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The Church places this truth before you today: Catholic worship is centered on the true Sacrifice of the altar, offered by the priest in union with Christ the eternal High Priest. 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. The same sacrificial worship belongs to the Church throughout the world; it is not a local invention or a merely human assembly rite.

The grace to be practiced is Apostolic fortitude willing to spend and be spent for souls, 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. Practice recollected silence: not refusal of necessary truth, but restraint governed by charity and duty.

There is also an enemy to recognize: Resist every reduction of the Mass to a memorial meal, community symbol, or religious performance. 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 apostolic fortitude willing to spend and be spent for souls 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. When tempted to defend yourself unnecessarily, remain peaceful beneath God's knowledge. Give full attention to the person or duty before you instead of preparing the next thing you wish to say.

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The Church's witness: this truth manifests the Church's mark of catholic; the witness placed beside it is Council of Trent.

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Your Resolution Before God

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Offer one deliberate sacrifice for the conversion and perseverance of souls, and ask the North American Martyrs for courage to remain faithful when duty becomes costly.

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The faithful soul receives the day before it spends it.
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The Pilgrim's Mirror

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How shall I imitate Christ today?

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“If it be lawful and expedient to speak, speak then of God and of such things as are to the edifying of thy soul or of thy neighbour's.”
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Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book I, chapter 10, p. 18

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Speech is a stewardship. Our Lady's recollection teaches the pilgrim that silence is not emptiness but a guard placed around charity and truth.

Not every true observation must be spoken, and not every fault must be exposed by you. Before speaking, ask whether the words serve God's truth, a real duty, or the good of a soul. If they serve only irritation, curiosity, or the wish to appear discerning, let silence make the sacrifice.

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Today's Practice

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Omit unnecessary remarks and use the silence to make holy aspirations.

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Daily Examen

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Three questions before night prayer

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Review your conversations. Ask whether your words made Christ better known or merely made self more visible.

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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, place this day beneath Thy Providence. Keep my mind in truth, my heart in charity, and my work in obedience until evening.

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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 What Is the Mass?\n
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Persevere, pilgrim.

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The gates remain open to the faithful.

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\n \"The\n
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