"Realize it, my brethren; —every one who breathes, high and low, educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman, has a mission, has a work. We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not born at random; . . . God sees every one of us; He creates every soul, He lodges it in the body, one by one, for a purpose. He needs, He deigns to need, every one of us. He has an end for each of us; we are all equal in His sight, and we are placed in our different ranks and stations, not to get what we can out of them for ourselves, but to labor in them for Him. As Christ has His work, we too have ours; as He rejoiced to do His work, we must rejoice in ours also." St. John Henry Newman

Today's Meditation

“O my God, you and you alone are all wise and all knowing! You know, you have determined everything that will happen to us from first to last. You have ordered things in the wisest way, and you know what will be my lot year by year until I die. You know how long I have to live. You know how I shall die. You have precisely ordained everything, sin excepted. Every event of my life is the best for me that it could be, for it comes from you. You bring me on year by year, by your wonderful Providence, from youth to age, with the most perfect wisdom, and with the most perfect love.”
—St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, p. 103

Cover image from the book, Everyday Meditations
An Excerpt From Everyday Meditations

Daily Mass Readings

Mass Readings Homily ≻ Watch Fr. Kirby

Daily Verse

"Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy." Hebrews 10:23

Saint John Henry Newman

Saint of the Day

Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801–1890) was the eldest of six children born to a nominal Protestant family in London, England. As a child he loved reading the Scriptures and experienced a conversion to Christianity at the age of fifteen. He became a brilliant academic, an extremely influential Oxford scholar, and an Anglican priest. He was a leader in what was called the "Oxford Movement," which argued for a revival of traditional religious practice in the Church of England. Once anti-Catholic in his religious sentiments, sentiments that were common in England, Newman was increasingly impacted by the Church Fathers and other Catholic writers. His theological views gradually aligned with the Catholic Church in opposition to Anglican doctrine. Through his continued study of Church history he became unable to remain a Protestant in good faith. He made the decision to convert to Catholicism in 1845, which exposed him to much ridicule in his academic and religious circles. Two years later he was ordained a Catholic priest in Rome. He was made Cardinal in 1879. John Henry Newman is remembered for his influential writings on theology and philosophy as well as his founding of the famous London Oratory. Newman wrote forty books and 21,000 letters, some of which had profound influence on the Second Vatican Council, making him one of the most important theologians of his day. His most famous work is his Apologia in which he defends his conversion to the truths of the Catholic Church. His feast day is October 9th.

Find a Devotional for this Saint

Listen to The Saint of the Day Podcast

Month of the the Holy Rosary

Month of the Holy Rosary

Devotion of the Month

The Catholic Church designates October as the Month of the Holy Rosary. During this month the faithful venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary especially under her title of Our Lady of the Rosary, and make special effort to honor the Holy Rosary with group recitations and rosary processions. St. Dominic de Guzman, the f