The Daily Decade

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Katarina of Sweden, daughter of the famed St. Bridget of Sweden, offers prayers for the nation of Nigeria on behalf of a listener there. We beg the intercession of St. Frumentius [I accidentally said "St. Fulgentius", confusing the Apostle of the Ethiopians with the great hero of Ruspe in modern Tunisia - but the saint I was describing was the first preacher to bring the Faith south of the Sahara], and the many nameless martyr-saints Nigeria has collected over the years, for the total conversion of the country, the defeat of the Saracen who kidnap and corrupt their children, and the purification of the darkened hearts of any and all pagans who continue to exercise power over Christians. Today's reflection considers the Crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the model she provides as a mother to all women as well as the role she plays as Patron Saint of all Christians, pointing the way to the ideal manhood, whose core vocation is authority, and the ideal womanhood, whose core vocation is maternity.

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Benedict, offers prayers for the end of Infanticide in the Western world and for God's Justice upon those who facilitate it, aid and abet its proponents, and all of us who tolerate it passively. We beg the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, chiefly responsible as they are for begging mercy for poor sinners. Today's reflection opens with this very subject, the disavowal of responsibility, contrasted with the way in which the Blessed Mother, herself blameless by nature, sought her Son "sorrowing" - sorrowing for His loss, but not bewailing her suffering for her own sake. How often do we ask "why?" when we mean "why me?", instead of asking God to reveal His design so we can better conform ourselves to it?

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Patrick of Ireland, offers prayers for the perfect healing and fully recovery of the father of listener VAL. We offer the Latin prayers for the sick from the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. Today's reflection is on the joy and hope of the Way of the Cross, considering the Saints that were sanctified by their witness and participation in the crucifixion, from St. Longinus who helped to crucify Our Lord to St. Simon of Cyrene who aided Him reluctantly, to St. Veronica who risked her life to give Him comfort. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of Pope St. Zachary I, offers prayers for Melanie, a friend of listener Kevin. We beg the intercession of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, an exemplary woman who faced many kinds of trials and took divers and sundry opportunities to manifest holiness, for the general welfare of Melanie and the grace of God upon her and those responsible for her well-being. Today's reflection continues our theme of divine joy in the midst of human sorrow, the meaning of sorrow, compassion, and pain in our fallen world, and the example of the Assumption to help us pierce the veil of human sorrow to find joy wherever God is glorified. I have to admit I missed a spectacular opportunity to make reference to the icon Joy of All Who Sorrow and examine why Our Lady is given that title by Slavic Christians. Perhaps we'll revisit it in the future!

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Euphrasia, offers prayers for the young lady hosting the Alithea Xeniplothike channel on Telegram, that she might discern her vocation clearly and faithfully. We beg the intercession of Ss. Benedict and Scholastica, two great monastics who, though brother and sister, were called separately by God to live a life pleasing to Him in a monastery. Today's reflection turns to the Blessed Mother and Holy Simeon in the Temple, and the way sorrow of this world mingles with joy - particularly, how this should motivate us to seek the unalloyed joy of Heaven, our native home, the way a feeling of nostalgia draws us back to that which is good but no longer with us, we must have a nostalgia for God - longing to be with Him, knowing we can never truly be perfectly with Him as long as we are here. 

Advisory: I had to use a different pair of headphones to record, so the background noise is a little worse than usual. Long-time listeners will remember when every episode sounded like this, speaking of nostalgia! We'll be back to normal Wednesday.

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of the Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste, offers prayers for Stefaniya's father, his full recovery and perfect healing. We offer the prayers of the sick, for recovery of bodily health, from the end of the Rite of Extreme Unction. Today's reflection is two-pronged, discussing both the authority found in the Crown of Thorns as well as the example Christ sets for us to imitate in our own pursuit of Salvation, the meaning of which is only available to us because of the descent of God to us, first as the Messias and then as the Holy Ghost who makes the meaning of Our Lord's teachings clear to us, and His way is simple: putting aside ourselves.

