Traditional Catholic Daily Devotional

It's the Feast of St. Thomas of Villanova, 3rd Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: "Charity and Friendship", today's news from the Church: "Leo XIV increases salaries in the Curia", a preview of this week's episode of The Archbishop Lefebvre Audiobook: Ch. 18: "Strongholds of Reconquest", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org
Sources Used Today:

"Charity and Friendship" — From the Assumption to Adventhttps://angeluspress.org/products/from-trinity-sunday-to-the-assumption




"Leo XIV increases salaries in the Curia" (FSSPX.news)
https://fsspx.news/en/news/rome-leo-xiv-increases-salaries-curia-61195




Lefebvre Audiobook: " Strongholds of Reconquest " (SSPX Podcast)
View on YouTube
Listen & Subscribe on SSPXpodcast.com




The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
https://angeluspress.org/products/spiritual-life-archbishop






Please support our new project, the Archbishop Lefebvre Biography Audiobook:
Learn more:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Wp4MQdK2o
Donate:https://sspx.gifts/audiobook


Saint Thomas of Villanova became an archbishop, but he apparently never got very good at looking like one.

He was born in Spain in 1486 and grew up in Villanueva de los Infantes. His family was comfortable but remarkably generous. His father regularly gave food to the poor, and Thomas absorbed that habit early. One story says that when his parents were away, young Thomas gave away several of the family's chickens to people who needed food.

That instinct never really left him.

Thomas was brilliant. He studied at the University of Alcalá and became a professor of philosophy before entering the Augustinian Order in his thirties. He quickly became known as an exceptional preacher and eventually served in leadership positions within the order.

Then, in 1544, he was appointed Archbishop of Valencia.

Thomas did not want the job.

When obedience finally forced him to accept, the cathedral chapter gave him money to furnish his new residence appropriately.

Thomas gave the money to a hospital.

Apparently, the old furniture was good enough.

That pretty much describes his entire episcopacy.

Thomas wore patched clothing, kept a simple household, and distributed enormous amounts of the archdiocese's income to the poor. People sometimes criticized him for giving money too freely, but Thomas was actually quite thoughtful about charity. He didn't want merely to hand someone a coin and send him away. He tried to provide work, tools, education, and opportunities that could help families escape poverty permanently.

He also had a particular concern for abandoned babies.

Valencia had many infants left without families, so Thomas established programs to provide them with nurses, clothing, food, and eventually apprenticeships or dowries as they grew older.

His generosity became so famous that people called him the "Father of the Poor."

But Thomas wasn't simply a charitable administrator.

He was also trying to reform an archdiocese badly in need of attention. He visited parishes, improved the formation of priests, established a seminary, and preached constantly. His sermons became famous throughout Spain for being direct, practical, and understandable.

There's a wonderfully characteristic story from near the end of his life.

Thomas knew he was dying and began giving away almost everything remaining in his possession. He even gave away the bed he was lying on, although he borrowed it back long enough to die in it.

That's Thomas of Villanova in one image.

Even his deathbed wasn't really his anymore.

He died in 1555 while Mass was being celebrated nearby. His funeral drew enormous crowds, especially the poor of Valencia, who knew they had lost someone who had treated them not as a problem to manage, but as members of his own family.

Saint Thomas of Villanova, father of the poor and humble shepherd of Valencia, pray for us.


Please Support this Apostolate with 1-time or Monthly Donation >>

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Explore more:

Subscribe to the email version of this Devotional- it's a perfect companion!
Subscribe to this Podcastto receive this and all our audio episodes
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FSSPX News Website:https://fsspx.news
Visit the US District website:https://sspx.org/


What is the SSPX Podcast?

The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition.
What is the SSPX?

The main goal of the Society of Saint Pius X is to preserve the Catholic Faith in its fullness and purity, to teach its truths, and to diffuse its virtues, especially through the Roman Catholic priesthood.

Authentic spiritual life, the sacraments, and the traditional liturgy are its primary means of bringing this life of grace to souls.

