Saturday, July 25, 2026

Saint James, Apostle

feast Ordinary Time

Selected Mass Reading

First Reading — 2 Corinthians 4:7-15

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency may be of the power of God and not of us. In all things we suffer tribulation: but are not distressed. We are straitened: but are not destitute. We suffer persecution: but are not forsaken. We are cast down: but we perish not. Always bearing about in our body the mortification of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies. For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake: that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us: but life in you. But having the same spirit of faith, as it is written: I believed, for which cause I have spoken; we also believe. For which cause we speak also: Knowing that he who raised up Jesus will raise us up also with Jesus and place us with you. For all things are for your sakes: that the grace, abounding through many, may abound in thanksgiving unto the glory of God.

Feast Days

Saint Anne Mother of the Virgin Mary -54–12

Saint Anne, born in the Holy Land according to ancient Christian tradition, is lovingly honored as the wife of Saint Joachim, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the maternal grandmother of Jesus Christ. Though her name does not appear in the canonical Gospels, early Christian writings preserved the memory of a faithful woman who endured the sorrow of childlessness with steadfast prayer and hope in God. In time, the Lord answered her longing, and Anne conceived Mary, the one chosen to bear the Savior—an event that helped kindle deep devotion to God’s saving plan unfolding through ordinary family life. From the early centuries, Christians in East and West venerated Anne as an “Ancestor of God,” and churches and shrines rose in her honor, especially in places of pilgrimage such as Brittany and Québec. The faithful continue to turn to her as patroness of mothers, grandmothers, pregnant women, those struggling with infertility, and also miners and lace makers, seeking her gentle intercession. Her feast day is celebrated on July 25.