July 21, 2026
A reading from
the holy Gospel according to Matthew 12:46-50
While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
July 21, 2026
Saint Who?
Saints Who Taught about Prayer
Saint Francis de Sales
Bishop and Doctor († 1622) Feast: January 24
“Prayer opens the understanding to the brightness of divine light, and the will to the warmth of heavenly love—nothing can so effectually purify the mind from its many ignorances, or the will from its perverse affections.” Francis de Sales began a chapter on the necessity of prayer in his famous work Introduction to the Devout Life with these words.
Francis was the oldest child in a noble French family, and in addition to his other studies, he took classes in fencing, riding, and dancing to please his father. But he became convinced that God was calling him to become a priest, not a nobleman. He and his father sharply disagreed about this, and his father only capitulated when another relative obtained an important Church office for Francis.
Yet after ordination, Francis did not use his family connections to work his way up through the hierarchy. Instead, he accepted a dangerous assignment as a missionary in a region of Switzerland dominated by Calvinism. His gentleness, devotion, intelligence, and gifts as a speaker and writer won many souls back to the Church. He was named bishop of Geneva at the age of thirty-two, where he served for more than two decades before his death.
Merciful Lord, grant us an awareness of our weaknesses so that we can love you with true devotion.
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MEDITATion
Hail Mary: Pondering the Mysteries of Love
Unlock the awesome power of this simple, foundational prayer.
Fathers Hofer and Nolan offer us a personal retreat encouraging meditation on the prayer that draws us closer to our Blessed Mother and serves as the basis for praying the Rosary.
144 p – 8 x 9.75 in – US $19.95
©Image : Christ on the Lake of Galilee, Jacopo Tintoretto (circle, 1518-1594), NGA, Washington D.C., USA. Photo Courtesy NGA Washington.