Although the traditional Latin Mass is the most visible and public expression of the work of the Society, we are committed to defending Catholic Tradition in its entirety: all of Catholic doctrine and morals as the Church has always defended them. What people need is the Catholic Faith, without compromise, with all the truth and beauty which accompanies it.

https://sspx.org

It's the Feast of St. Matthew, 2nd Class, with the color of Red. In this episode: the meditation: "The Love of God for Us", today's news from the Church: "The Jesuits leave Liège, 450 years after their arrival", a preview of the Sermon: "The Power of Humility", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org
Sources Used Today:

"The Love of God for Us" — From the Assumption to Adventhttps://angeluspress.org/products/from-trinity-sunday-to-the-assumption




"The Jesuits leave Liège, 450 years after their arrival" (FSSPX.news)
https://fsspx.news/en/news/belgium-jesuits-leave-liege-450-years-after-their-arrival-61143




"The Power of Humility" (SSPX Sermons)
SSPX YouTube: Sermons Playlist
Listen & Subscribe: SSPX Sermons Podcast




The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
https://angeluspress.org/products/spiritual-life-archbishop






Please support our new project, the Archbishop Lefebvre Biography Audiobook:
Learn more:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Wp4MQdK2o
Donate:https://sspx.gifts/audiobook


Saint Matthew has one of the shortest conversion stories in the Gospel.

Jesus walks past a tax booth, sees Matthew sitting there, and says, "Follow Me."

Matthew gets up and goes.

But there's much more packed into that moment than it first appears.

Matthew was a publican, a tax collector working within the Roman system. Tax collectors were deeply disliked, partly because they cooperated with the occupying power and partly because the system gave plenty of opportunity for corruption. To respectable Jewish society, Matthew was not an obvious candidate for an Apostle.

Jesus chose him anyway.

And Matthew's first reaction is interesting.

He threw a dinner.

He invited Jesus, the disciples, and a collection of tax collectors and other people respectable society labeled "sinners." Matthew had only just begun following Christ, but he was already bringing his friends along.

After Pentecost, Matthew disappears from the New Testament record, and this is where ancient traditions begin to diverge.

Early Christian writers agreed that he preached first among the Jews. Papias of Hierapolis, writing in the early second century, recorded a tradition that Matthew compiled sayings of Jesus in the "Hebrew dialect." Exactly how that relates to the Greek Gospel of Matthew we possess today remains debated, but it shows how early Matthew was connected with preserving Christ's teaching in written form.

Later traditions send him much farther afield.

Some place his missionary work in Persia. Others speak of Syria or lands south of the Caspian Sea. The strongest later tradition associates his martyrdom with Ethiopia, although ancient sources differ enough that we shouldn't pretend we know exactly where or how he died.

His relics have an interesting story too.

By the Middle Ages, they were believed to have reached southern Italy and eventually the city of Salerno. Today, the Salerno Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Matthew, and his relics are venerated in the crypt beneath the cathedral. His presence became so important to the city that Matthew is still honored as Salerno's patron.

There's also a nice bit of symbolism in Christian art.

Matthew is represented by a winged man or angel, one of the four creatures associated with the Evangelists. The symbol fits because his Gospel begins with Christ's human genealogy: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ."

But perhaps the most interesting thing about Matthew is still that tax booth.

Christ didn't wait for Matthew to clean up his reputation, find better friends, or prove himself worthy.

He simply said, "Follow Me."

And Matthew stood up.

Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, who left everything at the call of Christ, pray for us.


Please Support this Apostolate with 1-time or Monthly Donation >>

- - - - - -
Explore more:

Subscribe to the email version of this Devotional- it's a perfect companion!
Subscribe to this Podcastto receive this and all our audio episodes
Subscribe to the SSPX YouTube channelfor video versions of our podcast series and Sermons
FSSPX News Website:https://fsspx.news
Visit the US District website:https://sspx.org/


What is the SSPX Podcast?

The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition.
What is the SSPX?

The main goal of the Society of Saint Pius X is to preserve the Catholic Faith in its fullness and purity, to teach its truths, and to diffuse its virtues, especially through the Roman Catholic priesthood.

Authentic spiritual life, the sacraments, and the traditional liturgy are its primary means of bringing this life of grace to souls.

