Catholic Saints & Feasts of the Liturgical Year

Read entire reflection online >>>

July 26: Saints Joachim and Anne—Memorial

Late First Century BC–AD Early First Century
Saint Anne—Patron Saint of grandparents, grandmothers, mothers, roommakers, cabinetmakers, carpenters, dressmakers, equestrians, expectant mothers, homemakers, housewives, lace workers, seamstresses, miners, old-clothes dealers, Canada, and France
Invoked against sterility and poverty and to find lost articles
Saint Joachim—Patron Saint of grandparents, grandfathers, fathers, married couples, cabinetmakers, and linen traders
Pre-Congregation canonization
Liturgical Color: White

Quote:
Today the Church celebrates the parents of the Virgin Mary, the grandparents of Jesus, Saints Joachim and Anne. In their home, Mary came into the world, accompanied by the extraordinary mystery of the Immaculate Conception. Mary grew up in the home of Joachim and Anne; she was surrounded by their love and faith: in their home she learned to listen to the Lord and to follow his will. Saints Joachim and Anne were part of a long chain of people who had transmitted their faith and love for God, expressed in the warmth and love of family life, down to Mary, who received the Son of God in her womb and who gave him to the world, to us. How precious is the family as the privileged place for transmitting the faith! ~Pope Francis, Angelus, July 26, 2013

Prayer:
Saints Joachim and Anne, you were given the incredible privilege and responsibility to give birth to and raise the Immaculate Conception, the Mother of God. Her presence in your lives touched you both deeply and left you in awe of God’s grace. Please pray for me, that I may come to love your daughter and your Grandson with the same love you bore for each of them, so that I will enjoy their company in Heaven one day, just as you do today. Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

Source: Free RSS feed from mycatholic.life — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

Image: Gaspar de Crayer, CC BY-SA 2.0 FR, via Wikimedia Commons

Read entire reflection online >>>

July 25: Saint James, Apostle—Feast

First Century–c. 44
Patron Saint of blacksmiths, druggists, equestrians, hatmakers, laborers, pilgrims, knights, soldiers, tanners, veterinarians, and several countries and cities, including Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Invoked against arthritis and rheumatism
Pre-Congregation canonization
Liturgical Color: Red

Quote:
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.” When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. ~Mark 10:35–41

Prayer:
Saint James, Jesus called you a Son of Thunder because of your zeal and temper. Though excessive at times, God used those natural qualities and infused them with temperance and courage so that you could give supreme witness to your Lord by your life. Please pray for me, that I will also have the courage and zeal that you had, laying down my life in witness to the glory of Jesus my Lord. Saint James, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

Source: Free RSS feed from mycatholic.life — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

Image: Guido Reni, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Read entire reflection online >>>

July 24: Saint Sharbel (Charbel) Makhlūf, Priest, Hermit—Optional Memorial

1828–1898
Patron Saint of Lebanon
Canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 9, 1977
Liturgical Color: White

Quote:
Yes, the kind of holiness practiced by Charbel Makhlouf is of great weight, not only for the glory of God, but for the vitality of the Church…Pastors are needed, who gather the people of God…We need theologians…evangelizers and missionaries…catechists…people who are directly dedicated to helping their brothers…But we also need people who offer themselves as victims for the salvation of the world, in a freely accepted penance, in an unceasing prayer of intercession…in a passionate search for the Absolute, testifying that God is worth worshiping and loving for himself. The lifestyle of these religious, of these monks, of these hermits is not offered to everyone as an imitable charisma; but in their pure state, in a radical way, they embody a spirit from which no faithful of Christ is exempt, they exercise a function which the Church cannot do without, they remind us of a salutary way for all. ~Pope Paul VI, Homily for the canonization of Saint Sharbel

Prayer:
Saint Sharbel, you were called into the solitary life of a monk and then a hermit, and you responded. You kept your eyes upon Christ, and He transformed your humble soul into a glorious beacon of light for the world to see. Please pray for me, that I will receive the grace I need to be faithful to the vocation God has given me and that I will respond with the same generosity and commitment that you manifested in your earthly life. Saint Sharbel, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

Source: Free RSS feed from mycatholic.life — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

Main image, public domain via Wikipedia Commons

Read entire reflection online >>>

July 23: Saint Bridget of Sweden, Religious—Optional Memorial

1303–1373
Patron Saint of Europe, Sweden, and widows
Canonized by Pope Boniface IX on October 7, 1391
Liturgical Color: White

Quote:
Then He was taken down from the Cross and I received His body onto my lap. He looked like a leper, and was completely covered with bruises and blood. His eyes were lifeless and filled with blood, His mouth as cold as ice, His beard like string, His face paralyzed, and His hands were so stiffened that they could not be bent over His chest, but only over His stomach, near the navel. I had Him on my knee just as He had been on the Cross: stiffened in all His limbs…Then they laid Him in the grave. I would willingly have been placed alive in the grave with my Son if it had been His will! When these things were done, good John came and brought me home. Behold, my daughter, what my Son has endured for you, and love Him with all your heart!  ~From an apparition of the Blessed Mother to Saint Bridget

Prayer:
Saint Bridget, you were blessed as a child with a saintly father and aunt who introduced you to Christ. Throughout your life, you encountered our Lord in mystical ways and responded to His constant communications. Please pray for me, that I will deepen my devotion to our Lord and discover more about His holy Passion, so that I will more fully receive the countless graces He won for us and become an instrument by which He can bestow them on others. Saint Bridget of Sweden, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

Source: Free RSS feed from mycatholic.life — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

Image: The Morgan Library & Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Read entire reflection online >>>

July 22: Saint Mary Magdalene—Feast

First Century
Patron Saint of pharmacists, contemplatives, converts, glovemakers, hairdressers, penitent sinners, people ridiculed for their piety, perfumers, reformed prostitutes, tanners, women
Invoked against sexual temptations
Pre-Congregation canonization
Liturgical Color: White

Quote:
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her. ~John 20:11–18

Prayer:
Saint Mary Magdalene, you lived a sinful life, but when you encountered Jesus, you repented and followed Him. You were faithful to Him throughout His ministry and were a witness to His death and Resurrection. Please pray for me, that I may always have the courage to repent of my sins and stand with you at the foot of the Cross so that I may also be a witness to the transforming effects of the Resurrection. Saint Mary Magdalene, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

Source: Free RSS feed from mycatholic.life — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

Images, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons: Main