The Daily Pilgrimage
Today in the City of God: calendar, Martyrology, Gospel, witness, prayer, and Catholic formation held together.
Daily formation
2030-07-30
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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Ss. Abdon and Sennen, Martyrs
City of God in Exile
Ss. Abdon and Sennen, Martyrs
2030-07-30 - Time after Pentecost - Simple - red
Today
Ss. Abdon and Sennen, Martyrs
Martyrs Who Honored the Abandoned Dead
Truth
The Cross Is Daily
The disciple of Christ must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Our Lord in obedience, penance, and perseverance.
Practice
Universal fellowship in martyrdom.
Pray for the faithful departed and refuse every act of human respect that would soften Catholic truth.
Offering
To Jesus through Mary
Enter St. Louis de Montfort's examination of false and true devotion without exempting your preferred practices from judgment.
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.
July intention
The Most Precious Blood of Jesus
The price of our redemption forbids a careless life. Remember the Precious Blood poured out upon Calvary and offered upon Catholic altars, and ask that no grace purchased at so great a cost be received in vain.
Intention
For reverence toward the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the conversion of sinners, and the deliverance of souls from slavery to mortal sin.
A faithful act
Offer the day's sacrifices for sinners who are far from confession and sanctifying grace.
Prayer
Most Precious Blood of Jesus, cleanse us from sin, strengthen the weak, and bring wandering souls home.
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.
Ss. Abdon and Sennen buried Christians whose bodies had been abandoned and then refused sacrifice to false gods. Their witness joins reverence for Christ's members to public hatred of idolatry: love serves the forsaken and refuses the worship that would betray God.
Ask the Holy Ghost for an honest examination of your Marian devotion and readiness both to avoid falsehood and embrace complete truth.
Formation in True Devotion - Day 241: Review and Deepening: Discernment of False Devotion
“It is, then, very important first of all to know false devotions to our Blessed Lady in order to avoid them; and the true devotion in order to embrace it.”
Avoidance and embrace belong together. Merely criticizing abuses does not establish devotion; multiplying practices does not prove them sound. The Catholic soul must reject false forms and choose the devotion most agreeable to Our Lady, glorious to God, and sanctifying to the soul.
Do not conduct the examination only upon other people. Ask which defects live in you: pride that criticizes, fear that withholds honor, exteriority without conversion, presumption in sin, inconstancy, hypocrisy, or interest in favors more than holiness. Name the disease and practice the contrary virtue throughout the whole day.
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, through Ss. Abdon and Sennen, make me reverent toward the faithful, courageous before idols, and steadfast in confessing Christ.
Quote of the Day
“Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Plain-language help for today - 3 unfamiliar terms
- Martyr
- a Christian who was killed rather than deny Christ or abandon the Faith.
- Deacon
- an ordained minister who assists bishops and priests and is specially entrusted with service, proclamation, and charity.
- Divine Providence
- God's wise and loving governance of creation, by which He directs all things without destroying human freedom.
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
Persian martyrs who buried the abandoned dead.
Matins - Proper Ninth Lesson - Ss. Abdon and Sennen, Martyrs
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, Ninth lesson for Ss. Abdon and Sennen
“They abhorred and spat upon them.”
- The Breviary remembers Abdon and Sennen as Persian martyrs accused under Decius because they buried the bodies of Christians that had been thrown out unburied.
- They refused sacrifice to the false gods and persistently preached that Jesus Christ is God.
- When dragged before the idols, they rejected them openly; beasts would not touch them, and they were finally slain with the sword before being buried by the deacon Quirinus.
Honor the abandoned faithful and refuse idols without compromise. Ss. Abdon and Sennen teach reverence for Christian burial, courage before false worship, and confession of Christ even when power demands public apostasy.
