The Daily Pilgrimage
Today in the City of God: calendar, Martyrology, Gospel, witness, prayer, and Catholic formation held together.
Daily formation
2027-08-31
Receive the day before spending it. Magnify Christ with Our Lady, obey God's commandments, fulfill the duties of your state in life, die to self, trust divine Providence, practice the virtues those duties require, resist error, and close the whole day beneath truth and mercy.
This page is meant to be read slowly and faithfully, so that every part of the present day may be ordered to God.
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St. Raymund Nonnatus, Confessor
City of God in Exile
St. Raymund Nonnatus, Confessor
2027-08-31 - Time after Pentecost - Double - white
Today
St. Raymund Nonnatus, Confessor
Growth After Pentecost
Truth
Dogma Binds the Mind Because God Has Spoken
A Catholic dogma is not something the Church says for a while and later replaces. It is a truth revealed by God and taught by the Church. Because God cannot lie, the Church cannot later teach the opposite.
Practice
Mercy ordered to deliverance.
Fulfill all known duties in their proper order, without deliberate delay or complaint.
Offering
To Jesus through Mary
Under Our Lady's mantle, guard purity of faith, heart, intention, and conduct.
The Pilgrim's Devotional Rhythm
Keep this month and this weekday in prayer.
The month's intention and the weekday remembrance gather the pilgrim's prayer into the devotional rhythm of the Church. In harmony with today's Mass, feast, and duties, they teach him to receive ordinary time from God and return it to Him in honor and intercession.
August intention
The Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Immaculate Heart of Mary is wholly ordered to God: pure, recollected, obedient, and steadfast beneath the Cross. Entrust this month to Our Lady and ask her to teach you to keep the words of Christ, hate sin, and remain faithful when fidelity costs you.
Intention
In reparation for offenses against Our Lady; for the conversion of sinners; and for purity, recollection, fidelity to Catholic truth, and perseverance beneath the Cross.
A faithful act
Offer all your daily duties to God through Mary before beginning them, and guard a short period of silence in imitation of her recollection.
Prayer
Immaculate Heart of Mary, take this month's prayer, work, and suffering into thy hands and lead us faithfully to Jesus.
Tuesday remembrance
The Holy Angels
God has appointed His angels as ministers of His providence. Honor them by greater purity, recollection, and prompt obedience to grace, never forgetting that their whole service leads the soul to God.
Intention
For protection against temptation, guidance in duty, and the defense of children, travelers, and souls in spiritual danger.
A faithful act
Before a difficult duty or conversation, ask your Guardian Angel to help you act without sin and for God's glory.
Prayer
Holy Angel, my guardian, keep me from sin and direct me in the faithful accomplishment of today's duties.
Good Morning, Pilgrim
Receive this day from God.
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.
Consecrate the senses and imagination to Jesus through Mary. Ask her to guard what you permit the eyes, ears, and memory to receive.
Formation in True Devotion - Day 276: Review and Deepening: Consecrated Life through Mary to Jesus
“We must put ourselves and leave ourselves in her virginal hands, like a tool in the grasp of a workman, like a lute in the hands of a skillful player.”
The instrument does not select the song, and the tool does not direct the craftsman. This image reaches the place where self-will hides beneath religious activity: we are often willing to serve God provided that we may choose the task, the hour, the consolation, and the result.
To remain in Mary's hands is to become teachable. Ask her to quiet the inward argument by which you resist the form of today's duty. Then give yourself peacefully to what God actually asks, without imagining a more flattering obedience elsewhere.
Ora — Begin with Prayer
Offer the day before spending it
Prayer gives the day its right beginning and its right end. Before work, conversation, news, or distraction claims the mind, adore the Blessed Trinity and offer every prayer, work, joy, suffering, and temptation to Jesus through Mary. Ask your Guardian Angel for help, and place the souls and needs entrusted to you beneath God's will.
Begin simply. Make the Morning Offering through the hands of Our Lady. Pray the Three Hail Marys for purity and final perseverance, ask your Guardian Angel to govern the senses and imagination, and name the soul or intention for which today's prayers and sacrifices will be offered. Do not rush these acts merely because they are familiar; let them place the whole day beneath God before the world begins to claim it.
O Lord, do not permit me to admire truth without submitting to it. Give me the courage to obey what Thou hast already made known.
Quote of the Day
“He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross.”