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. John of God, offers prayers for Marta and her unborn baby, for their health and safety. We beg the intercession of St. Gerard, whose patronage is expectant mothers, especially those who are anxious or experiencing difficult pregnancy. Today's reflection focuses on the messages of hope we have before us in this second week of Lent, the way God reveals Himself and the way to Him in the Nativity, the Descent of the Holy Ghost, and the Crown of Thorns, but mostly how He offers us proof of His love through the special way He gives us the grace necessary to seek and find him by means of the Holy Ghost.

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Cunegundis of Luxembourg, offers prayers for Ilya, a Russian tanker known to a listener, who fell in battle in the Ukraine. We offer for him the Latin Requiem prayers. Today's reflection considers the desperate need we all seem to have for hope, and how hopeless and absurd the world can seem when our suffering lacks the meaning that only Christ can give it - and, in turn, why the scourging, by which Christ takes upon himself all the sins of the flesh, gives meaning to our suffering in a special way, and is a source for us of both eternal as well as mundane Hope. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Albinus, offers prayers for Johnny, a little boy who is in the hospital suffering terribly from a disease that has robbed him of his ability to walk, talk, eat, and breathe. We beg the powerful intercession of the Blessed Mother on his behalf as well as that of his family. Today's reflection is on the Ascension and the hope it provides us in times of temptation, especially on our Lenten journey, and the echo it offers of the fourth of Christ's Last Words - "my God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows and the first Monday in Lent, offers prayers for Jack, his return to the Faith and healing of heart and mind. We beg the intercession of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower of Jesus, for childlike faith and the warming of love that has grown cold. Today's reflection considers the Blessed Virgin's decision to leave Galilee and go to her cousin's house in Judah to tend to Elizabeth and share Elizabeth's isolation for the remaining 3 months of her pregnancy, preparing the way for St. John as St. John would prepare the way for her Son, Our Lord Jesus. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Friday after Ash Wednesday and the Feast of St. Matthias the Apostle, offers prayers for Fr. Manny, who is recovering from kidney surgery in the Philippines. We offer the prayers of the healing of the sick taken from the end of the Rite of Extreme Unction. Today's reflection is on the Agony in the Garden, the way in which Christ prepares Himself for the conquest upon the Cross of the anti-trinity of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and the way in which we must combat this anti-trinity within ourselves as we make our way through the preparations and deprivations of Lent.  

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. John of Matha, offers prayers for the people of Brazil against the spread of godless political ideologies, especially Communism. We beg the intercession of St. James the Moor-slayer against the forces of godlessness assaulting the people of the Iberian patrimony. Today's reflection is on the meaningless nature of worldly crowns and worldly powers, and the imperishable crown and real authority of Sainthood which we all should be seeking. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Titus, offers prayers for Aurora, recently baptized niece of one of our long-time listeners. We beg the intercession of St. John the Baptist on behalf of this new handmaiden of God, her parents, her godparents, and her entire family that they might serve God well, bring forth fruit worthy of penance for themselves and those near to them, and raise her to be a Saint. Today's reflection is on seeking Christ, and the way the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph seeking the lost child Jesus mirror the Hebrews awaiting and seeking after their Messias, not finding Him in the warrior kings and rebels whom they followed, and largely rejecting Him when He manifested as Jesus, the humble Galilean who preached Penance and Salvation to all nations. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Blase, offers prayers for the perfect healing of Brad, who is under intense stress and in need of comfort and struggling with mental health. We offer the prayer for the sick on his behalf. Today's reflection is on the way of the cross, and how to make the most of our own crucifixion, which we cannot escape - do we choose to be crucified against Christ or with Him? To call upon Him to give our Cross purpose or to revile Him for not taking us down from the Cross? Do we have the fortitude to lean into the cross, knowing His Kingdom is on the other side?