Complete Breviary Text
Ninth Lesson - Complete Proper Lesson
Abdon and Sennen were Persians. In the reign of the Emperor Decius they were accused of interring, on their own farm, the bodies of Christians, which had been thrown out unburied. The Emperor commanded them to be arrested and ordered to sacrifice to the gods. This they refused to do, and persistently preached that JESUS Christ is God, whereupon they were put into strict confinement. When Decius afterwards returned to Rome, he had them led in chains in his triumph. Being thus dragged into the city and up to the idols, they abhorred and spat upon them, for which they were cast to bears and lions; the beasts were afraid to touch them. They were butchered with the sword, and the corpses, with their feet bound together, were dragged before the image of the sun. Thence they were stolen away, and the Deacon Quirinus buried them in his own house.
Breviary Homily from the Common of Many Martyrs - Seventh Lesson
The Lesson is taken from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (xxi. 9). At that time: JESUS said unto His disciples: When ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. And so on.
Homily by Pope St Gregory the Great (35th on the Gospels). Our Lord and Redeemer willeth us to know what shall be the signs that the end of the world is at hand, to the end that ye may be the less terrified, when that cometh whereof ye have already had warning. Darts strike less which are seen coming: and the plagues of the earth will be to us more bearable, if we are harnessed against them with the shield of foreknowledge. Behold, how He saith: "When ye shall hear of wars and commotions be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by." It behoveth us to ponder these words of our Redeemer, wherein He warneth us of suffering, from without, and from within. Wars are the work of a foreign enemy, commotions of the citizens. Therefore, that He may let us know that we shall be troubled from within and from without, He showeth that our wrestling shall be in part against strangers, and in part against our brethren.
Breviary Homily from the Common of Many Martyrs - Eighth Lesson
But, when these woes come, the end is not by and by. And He saith further: "Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and pestilences, and famines, and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven." Before the last tribulation cometh, shall come many other tribulations: and, by the many woes which shall come first, shall be foreshadowed the everlasting woe which shall come in the end. And therefore, after wars and commotions, the end is not yet by and by: many woes must come first, to give warning of the woe that hath no end.
Breviary Homily from the Common of Many Martyrs - Ninth Lesson
But, forasmuch as the signs and troubles whereof the Lord speaketh are so manifold, we must needs shortly consider each: for, of necessity, we must suffer some things from heaven, some from the earth, some from the powers of nature, and some from men. For where He saith: "Nation shall rise against nation" - He speaketh concerning the troubling of men: where: "great earthquakes shall be in divers places" - concerning wrath from above: where: "and pestilences" - concerning the frailty of the body: where: "and famines" - concerning the barrenness of the earth: where: "fearful signs from heaven," and tempests - concerning commotions of the air. As, then, all things shall have an end, so, before the end, shall all things be troubled: and we who have sinned and come short in all things, shall in all things be afflicted, that it may be fulfilled that is written: "and the world shall fight with Him against the unwise." (Wisd. v. 21.)
Walk with the Church
The Church has already begun praying. Enter her prayer.
Today the Roman year keeps Ss. Abdon and Sennen, Martyrs. Receive the observance as the Church gives it: first understand what is commemorated, then let its doctrine and worship shape the day.
Roman Martyrology
July 30
At Rome, in the reign of Decius, the holy Persian martyrs Abdon and Sennen, who were bound with chains, brought to Rome, scourged with leaded whips for the faith of Christ, and then put to the sword. — At Tuberbum Lucernarium, in Africa, the holy virgins and martyrs Maxima, Donatilla, and Secunda. The first two, in the persecution of Valerian and Gallienus, were forced to drink vinegar and gall, then scourged most severely, and stretched on the rack, burned on the gridiron, rubbed over with lime, afterwards exposed to the beasts with the virgin Secunda, twelve years old, but being untouched by them, they were finally beheaded. — At Assisi, in Umbria, St. Rufinus, martyr. — At Caesarea, in Cappadocia, St. Julitta, martyr. As she sought to recover through the courts the restitution of goods seized by an influential personage, the latter objected that, being a Christian, her cause could not be pleaded. The judge commanded her to offer sacrifice to the idols, that she might be heard. With great firmness, she refused, and being thrown into the fire, yielded her spirit to God, though her body remained uninjured by the flames. St. Basil the Great has proclaimed her praise in an excellent eulogy. — At Auxerre, St. Ursus, bishop and confessor.
