Daybreak for May 20, 2025

  • Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
  • Optional Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, 1380-1444; ran the hospital in Siena at the age of 20, during the plague; at 22, he became a Franciscan, and was ordained two years later; lived in solitude and prayer for a dozen years, but his gifts called him to go out and preach; he was known for his devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, and devised a symbol—IHS, the first three letters of the name of Jesus in Greek—in Gothic letters on a blazing sun; the devotion spread; as general of the Friars of the Strict Observance, he emphasized scholarship and further study of theology and canon law; he died while traveling
  • Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 5/20/25
  • Gospel: John 14:27-31