Plain-language help for today - 2 unfamiliar terms
- Eucharist
- the sacrament in which, after the consecration at Mass, Jesus Christ is truly present—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity—under the appearances of bread and wine.
- Confessor
- in the traditional calendar, a male saint who openly professed the Faith by a holy life but was not killed as a martyr.
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.
Today's Full Breviary Sermon or Proper Lesson
Mercy that entered captivity to ransom captives.
Matins - Second Nocturn - St. Raymund Nonnatus, Confessor
The complete appointed Breviary sermon or proper lessons verified for this observance are printed below. Where a Common supplies additional material, it is identified distinctly rather than presented as the proper text.
Roman Breviary, Proper lessons for St. Raymund Nonnatus
“He pawned himself.”
- The proper lessons honor St. Raymund as a son of the Order of Our Lady of Ransom who spent himself and finally pledged his own person for Christian captives.
- His padlocked lips make visible the cost of preaching Christ among persecutors, while his endurance shows mercy willing to suffer for another's freedom.
- The account of angels bringing his final Viaticum—the Holy Eucharist received as food for a dying Catholic's last journey—joins the ransom of captives to the greater deliverance given by Christ.
Let mercy become costly. St. Raymund teaches prayer, material sacrifice, personal risk for the endangered, fearless confession, and confidence in Christ at the hour of death.
Complete Breviary Text
Fourth Lesson - A Son Formed by the Mother of God
This Raymond is commonly called the Unborn, because his was one of the rare cases in which the child is not brought into the world in the course of nature, but by a surgical operation after the death of the mother. He was the son of godly and noble parents, at Portel, [in the diocese of Urgel,] in Catalonia. The tokens of his holy after-life appeared even in his childhood. The things that delight children, and the attractions of the world, had no charm for him. He was so earnest in godliness that all men marvelled at his habits of premature old age. As he grew older, he gave himself to the study of letters, but, at the command of his father, turned to farming. He went often to the Chapel of St Nicolas, in the suburbs of Portel, to visit the sacred image of the Mother of God, which is still sought with great tenderness by the faithful. There he poured forth his soul in prayer, and earnestly entreated the Mother of God herself to be pleased to take him for her son, to show him the way wherein it should be safe for him to walk, and to teach him the science of the Saints.
Fifth Lesson - He Pawned Himself for Captives
And the most gracious Maiden was not deaf to his prayers. From her he understood that it would please her right well, if he would join the Religious Order which had just been founded at her own inspiration, styled "of Ransom" or "of Mercy," for buying up and freeing slaves. As soon as he had received this intimation from her, he went to Barcelona, and entered the Institute so nobly dedicated to love for our neighbour. Once enlisted in the Regular Army, he guarded unspotted for ever the virginity which he had already consecrated to the Blessed Virgin for ever. But he was a bright and shining light of all other good words and works, especially of tender compassion for Christians who were passing a life of grievous bondage in the possession of unbelieving masters. To free such he was sent into Africa, and delivered many. But his money ran short, and as there were still many in imminent danger of denying the faith, he pawned himself. He was enkindled with a most vehement longing for the salvation of souls, and by his exhortations brought divers Mohammedans to Christ. The Moors therefore threw him into close prison, and put him to divers tortures, at last making holes through his lips and locking them together with an iron padlock, which horrid cruelty he long bore.
Sixth Lesson - Viaticum and the Last Journey
On account of these, and other brave things that he did, he got the name of a Saint far and wide. Gregory IX. was moved thereby to make Raymond a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, but in this place of honour the man of God shrank from all outward show, and clung ever tightly to the lowliness that beseemeth a Religious man. He had started for Rome, [in obedience to the command of the Pope,] but had only got as far as Cardona, [six miles from Barcelona,] when he was seized with his last illness, and earnestly called for the strengthening Sacraments of the Church. But his position became critical, and the Priest had not arrived. Then Angels came unto him, clad in the habit of his own Order, and ministered unto him the wholesome Provision for the last journey. When he had taken It, he gave God thanks, and departed hence to be ever with the Lord. It was the last Lord's Day in August, 1240. After his death there was some dispute arose as to where his body should be buried; so they shut it up in a box, and laid it upon a blind mule, and the beast was guided by God to carry it to the chapel of St Nicolas, that he might be buried where he had laid the foundations of his nobler life. There was built there a Convent of his Order, and the faithful come together thither from all parts of Catalonia to honour him, and he is famous for divers signs and wonders.