Although the traditional Latin Mass is the most visible and public expression of the work of the Society, we are committed to defending Catholic Tradition in its entirety: all of Catholic doctrine and morals as the Church has always defended them. What people need is the Catholic Faith, without compromise, with all the truth and beauty which accompanies it.

https://sspx.org

It's the Feast of XVII Sun of Pentecost, 2nd Class, with the color of Green. In this episode: the meditation: "Jesus Christ, Son of God", today's news from the Church: "Preconception Genetic Screening: A New Form of Eugenics?", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org
Sources Used Today:

"Jesus Christ, Son of God" — From the Assumption to Adventhttps://angeluspress.org/products/from-trinity-sunday-to-the-assumption




"Preconception Genetic Screening: A New Form of Eugenics?" (FSSPX.news)
https://fsspx.news/en/news/preconception-genetic-screening-new-form-eugenics-61142




The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
https://angeluspress.org/products/spiritual-life-archbishop






Please support our new project, the Archbishop Lefebvre Biography Audiobook:
Learn more:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Wp4MQdK2o
Donate:https://sspx.gifts/audiobook


The story of the Korean Martyrs begins in a way that's almost unique in Catholic history.

Christianity reached Korea before missionaries did.

During the eighteenth century, Korean scholars traveling to China encountered Catholic books written by Jesuit missionaries. They brought them home and began studying Christianity on their own. A small group became convinced that the faith was true.

There was just one problem.

They didn't have any priests.

So Korean lay Catholics began teaching one another, baptizing converts, gathering for prayer, and building an underground Church largely by themselves. When they eventually learned more about how the Church actually worked, they wrote to the Bishop of Beijing essentially saying: please send us a priest.

That request became increasingly dangerous.

Korean society was built around Confucian customs, including ancestral rites that Catholics came to understand they could not participate in as religious worship. Christianity also taught that every person possessed equal dignity before God, an idea that could unsettle a rigid social hierarchy.

Persecution followed.

Over the next century, thousands of Korean Catholics were killed.

Among the best known was Saint Andrew Kim Taegon, the first native Korean Catholic priest. His journey to ordination was incredible. Because there was no seminary in Korea, he secretly traveled hundreds of miles to Macau, studied for the priesthood, was ordained in Shanghai, and then slipped back into Korea to serve Catholics in hiding.

He lasted about a year.

Andrew was arrested in 1846, tortured, and beheaded at only twenty-five.

Another remarkable figure was Saint Paul Chong Hasang, a layman who repeatedly crossed into China seeking priests for Korea. He even wrote directly to the pope asking for help establishing a permanent Catholic mission.

He was eventually executed too.

What makes the Korean Martyrs especially striking is the variety among them.

They included priests and laypeople, nobles and servants, husbands and wives, elderly believers and teenagers. Some families lost several generations.

And yet the underground Church survived.

When religious freedom finally began emerging in the late nineteenth century, missionaries discovered something astonishing: Catholic communities had continued praying, baptizing children, teaching the faith, and waiting for priests through decades of persecution.

Today, several major shrines around Seoul preserve their memory, especially the sites where executions took place along the Han River.

The Korean Church wasn't originally built around a missionary arriving from somewhere else.

It began with ordinary laypeople reading books, discovering the Catholic faith, and deciding it was worth risking everything to keep it.

Holy Martyrs of Korea, courageous priests, families, and lay apostles who kept the faith alive, pray for us.


Please Support this Apostolate with 1-time or Monthly Donation >>

- - - - - -
Explore more:

Subscribe to the email version of this Devotional- it's a perfect companion!
Subscribe to this Podcastto receive this and all our audio episodes
Subscribe to the SSPX YouTube channelfor video versions of our podcast series and Sermons
FSSPX News Website:https://fsspx.news
Visit the US District website:https://sspx.org/


What is the SSPX Podcast?

The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition.
What is the SSPX?

The main goal of the Society of Saint Pius X is to preserve the Catholic Faith in its fullness and purity, to teach its truths, and to diffuse its virtues, especially through the Roman Catholic priesthood.

Authentic spiritual life, the sacraments, and the traditional liturgy are its primary means of bringing this life of grace to souls.

