OXYGEN

31 Jul – Memorial for St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest, religious founder
St. Ignatius (1491-1556) was of Spanish nobility. The youngest of 12 children, he served as a page in the Spanish court of Ferdinand and Isabella. He received a military education and became a soldier, entering the army in 1517, [...]

30 Jul – Memorial for St. Peter Chrysologus, bishop, doctor
St. Peter (406-450) was an adult convert, a deacon, then a priest, and then Bishop of Ravenna, Italy in 433. He fought paganism and the Monophysite heresy, enforced reforms, and built several churches and ornate altars in his see. He was [...]

29 Jul – Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our Father In Heaven
Christ has given us in very truth the power to become the children of God. Compare the timidity and self-abnegation of Abraham’s prayer with the confidence with which Christ teaches us to pray to our Father in heaven. [...]

28 Jul
Growing naturally
A boy was playing in his back garden one day, when he found a caterpillar on a bush. He had learned in school that the caterpillar becomes a butterfly, once it breaks out of the cocoon. He was a kind and helpful boy, so he thought that [...]

27 Jul
The blind leading the blind
Before modern radio and TV became so sophisticated, a telephone operator used to get a call every afternoon asking for the correct time. She was always able to give this information with great confidence. The reason for this was that she always checked her watch, [...]

26 Jul – Memorial for Ss Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
St. Anne was the mother of Our Lady, the grandmother of Jesus Christ, and the wife of St. Joachim. She was probably well-off. Tradition says that Anne was quite elderly when Mary was born, and that [...]

25 Jul – Feast of St. James the Greater, apostle, martyr
St. James the Greater (d. 44) was the son of Zebedee and Salome, brother of St. John the Apostle, and may have been Jesus’ cousin. He is called “the Greater” simply because he became an apostle before St. James the [...]

24 Jul
Taking leave of the body
John Quincy Adams, at 80 years of age, was shuffling along outside his home one day, when a neighbour greeted him with the question, “And how is Mr John Quincy Adams this morning?”
The old man replied, “John Quincy Adams himself is very well, thank [...]

23 Jul – Memorial for St. Bridget of Sweden, founder
St. Bridget (1302-1373) was the daughter of Birger Persson, the governor and provincial judge of Uppland, and of Ingeborg Bengtsdotter. Her father was one of the greatest landowners in the country, her mother was known widely for her piety, and the [...]

22 Jul – Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus Our Friend
The mystery of today’s celebration is Christ among us as our friend. We welcome him as Abraham welcomed the Lord at Mamre, and Martha and Mary welcomed Christ at Bethany.
- the Sunday Missal
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We thank God for Daniel’s recovery from the [...]