Walk with the Church
The Church has already begun praying. Enter her prayer.
Today the Roman year keeps St. Raymund Nonnatus, Confessor. Receive the observance as the Church gives it: first understand what is commemorated, then let its doctrine and worship shape the day.
Roman Martyrology
August 31
At Cardona, in Spain, St. Raymond Nonnatus, cardinal and confessor, of the Order of Mercedarians, renowned for holiness of life and miracles. — At Treves, the birthday of St. Paulimis, a bishop, who was exiled for the Catholic faith by the Arian emperor Constantius, in the time of the Arian persecution. By having to change the place of his exile, which was beyond the limits of Christendom, he became wearied unto death, and finally, dying in Phrygia, received a crown from the Lord for his blessed martyrdom. — Also, the holy martyrs Robustian and Mark. — At Transaqua, among the Marsi, near lake Celano, the birthday of the holy martyrs Cresidius, priest, and his companions, who were crowned with martyrdom in the persecution of Maximinus. — At Caesarea, in Cappadocia, the Saints Theodotus, Rufina, and Ammia. The first two were the parents of the martyr St. Mamas, who was born in prison, and whom Ammia brought up. — At Athens, St. Aristides, most celebrated for his faith and wisdom, who presented to the emperor Adrian a treatise on the Christian religion, containing the exposition of our doctrine. In the presence of the emperor, he also delivered a discourse in which he clearly demonstrated that Jesus Christ is the only God. — At Auxerre, St. Optatus, bishop and confessor. — In England, St. Aidan, bishop of Lindisfarne. When St. Cuthbert, then a shepherd, saw his soul going up to heaven, he left his sheep and became a monk. — At Nusco, St. Amatus, bishop. — On Mount Senario, near Florence, blessed Bonajuncta, confessor, one of the seven founders of the Order of the Servites of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who gave up his soul into the hands of the Lord whilst discoursing to his brethren on the Passion of our Saviour.
Learn from Today's Saint or Feast
St. Raymund Nonnatus
Confessor of mercy toward captives and endangered souls.
St. Raymund Nonnatus is honored as a confessor of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy, remembered for holiness, miracles, and mercy toward captives.
His feast keeps before the Church the ransom of captives and the protection of souls in danger. Mercy is not a soft feeling, but a Catholic work that seeks deliverance for those bound by force, sin, fear, or error.
Ask St. Raymund for courageous mercy. The Church in exile must remember prisoners, the unborn, the tempted, the confused, and all souls who need real deliverance.
The Pilgrim's Spiritual Conference
Dogma Binds the Mind Because God Has Spoken
Remain here for a little while. The purpose is not to gather another fact, but to allow today's Catholic truth to judge the heart, strengthen the will, and become an act offered to God.
The Church places this truth before you today: A Catholic dogma is not something the Church says for a while and later replaces. It is a truth revealed by God and taught by the Church. Because God cannot lie, the Church cannot later teach the opposite. 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 binding force of dogma protects souls from private invention and keeps charity rooted in truth rather than mood.
The grace to be practiced is Mercy ordered to deliverance, 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 purity: not merely freedom from grave stain, but an undivided heart that refuses whatever competes with God.
There is also an enemy to recognize: Resist the modernist habit of treating dogma as a symbol whose meaning may be revised by later experience. 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 mercy ordered to deliverance 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. In temptation, do not debate with the tempter. Call upon Jesus and Mary, turn from the occasion, and perform the next duty. Keep this act pure in intention: for God's glory and the good of souls, not for praise, control, or appearance.
The Church's witness
This truth manifests the Church's mark of one. The witness placed beside it today is Pope St. Pius X.
Your resolution before God
Fulfill all known duties in their proper order, without deliberate delay or complaint.
Truth becomes fruitful when it is obeyed.
Carry this word quietly. Return to it when distraction, temptation, or discouragement begins to scatter the soul.
Novena in Progress
Prepare before the feast arrives.
The Church teaches souls to prepare. A novena trains desire, steadies intention, and prevents a feast from arriving as a mere date on the calendar.
Day 2 of 9
Novena for the Nativity of Our Lady
Preparing for Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 2027-09-08.
Ask for childlike purity, Marian trust, and renewal of Catholic homes beneath Our Lady's care.
Pray for children, mothers, and households wounded by modern errors.
