Sacred Calendar
The Roman year ordered for memory, penance, feasts, saints, and the daily pilgrimage of the faithful.
Calendar standard
Pre-1955 Roman usage
The calendar follows the universal Roman year under the rubrics of Pope St. Pius X, with the Roman Martyrology preserved as a distinct daily witness.
The day is presented for prayer, recollection, study, and perseverance in the City.
Daily observance
Today in the City of God
The Church keeps this day in holy time. The Pilgrim's Companion gathers the feast, daily quote, Martyrology, meditation, prayer, and related chapters into one daily path through the City.
Choose a date
Daily observance
St. John Chrysostom, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Season: Time after Epiphany
The day is set within the Roman year so its feast, Martyrology, daily quote, prayer, and reading path may be received together without blurring their proper sources.
Today's pilgrimage
St. John Chrysostom, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor
Rank: Double
Color: white
Quote for the day
St. John Chrysostom
“Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again: for forgiveness has risen from the grave.”
Roman Martyrology
Roman Martyrology - January 27
At Constantinople, St. John, bishop, who was surnamed Chrysostom, on account of his golden flow of eloquence. He greatly promoted the interests of the Christian religion by his preaching and exemplary life, and after many toils, closed his life in banishment. His sacred body was brought to Constantinople on this day, in the reign of Theodosius the younger; it was afterwards taken to Rome and placed in the basilica of the Prince of the Apostles. This illustrious preacher of the Word of God Pius X. declared and appointed heavenly patron of sacred orators. — At Sora, St. Julian, martyr, who, being arrested in the persecution of Antoninus, was beheaded, because a pagan temple had fallen to the ground whilst he was tortured. Thus did he win the crown of martyrdom. — In Africa, St. Avitus, martyr. — In the same country, the holy martyrs, Datius, Reatrus, and their companions, who suffered in the persecution of the Vandals. — Also, the holy martyrs Dativus, Julian, Vincent, and twenty-seven others. — At Rome, St. Vitalian, pope. — At Le Mans, the demise of St. Julian, the first bishop of that city, who was sent thither by St. Peter to preach the Gospel. — In the monastery of Bobacum, St. Maur, abbot. — At Brixen, St. Angela Merici, virgin, foundress of the Order of the Nuns of St. Ursula, whose principal aim is to direct young girls in the ways of the Lord. By an indult of Pius VII. her feast is celebrated on the 31st of May.
Highlighted saint
St. John Chrysostom
Golden-mouthed doctor and preacher of repentance.
St. John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople and Doctor of the Church, was renowned for preaching that joined Scripture, moral clarity, and burning pastoral zeal.
He rebuked luxury, defended the poor, endured exile, and taught the faithful that eloquence becomes holy only when it serves truth, repentance, and the worship of God.
Virtue to practice
Preaching made truthful, merciful, and courageous.
Error to resist
The eloquence that flatters vice or uses sacred words without conversion.
For the pilgrim in exile
Ask St. John Chrysostom for words that burn clean. True speech wounds vanity so that charity may heal the soul.
Imitate today
- Let Scripture correct one habit.
- Practice mercy toward the poor.
- Speak truth without courting human favor.
Sources
- St. Andrew Daily Missal, January 27.
- Roman Martyrology, 1916 Baltimore edition, January 27.
From Matins
The golden mouth that would not bless corruption.
Matins - Second Nocturn - St. John Chrysostom, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church
Roman Breviary, Proper lessons for St. John Chrysostom
“He ceased not to war against vice.”
Doctrine taught
- The Breviary remembers St. John Chrysostom as the golden-mouthed preacher forced to the see of Constantinople against his will.
- As bishop he labored against public moral decay, noble corruption, and the abuse of the poor, drawing hatred from powerful enemies.
- Exile, cruelty, and imperial opposition could not make him sanctify vice with silence; he received the Holy Eucharist, signed himself with the Cross, and died under persecution.
For the pilgrim in exile
Ask St. John Chrysostom for speech that serves souls, not human favor. Sacred eloquence must preach repentance, defend the poor, and refuse to flatter power.
Sources
- The Roman Breviary, translated by John, Marquess of Bute, 1908, vol. I, Winter, Second Nocturn for St. John Chrysostom, lessons iv-vi.
- 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.
Breviary Witness
The golden mouth in exile.
Matins - St. John Chrysostom, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor
Breviary witness
- The Breviary honors St. John Chrysostom as bishop, confessor, and Doctor, famous for sacred eloquence and fearless correction of vice.
- His witness teaches that preaching must serve Scripture, repentance, the poor, and the worship of God, even when truth brings exile.
For the pilgrim in exile
Let words become accountable to truth. Sacred eloquence is not ornament; it is a summons to conversion.
Sources
- Roman Breviary, Matins lessons for January 27, St. John Chrysostom.
- St. Andrew Daily Missal, January 27.
Gospel of the day
You are the light of the world.
St. John Chrysostom, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor - Matthew 5:13-19
“So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works.”
What Our Lord teaches
- The Doctor of the Church must give light by doctrine, preaching, and holiness of life.
- St. John Chrysostom teaches that sacred eloquence is meant to expose vice, defend the poor, and lead souls to repentance.
Virtue to practice
Let speech serve truth, mercy, and conversion.
Error to resist
The beautiful word that avoids moral correction and leaves the soul unchanged.
For the pilgrim in exile
Ask St. John Chrysostom for speech with fire and order. A Catholic word should give light, not applause alone.
Sources
- Matthew 5:13-19, Douay-Rheims.
- Traditional Roman Gospel from the common of Doctors.
Meditation
The Coming of the King
The mystery of the coming of Christ teaches the pilgrim to wait without surrender, to recognize divine humility, and to adore the King where He truly appears. Sacred time trains hope, but hope must remain disciplined by doctrine and worship.
Related paths
Walk the day through the City.
Today's chapters
Read with the feast.
Prayer
The day should become prayer.
O Lord, pardon my faults, raise my heart from discouragement, and teach me to begin again under Thy mercy.
Thought for the pilgrim
The pilgrim is formed by returning to God again and again.
Practice
The day should become obedience.
Make a brief examination of conscience before sleep and end the day with an act of contrition.
Source notes
Universal Roman Calendar under the rubrics of Pope St. Pius X
Fasting and abstinence according to the laws observed in 1952
Daily quotations and pilgrimage excerpts should come from Scripture, Fathers, Doctors, saints, traditional popes before 1958, traditional catechisms, approved devotional works, or received liturgical texts.
The Roman Martyrology, Baltimore, 1916, published by John Murphy Company; the local 1916 text is displayed and traceable to its source lines.
- St. Andrew Daily Missal, Liturgical Calendar, pp. xvii–xxviii.