Learn from Today's Saint or Feast
Ss. Abdon and Sennen
Persian martyrs honored in Roman memory.
Ss. Abdon and Sennen are remembered by the Roman Martyrology as Persian martyrs brought to Rome and crowned there for Christ.
Their feast keeps before the faithful the breadth of Catholic witness: men from distant lands, honored in Rome, joined by martyrdom to the one Church and one Lord.
Let Ss. Abdon and Sennen widen the heart. The City of God gathers witnesses from every land, and martyrdom makes distant souls near in Christ.
The Pilgrim's Spiritual Conference
The Cross Is Daily
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: The disciple of Christ must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Our Lord in obedience, penance, and perseverance. 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. Holiness is formed in ordinary fidelity before it is tested in public suffering.
The grace to be practiced is Universal fellowship in martyrdom, 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 comprehensive discernment by rejecting every false form and cultivating all the doctrinal, interior, exterior, and moral marks of truth.
There is also an enemy to recognize: Resist a comfortable religion that admires Christ while refusing self-denial. 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 universal fellowship in martyrdom 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. Permit the teaching to judge you before applying it to others, accepting correction without defensiveness, excuses, or selective hearing. Remove every false element from devotion and strengthen its full fruits in faith, prayer, repentance, virtue, duty, sacrifice, and charity.
The Church's witness
This truth manifests the Church's mark of holy. The witness placed beside it today is St. Bede the Venerable.
Your resolution before God
Pray for the faithful departed and refuse every act of human respect that would soften Catholic truth.
Charity toward Christ's members and refusal of false worship spring from the same fidelity.
Carry this word quietly. Return to it when distraction, temptation, or discouragement begins to scatter the soul.
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?
“Words feed not the soul; but a good life refresheth the mind, and a clean conscience bringeth a man to a firm and stable trust in God.”
Pious speech cannot replace obedience. Peace grows where known duty is fulfilled and forgiven sin is honestly confessed.
The soul sometimes speaks about prayer, holiness, or the crisis in the Church because speaking is easier than amendment. Do not despise true words, but require them first of yourself. Let the repair of neglected duties become proof that truth has entered the will.
Today's Practice
Begin completing the neglected duties you have discussed more than performed, ordering them justly and without further excuse.
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.
Review which false tendency appeared today and whether you actively practiced its contrary rather than merely recognizing it.
- 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 7780-7811.
- Saint witness: St. Andrew Daily Missal, July 30.
- Saint witness: Roman Martyrology, 1916 Baltimore edition, July 30.
- Breviary witness: Roman Breviary, Matins lessons for July 30, Ss. Abdon and Sennen.
- Breviary witness: Roman Martyrology, 1916 Baltimore edition, July 30.
- Matins lesson: The Roman Breviary, translated by John, Marquess of Bute, 1908, vol. III, Summer, office of July 30, Ninth Lesson of Ss. Abdon and Sennen, printed p. 769.
- Matins lesson: The Roman Breviary, translated by John, Marquess of Bute, 1908, vol. III, Summer, Common Office for Many Martyrs, Third Nocturn, St. Gregory the Great, Homily 35 on the Gospels, lessons vii-ix, printed pp. 427-429. This common homily is presented as a supplemental Breviary sermon for the martyrs and not as the proper Ninth Lesson.
- 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 2, p. 10.
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. 91. 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; proper Mass or devotion named in this entry.
- Devotional rhythm: 1 Peter 1:18-19, Douay-Rheims.
- Devotional rhythm: Psalm 90:11 and Matthew 18:10, Douay-Rheims.
- Faith point: Luke 9:23, Douay-Rheims.
- Faith point: St. Bede the Venerable, traditional commentary on the Gospel.
- 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.