The Little Rule of Fidelity
Keep the day within prayer.
These anchors do not change because the soul needs a stable rule more than a daily novelty. Open them when you are learning the rule or when your ordinary prayer has begun to loosen.
Show today's prayer and duty anchors
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.
The Pilgrim's Mirror
How shall I imitate Christ today?
“Trust not in thine own cunning, neither in the cunning or policy of any creature living, but rather in the grace of God, which helpeth meek persons.”
Natural ability cannot sanctify a soul. Work diligently, but place confidence in grace and entrust the outcome into Our Lady's hands for her Divine Son.
Self-reliance often disguises itself as responsibility. The difference appears when plans fail: responsibility continues the duty peacefully, while self-reliance becomes anxious, harsh, or defeated because it secretly believed everything depended upon itself. Ask for help before beginning, and surrender the fruit when you have done what you can.
Today's Practice
Begin a difficult duty with a Hail Mary and finish it without self-congratulation.
Before Night Falls
Return the completed day to God.
Give thanks before measuring the day by feeling or visible success. Ask light to see faults without discouragement, make an Act of Contrition, forgive injuries, and place tomorrow beneath divine Providence.
Ask where curiosity, vanity, or impurity entered today. Place the fault beneath Christ's mercy and make a definite guard for tomorrow.
- 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?
Go Now, Pilgrim
Walk faithfully. Pray attentively. Bear your cross willingly. Love God above all things.
When this day is finished, may you have laid one more stone in the City of God.
You do not walk alone: remain beside the Blessed Virgin as she leads you toward her Divine Son and the Heavenly Jerusalem.
God willing, we shall meet again at tomorrow's pilgrimage.
Source notes for this pilgrimage
Martyrology: The Roman Martyrology, Baltimore, 1916, John Murphy Company; local raw text lines 9065-9111.
- Saint witness: St. Andrew Daily Missal, August 31.
- Saint witness: Roman Martyrology, 1916 Baltimore edition, August 31.
- Saint witness: The Roman Breviary, translated by John, Marquess of Bute, 1908, vol. III, Summer, proper lessons for St. Raymund Nonnatus, printed pp. 873-874; this English proper prints the office under September 1, before its later placement on August 31.
- Breviary witness: The Roman Breviary, translated by John, Marquess of Bute, 1908, vol. III, Summer, proper lessons for St. Raymund Nonnatus, printed pp. 873-874; this English proper prints the office under September 1, before its later placement on August 31.
- Breviary witness: Roman Martyrology, 1916 Baltimore edition, August 31.
- Matins lesson: The Roman Breviary, translated by John, Marquess of Bute, 1908, vol. III, Summer, proper lessons for St. Raymund Nonnatus, lessons iv-vi, printed pp. 873-874; this English proper prints the office under September 1, before its later placement on August 31.
- Matins lesson: Bute 1908 is used here as an accessible pre-Pius X Breviary witness and is cited distinctly from the 1936-1937 Benziger / Burns Oates edition.
Pilgrim's Mirror: Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, translated by Richard Whitford, edited by Wilfrid Raynal, O.S.B. (Mount Vernon, N.Y.: Peter Pauper Press, c. 1947). Today's passage is at Book I, chapter 7, p. 16.
Marian formation: St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, translated by Fr. Frederick William Faber, 1941 Company of Mary edition, imprimatur September 26, 1949. Today's passage is at True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, no. 259. The supplied 2010 PDF is used only as a digital transcription of that pre-1955 edition.
- Devotional rhythm: St. Andrew Daily Missal, Dom Gaspar Lefebvre, O.S.B., 1953 edition, Mass of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pp. 1520-1524.
- Devotional rhythm: Luke 2:19 and 2:35, Douay-Rheims.
- Devotional rhythm: St. Andrew Daily Missal, Dom Gaspar Lefebvre, O.S.B., 1953 edition; proper Mass or devotion named in this entry.
- Devotional rhythm: Psalm 90:11 and Matthew 18:10, Douay-Rheims.
- Faith point: Pope St. Pius X, Pascendi Dominici Gregis.
- Faith point: Oath Against Modernism.
- Marian atmosphere and imitation: Luke 1:38, 46-49; Luke 2:19; John 2:5; John 19:25-27; and John 3:30, Douay-Rheims.
- Authority and revolt: Exodus 5:2, Douay-Rheims.
- Daily examen: St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, Particular and Daily Examen.