MONDAY, JANUARY 24
Saint Francis de Sales

Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church, the saint is considered the father of modern spirituality. He bore witness to his faith in a hostile context and, faced with the new problems that challenged the Church, succeeded in providing new answers.
Firstborn son, Francis was born on August 21, 1567, in Savoy, at Sales Castle near Thorens, which belonged to his noble and ancient family. His mother was chiefly responsible for his education. With the Jesuits, he studied classical culture and philosophy and, at the same time, received a solid foundation in spiritual life. At the age of 16, he faced a profound inner crisis, from which he emerged by entrusting himself to Our Lady and the infinite goodness of God. He was ordained a priest in 1593; he devoted himself wholeheartedly to his priestly ministry and was an indefatigable worker in the Lord’s vineyard. As soon as he was ordained, he went as a missionary to Protestant countries, but the results were very poor because no one went to hear him. He therefore entrusted his sermons to flyers that he distributed among the people or posted on the walls of houses. For this reason, Francis de Sales is considered the patron saint of journalists. The saint knew how to use the pen, and his way of expressing himself was calm; he loved serene dialogue and preferred friendship that could overcome the obstacle of differences. After a long period, the very poor initial results were offset by many conversions. The center of his day was the Mass, which he experienced intensely. In the same way, he held the sacrament of Confession in high regard, for himself and for others. He often repeated: «It is from the confessional that a person, a parish, a diocese is changed!» Elected bishop of Geneva in 1602, he accepted the episcopate as a mission, not as an honor. He died on December 28, 1622, in Lyon, where he had gone for a meeting with Chantal; he was canonized just thirty-three years after his death. Thanks to the dissemination of his writings and their influence on the lives of many people, he was also given the title of Doctor of the Church.

For further reading:
• Philothea
• 24 Steps in Everyday Life, Vol. 1
• 24 Steps in Everyday Life, Vol. 2
• 24 Steps in Everyday Life, Vol. 3
• Take your heart out to sea!

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25
Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle

Saul, his original name, was born around the year 8, the second son of a prosperous family that came from Galilee and later moved to Tarsus, in present-day Turkey. He grew up in the shadow of his father, a tentmaker; he first attended Jewish school and then refined his Hellenic education; Greek was spoken in his family, as widespread then as English is today.
At around 12 or 13 years of age, his father sent him to Jerusalem, where he was able to deepen his religious knowledge at the school of the celebrated Gamaliel, a renowned teacher of the Law.
In 34, he witnessed the martyrdom of Saint Stephen and, albeit indirectly, took part in his stoning. A fierce enemy of Christ, he persecuted Christians, and the event that radically changed his life took place precisely as he was traveling to Damascus to continue his persecution of Jesus’ followers. It was around the year 36, and Luke tells us that “as he was traveling and was approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him, and falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ He replied: ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said: ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting!’” Jesus won Saint Paul over with his grace; from that moment on, he understood that he must not rely on his own strength to observe the Law scrupulously, but simply had to say yes to God’s gratuitous love. He compared this experience of Christ on the road to Damascus to the Easter experience of the Twelve and to the splendor of the first light of creation; it would become the heart of his oral and written preaching.

For further reading:
• The Holy Bible
• Gospel and Acts of the Apostles
• “On Your Word” booklet, January-February 2022

You might also be interested in: 
• Card of Saint Paul of Tarsus with the Hymn to Charity on the back

Conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity concludes today. Let us continue to pray that all Christians «may be one.»

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27
Beginning of the novena to Venerable Tecla Merlo

Sister Tecla Merlo, cofounder and first Superior General of the Daughters of Saint Paul, wrote: «Be strong women. Whatever happens to me, I do not want to seek anything outside the Lord. But the Lord may send a trial… and it is not uncommon for the soul, instead of seeking God, to weep and become discouraged. We must not become discouraged. Be strong souls in spirit. Here we are being tested; struggle and suffering must be part of every day of our lives. But let us take courage, let us not become saddened… if we seek the Lord, He remains near.» Strong like Saint Paul, as we read in the Constitutions: «From the Apostle we learn to accept the toil, suffering, and failure of the apostolate, carrying Christ's cross within us so that people may have life.» Her love for the Virgin Mary was also great. Sister Tecla used to say: «Our Lady makes difficult things easy.» 
Let us deepen our knowledge of her life and confidently ask for her intercession. May her «Trust in God» resound in our hearts in these days.

For further reading:
• Trust in God. Novena to Venerable Sister Tecla Merlo

SATURDAY, JANUARY 29
Beginning of the novena to the martyrs of Široki Brijeg

On February 7, 1945, in Široki Brijeg, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Communist partisans decided to destroy the Franciscan convent and school center that had stood there for more than a century, down to its foundations, in order to uproot the Catholic faith from the people's hearts, along with their goodwill and gratitude toward the Franciscan friars. With threats and blasphemies, the soldiers tried to persuade the 30 Franciscans to abandon their religious habit, but they replied: «We are religious, consecrated; we cannot abandon our habit.» Then an angry soldier took the cross and threw the crucifix onto the floor: «Now you can choose life or death.» At these words, each of them knelt down, embraced and kissed Jesus, and, holding the cross to his chest, spoke the words of Saint Francis: «You are my God, my All.» The friars went to their deaths praying and singing the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

For further reading:
• The novena to the martyrs of Široki Brijeg
• Medjugorje: The Pilgrim's Guide

You might also be interested in: 
• Medjugorje postcard set vol. 1
• Medjugorje postcard set vol. 2

SUNDAY, JANUARY 30
Beginning of the novena to Blessed Mother Speranza

An extraordinary mystic of our time came from Spain: Mother Speranza of Jesus (1893-1983). In 1951, following a special inspiration, at Collevalenza, in Umbria, she fulfilled the dream of a shrine and two congregations dedicated to Merciful Love, proclaiming that God is a Father who loves and forgives each of his children. Mother Speranza bore witness to this by welcoming more than one hundred people a day, listening to, advising, and comforting each one: “The Lord loves all souls with the same intensity; he loves even more those souls who, despite being full of shortcomings, strive and struggle to be as he wants them to be; even the most perverse, abandoned, and wretched person is loved by him with immense tenderness.”
Let us confidently invoke her intercession.

For further reading:
• With Open Arms. The Life and Works of Mother Speranza
• Novena to Merciful Love

You might also be interested in: 
• Other articles on Mother Speranza

SUNDAY, JANUARY 30
Beginning of the novena to Saint Josephine Bakhita

“In our time, when the frenzied pursuit of power, money, and pleasure causes so much distrust, violence, and loneliness, Sister Bakhita is given back to us by the Lord as a universal sister, so that she may reveal to us the secret of the truest happiness: the Beatitudes.” This is what John Paul II said in his homily for the beatification of Mother Josephine Bakhita. “Encountering Saint Josephine Bakhita,” writes Father Ermes Ronchi, “means discovering the gift of evangelical ‘littleness.’ If we look at everything from the perspective of a little girl who was kidnapped, torn from her family, sold into slavery, and abused by several masters, everything that happens afterward is truly God's unimaginable work, beyond human logic.” 
Let us confidently invoke her intercession and learn more about her life.

For further reading:
• Praying and Living the Word with Saint Josephine Bakhita

You might also be interested in: 
• Postcard and holy card of Saint Josephine Bakhita