Although the traditional Latin Mass is the most visible and public expression of the work of the Society, we are committed to defending Catholic Tradition in its entirety: all of Catholic doctrine and morals as the Church has always defended them. What people need is the Catholic Faith, without compromise, with all the truth and beauty which accompanies it.

https://sspx.org

It's the Feast of St. Januarius and Companions, 3rd Class, with the color of Red. In this episode: the meditation: "Sunday Rest", today's news from the Church: "France: Will Convents Disappear?", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org
Sources Used Today:

"Sunday Rest" — From the Assumption to Adventhttps://angeluspress.org/products/from-trinity-sunday-to-the-assumption




"France: Will Convents Disappear?" (FSSPX.news)
https://fsspx.news/en/news/france-will-convents-disappear-61083




The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
https://angeluspress.org/products/spiritual-life-archbishop














Please support our new project, the Archbishop Lefebvre Biography Audiobook:
Learn more:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Wp4MQdK2o
Donate:https://sspx.gifts/audiobook


Saint Januarius is one of those early martyrs whose death is remarkable, but what has happened to his blood afterward has made him one of the most famous saints in Italy.

Januarius, or San Gennaro as the Italians call him, was Bishop of Benevento during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian around the year 305. When several Christians were arrested near Naples, Januarius didn't keep a safe distance.

He went to visit them.

That got him arrested too.

Among those caught up in the persecution were the deacons Festus and Proculus, the lector Desiderius, and the laymen Sosius, Eutyches, and Acutius. Ancient traditions vary on some details, but all seven came to be remembered together as companions in martyrdom.

According to one popular account, they were thrown before wild beasts.

The animals refused to attack.

So the authorities settled on something considerably more reliable.

They beheaded them.

Januarius's body was eventually brought to Naples, where he became the city's great patron. But sometime afterward, another tradition appeared. A Christian woman named Eusebia was said to have collected some of Januarius's blood after his execution and preserved it in small glass ampoules.

Those ampoules still exist.

And this is where the story gets fascinating.

Several times each year, the dried substance inside is publicly displayed in the Naples Cathedral. During the ceremony, what normally appears as a dark solid mass frequently becomes liquid.

Neapolitans have been watching this happen for centuries.

The best-known ceremony takes place around September 19. The cathedral fills with people, including a traditional group of local women known affectionately as the "aunts of Saint Januarius," who pray, call out to the saint, and sometimes become increasingly impatient if the liquefaction takes too long.

It's one of those wonderfully human Catholic traditions.

When the blood liquefies, bells ring and word quickly spreads through Naples.

The Church permits devotion to the phenomenon but has not defined the liquefaction itself as a supernatural miracle. Scientists have proposed various explanations, but because the sealed relic cannot simply be opened for unrestricted testing, the phenomenon remains a fascinating subject of debate.

For Neapolitans, however, San Gennaro is much more than a scientific curiosity.

His image appears throughout the city. His feast fills the streets. His treasure includes centuries of gifts from kings, queens, popes, and ordinary people. Even Neapolitans who rarely enter a church often speak of him almost like a member of the family.

Seventeen centuries after Januarius and his companions were executed, Naples still waits every September to see the blood of its bishop.

That's a remarkable afterlife for a martyr Rome intended everyone to forget.

Saint Januarius and Companions, martyrs of Campania and courageous witnesses to Christ, pray for us


Please Support this Apostolate with 1-time or Monthly Donation >>

- - - - - -
Explore more:

Subscribe to the email version of this Devotional- it's a perfect companion!
Subscribe to this Podcastto receive this and all our audio episodes
Subscribe to the SSPX YouTube channelfor video versions of our podcast series and Sermons
FSSPX News Website:https://fsspx.news
Visit the US District website:https://sspx.org/


What is the SSPX Podcast?

The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition.
What is the SSPX?

The main goal of the Society of Saint Pius X is to preserve the Catholic Faith in its fullness and purity, to teach its truths, and to diffuse its virtues, especially through the Roman Catholic priesthood.

Authentic spiritual life, the sacraments, and the traditional liturgy are its primary means of bringing this life of grace to souls.