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, offers prayers for peace in the Ukraine and the welfare of the people there. To this end, we beg the intercession of St. Josaphat, great martyr of the Ruthenian Church whose patronage extends over Belarus, Ukraine, and all Slavic Catholics. Today's reflection is, appropriately, on suffering, and why we must embrace it rather than flee from it, as well as the sorrow and suffering Our Lady underwent to be rewarded with her glorious Assumption, and the way in which we become perfect like Christ and all His Saints. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. John Bosco, offers prayers for the working men of the world, especially those whose work leaves them exposed to the elements as they labor. We beg the intercession of St. Joseph the Worker, that the struggles of working men cause them to grow in grace and their families to grow in health and faith. Today's reflection is on the obedience of the Presentation, and the eagerness to do God honor on the part of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph, echoing the eagerness of David and Solomon to do God honor by building Him a Temple, the same Temple He promised to provide Himself in His Incarnation as Jesus Christ, that we may all "worship Him in Spirit and Truth"

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. John Xrysostom, offers requiem prayers for the repose of the soul of Betty. Today's reflection is on the Crowning with Thorns, and what separates the executioners from the persecutors of Our Lord, exemplified by the Roman mockery and humiliation of Christ. The Romans reveal their ignorance of God through their actions, just as all who worship God but do not live according to His Word and Law reveal an ignorance that mocks Christ's kingly title.

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, offers prayers for the mother and brother of Alexander (whose name I forgot when I was recording - mea culpa!). We beg the intercession of Ss. Benedict and Scholastica and Ss. Francis and Claire, both pairs of siblings who became great saints through mutual encouragement. Today's reflection is on the three descents of the Holy Ghost in the Scriptures, and the way God gave His young Church the tools she needed to complete her mission - fortitude and hierarchy - and how He gives each of us the tools we need to complete the vocation He has appointed for us.

Today's Daily Decade, on the Feast of St. Raymond of Pennafort, offers prayers for the good health of the grandmother of listener LGG. We beg the intercession of St. Luke the Evangelist, that all of her ailments of soul and body be healed perfectly by the Divine Physician. Today's reflection continues our thread on the Joyful Mysteries being linked to the Old Testament, and considers the parallel of Christ and Moses, both deliverers of a nation God intended to be holy - can we, the people of Christ, live up to this Divine Intent in the way our predecessors, the people of Moses, did not?

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of Pope St. Fabian and S. Sebastian, offers a Requiem prayer for Willie Soliven. Today's reflection is on the Scourging, and the way in which Christ gives Himself entirely to His suffering in that moment of the Passion, and what it means for us as Christians to live, work, suffer, and rejoice in the moment, and to live moment to moment in our struggle with our own flesh and tendency to  sin. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter at Rome, offers prayers for LP and BP, who are struggling in their marriage, that they be spared the destruction brought on by the sin of divorce. We beg the intercession both of St. Monica of Thagaste and Ss. Joachim and Anna, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for God's peace and charity. Today's reflection is likewise on peace, and the cure Christ offers us to the natural state of dissension and conflict in the hearts of Fallen Mankind: the unity and hierarchy of His order exemplified by the Early Church, which we can yet all imitate in our lives.

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of Pope St. Marcellus I, offers prayers for the conversion of the "papa" of Alithea Xediplothike channel on Telegram (I pronounced it wrong in the episode). We beg the intercession of St. Remigius of France, whose conversion of Clovis of the Franks was a direct cause to the rise of a unified civilization in the European Middle Ages - showing the power of a single conversion to the Faith. Today's reflection looks at the Visitation as a distant reflection of the promise made to Abraham, of the doubt of Sarah and the faith of Elizabeth, and of the freedom brought to those in the bondage of sin by Christ, Our Saviour already in the womb. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Veronica of Milan and the Octave Day of the Epiphany, we offer prayers for E.P. who is in an ongoing battle with cancer and going to the hospital today for follow-up. We pray the Prayer of the Sick, taken from the middle part of the Rite of Extreme Unction. Today's reflection considers Christ in the Garden, but also all of Christ's preparatory work throughout His earthly life - preparation for His ministry, for His mission, and finally, for His Sacrifice on the Cross, and the way in which His Agony and Prayers offer us a model of constant preparation before our daily battles - and example of humility and an admonition to wakefulness in our Christian life. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Theodosius the Hermit, offers prayers for Asa, who has fallen, or is falling, away from the Faith. We beg the intercession of St. Monica ofThagaste that Asa be strengthened in her relationship with both her family and her faith, and grow in that strength which only Christ can bestow. Today's reflection is on the Resurrection from the Tomb as the Triumph of Christ, that is, as the celebration of the Victory and Conquest He has already achieved over death and the devil on the Cross, and how we are invited to share in this Triumph as an act which unifies us as Christians to both each other and to our God and Saviour. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of Ss. Julian and Basilissa (a husband and wife!) offers prayers for Elizabeth, Chav, and an anonymous servant of God who are all single and seeking a faithful (and Faithful) spouse. We beg the intercession of St. Prisca on their behalf, that they might find an easy courtship ending in a godly marriage, or that their vocation to religious life might be clarified. Today's reflection considers the Annunciation as it relates to the Fall, beginning a series on the Joyful Mysteries and their prefigurements and parallels in the Old Testament, and how they echo humanity the way humanity ought to echo God. 