Although the traditional Latin Mass is the most visible and public expression of the work of the Society, we are committed to defending Catholic Tradition in its entirety: all of Catholic doctrine and morals as the Church has always defended them. What people need is the Catholic Faith, without compromise, with all the truth and beauty which accompanies it.

https://sspx.org

It's the Feast of St. Joseph of Cupertino, 3rd Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: "Servile Works", today's news from the Church: "The Priory of Notre-Dame du Pointet Celebrates its 50th Anniversary", a preview of this week's episode of The SSPX Podcast: "Suffered, Crucified, Died, and was Buried", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org
Sources Used Today:

"Servile Works" — From the Assumption to Adventhttps://angeluspress.org/products/from-trinity-sunday-to-the-assumption




"The Priory of Notre-Dame du Pointet Celebrates its 50th Anniversary" (FSSPX.news)
https://fsspx.news/en/news/priory-notre-dame-du-pointet-celebrates-its-50th-anniversary-61082




The SSPX Podcast: "Suffered, Crucified, Died, and was Buried" (SSPX Podcast)
View on YouTube
Listen & Subscribe on SSPXpodcast.com




The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
https://angeluspress.org/products/spiritual-life-archbishop






Please support our new project, the Archbishop Lefebvre Biography Audiobook:
Learn more:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Wp4MQdK2o
Donate:https://sspx.gifts/audiobook


Saint Joseph of Cupertino may have one of the strangest biographies in the entire calendar. He struggled in school, was considered absent-minded and clumsy, barely made it through his studies for the priesthood, and then became famous because he reportedly flew during prayer.

He was born in 1603 in Cupertino, southern Italy, into a poor family. Joseph had difficulty concentrating and learning, and even simple tasks seemed to go wrong. He tried joining religious communities and was dismissed because he wasn't considered capable of handling the work.

Eventually, the Conventual Franciscans allowed him to work in their stables.

Joseph was good with animals.

And slowly, something changed. The friars noticed his humility, obedience, and remarkable life of prayer. They eventually allowed him to become a Franciscan and begin studying for the priesthood.

This created another problem.

Joseph was terrible at studying.

According to the famous story, he managed to learn one Gospel passage particularly well: "Blessed is the womb that bore thee." When his examination for the diaconate arrived, the bishop happened to ask him about exactly that passage.

He passed.

Later, during the examination for priestly ordination, the candidates questioned before Joseph answered so well that the bishop simply passed the remaining men without examining them individually.

Joseph became a priest almost despite himself.

Then things got much stranger.

During Mass or intense prayer, Joseph would sometimes fall into ecstasy. Witnesses reported that he actually rose from the ground, sometimes remaining suspended for significant periods. These incidents became so frequent that crowds started coming specifically to watch him.

Imagine being his superior.

You're trying to maintain a quiet Franciscan monastery, and one of your friars keeps levitating during Mass.

Church authorities investigated the reports carefully. Joseph was even questioned by the Roman Inquisition. Rather than being celebrated publicly, he was repeatedly moved and eventually ordered to avoid public ceremonies because the crowds had become so disruptive.

One particularly famous story says that when Joseph saw a statue of the Blessed Virgin being carried in procession, he suddenly flew toward it in ecstasy.

For obvious reasons, he eventually became the patron saint of aviators, pilots, and air travelers.

Students also adopted him as a patron, especially students facing examinations. Given the rather unusual way Joseph passed his own exams, that devotion makes perfect sense.

But underneath all the extraordinary stories was a remarkably humble man. Joseph never treated these experiences as achievements. In fact, they frequently embarrassed him. He preferred ordinary work, silence, and prayer.

He died in 1663 at Osimo, Italy, where his body remains venerated today in the Basilica of Saint Joseph of Cupertino.

Joseph's life is a wonderful reminder that God does not necessarily choose the person with the best résumé.

Sometimes He chooses the friar who barely passed the exam.

And occasionally, apparently, He lets him fly.

Saint Joseph of Cupertino, patron of students, aviators, and everyone who has ever struggled through an exam, pray for us.


Please Support this Apostolate with 1-time or Monthly Donation >>

- - - - - -
Explore more:

Subscribe to the email version of this Devotional- it's a perfect companion!
Subscribe to this Podcastto receive this and all our audio episodes
Subscribe to the SSPX YouTube channelfor video versions of our podcast series and Sermons
FSSPX News Website:https://fsspx.news
Visit the US District website:https://sspx.org/


What is the SSPX Podcast?

The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition.
What is the SSPX?

The main goal of the Society of Saint Pius X is to preserve the Catholic Faith in its fullness and purity, to teach its truths, and to diffuse its virtues, especially through the Roman Catholic priesthood.

Authentic spiritual life, the sacraments, and the traditional liturgy are its primary means of bringing this life of grace to souls.

Although the traditional Latin Mass is the most visible and public expression of the work of the Society, we are committed to...