Today's Daily Decade, the last of 2022, on the Feast of St. Eusebius, offers prayers of healing for Hannah, a young woman with a cancer, and for her family who are struggling with this difficult situation. Today's reflection considers the two great symbols of Christ's suffering and God's love for all of us: the manger and the cross, and how we ought to respond to each with a mixture of mourning and sorrow for our sins but also rejoicing and thanksgiving for our salvation.

Today's Daily Decade, on the Feast of St. Nicasius and his Companions, and Ember Wednesday of Advent, we offer prayers for Gottfried, who asks to do the Will of God in his life placidly. We beg the intercession of St. Thomas the Apostle against doubt, skepticism, second-guessing, and all kinds of disturbance in faith. Today's reflection focuses on the Crowning of Our Lady, not merely the crown for her but what she represents and why God has set her up as a beacon for us, both as a symbol of the Church and an archetype of the Christian. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Finian of Clonard, offers prayers for Raju and Lucia, both of whom are outside the Church but married to faithful and believing spouses. We beg the intercession of St. Monica of Thagaste on behalf of these souls and their wife (Shirley) and husband (Alex). Today's reflection is about seeking Christ, and where He is to be found - not in the world, not even in the good parts of the world, but in the place of perfection which has been set aside specifically for Him to dwell, in His Church and in the Christian who lives the life of Christ.

Today's Daily Decade, on the Feast of St. Leocadia of Toledo, offers an Itinerarium prayer for George, a very long-time listener who is travelling to the Indian Subcontinent for work and will be leaving his family here in America. Go with God, my friend! Today's reflection is on the Way of the Cross, why it is normal and human to have an aversion to suffering, and how we can perfect ourselves by imitating Christ with His perfect resignation, willing to die on the Cross after His Agony in the Garden, or the saints who actively desire suffering for Christ's sake, to "fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ" (Col i, 24).

Today's Daily Decade, on the Feast of St. Ambrose of Milan, offers prayers for an anonymous friend of long-time listener from the Telegram channel Alithea Xediplothike; this young man is apparently considering abandoning the Faith. We beg the intercession of St. Ambrose himself, who converted St. Augustine, that this anonymous servant of God be strengthened. Today's reflection focuses on the Assumption as a special gift given to Mary to exceed the tremendous mercies and gifts God already offers to the rest of us as the wages of our imperfect service to Him, manifesting the patience he showed to the ancient Hebrews and the Jews of Christ's own time. (I also digress for a time into the subject of incorruptibility). 

Today's Daily Decade, on the Feast of St. Sabbas, offers prayers for Anthony, who is struggling with depression and anxiety, afflictions all too common in this modern world. We beg the intercession of St. John of the Cross, who had such intimate knowledge of the darkness we experience on our journey to knowing God more perfectly. Today's reflection is on the two-fold Presentation in the Temple - the return of the Ark of the Covenant in the person of the Blessed Mother and the fulfilment of the purpose of the Temple with the coming of Christ, making manifest the salvation of the whole world and the humble sacrifice of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Viviana of Rome, offers a requiem for Thomas, a music director at a Catholic parish whose sudden passing has left them in quite a spot to find a replacement of equal talent and devotion. Today's reflection is on the Crown of Thorns as it relates to Our Lord's humble birth - how the King of kings chose the filth and the poverty of the world to manifest His humanity, and yet challenged, and continues to challenge us, to see the face of God in His Face, marred by sweat and dust and blood. We are called to know our God when we look upon Him, and to imitate His meekness, One who with a word made the world and with a word can destroy it, but chose to die for us, by our hands, and in our midst.

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Andrew, offers prayers for Faith Agama and Esther Joseph, requested by listener Faustina Gift, for the success and health of pregnancy and the growth of their families in number, health, and faith. We beg the intercession today of St. Gerard Majella and St. Anthony of Padua toward this end. Today's reflection is on the Descent of the Holy Ghost as the means whereby we are given everything we need to attain to salvation - not by our own efforts, strengths, or powers of body or intellect, but by proper self-diagnosis before we approach the Divine Physician to heal us with His Grace. We recall what tremendous mercy this represents for us, but also how much more fearful His Judgement will be now that we have no excuses for the sins we ignore. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. James della Marca, offers prayers for two anonymous servants of God experiencing difficulties in courtship. We beg the intercession of St. Joseph, betrothed of the Blessed Mother, for healing of this courtship or healing of the servant and handmaid of God if the courtship has ended unsuccessfully. Today's reflection considers the Nativity of Our Lord and the way in which it reminds us of our own birth, and therefore of our purpose, and what we must do each day to be pleasing to God and to accept the offer He made to us on the day of His Nativity to come to Him seeking Salvation. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of Pope St. Clement I, offers prayers for Augustine and Anne, who are struggling with marital troubles. We beg the intercession of Ss. Joachim and Anna, whose marriage produced the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today's reflection considers the Ascension into Heaven and what it tells us about Christ as we reflect on the Four Last Things - Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell - and the yearning we should have for Christ to correctly approach those things.

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple, offers prayers for Will and Mariah and their unborn baby. We beg the intercession of St. Gerard, patron of expectant mothers, and St. Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist. Today's reflection focuses on St. Elizabeth and the way in which she encounters God when He comes to her, first with the blessing of her pregnancy in old age, and again with the visitation of the Blessed Mother. For Advent, we reflect on how these encounters fit in the long history of direct encounters with the Almighty, and what St. Elizabeth teaches us about how Christians should encounter God.

Today's Daily Decade, on the Feast of the Dedication of Ss. Peter and Paul, offers prayers for Leo, who is suffering from cancer, for his perfect healing, recovery, and full preparedness for the Four Last Things. Today's reflection is on the Agony in the Garden as well as the Divine Agony of God the Son humiliating Himself by taking on our fleshly nature, and how awareness of our own humiliation as fallen humans is essential to sharing in the glory of the same God who humiliated Himself for our sakes.

Today's Daily Decade, for the Feast of St. Gertrude the Great, offers prayers for an anonymous servant of God who is struggling through a divorce. We beg the intercession of St. Thomas More that the sin of divorce might be averted or, at least, that God's will be fulfilled in minimizing the damage done by this unfortunate human decision. Today's reflection considers the Resurrection, the promises kept by Our Lord to us, and what it means to look forward in joyful hope to His Second Coming at the end of days. 

Today's Daily Decade, on the Feast of St. Josaphat of Polotsk, offers prayers for B.Y., his wife, and their unborn baby due in April 2023. We beg the intercession of St. Gerard Majella for the health and success of the pregnancy. Today's reflection is on the complex meaning of Angel, and the way in which we serve as angels of annunciation of our Messias to the World, especially as we draw near to Advent, echoing the role played by St. John the Baptist. 

Today's Daily Decade, for the Vigil of All Hallows, offers prayers for Kate, for healing after a miscarriage and overcoming anxiety. We beg the intercession of the Holy Innocents on her behalf, that her loss might lift her to Christ. Today's reflection calls us to consider the Blessed Mother as she sought the child Jesus, sorrowing at his loss and yearning to be reunited as all Creation yearned for His arrival - she, the new Eve, the first representative of all Creation to walk with Him to His Throne and to receive from His Hand the Salvation of His Sacrifice, before even the Apostles.