St. Martin, Bishop of Tours, is celebrated within the Time after Pentecost, the long liturgical season that follows Pentecost and focuses on the growth of the Church in charity and witness. The feast’s canonical rank is “Double,” which in traditional liturgical practice means it has a definite importance: the community honors the saint with proper prayers, antiphons, and a fuller liturgy than minor commemorations, though it is not one of the highest solemnities. There is no octave or vigil indicated here, so the observance is celebrated on the day itself without an extended eight-day period or a required evening preparation.
Introit (Daily Prayer)
Sir 45:30 The Lord made a covenant of friendship with him, and made him a prince; that he should possess the dignity of priesthood forever. (Alléluia, alléluia.) Ps. 131:1 Remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness. Glory Be to the Father…
Commemoration St. Menna Grant, we beseech thee, O our God, that we who in time render joyful service in memory of thy saints, may be gladdened by their company in eternity. Through our Lord…
Weekly Prayer
Weekly prayer content will appear here once it is scheduled.
Weekly Formation
Sloth and Diligence
The Way of Darkness
Sloth
Sloth is sorrow, weariness, or neglect in the face of the spiritual good and the duties required by one’s vocation. It is more than physical tiredness: it resists the effort of loving God well and often escapes into idleness, distraction, or unfinished obligations.
The Way of Light
Diligence
Diligence is steady care in carrying out the good required by one’s duties and state in life. It opposes sloth by persevering through difficulty, weariness, or lack of attraction instead of neglecting what love of God and neighbor requires.
Saint & Feast
Principal celebration
Martin of Tours
St. Martin, Bishop of Tours, Confessor
Christian saint
Born
0316-00-00 · Szombathely
Died
0397-11-08 · Candes-Saint-Martin
Martin of Tours was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third Republic. A native of Pannonia, he converted to Christianity at a young age. He served in the Roman cavalry in Gaul, but left military service prior to 361, when he became a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers, establishing the monastery at Ligugé. He was consecrated as Bishop of Caesarodunum (Tours) in 371. As bishop, he was active in the suppression of the remnants of Gallo-Roman religion.
Saint Martin of Tours, a former Roman soldier turned bishop, died on November 11, 397. Known for his humility and charity, he was one of the first non-martyrs to be venerated as a saint.
Saint Martin's life reminds us of the power of conversion and the call to serve others selflessly.
Fourth Lateran Council Convenes
1215Council
The Fourth Lateran Council, one of the most important ecumenical councils, opened on November 11, 1215. It addressed Church reform, defined transubstantiation, and established measures against heresy.
The council's decrees remind us of the Church's commitment to doctrinal clarity and reform.
Catechism
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Catechism emphasizes the delicate balance between truth and charity in communication, inviting us to reflect on whether sharing information serves love, protects others, and promotes the common good. It teaches that the right to communicate truth is not unconditional: discretion and silence can be necessary to protect privacy, prevent scandal, and avoid harm. The sacramental seal of confession is sacred and inviolable. In a society shaped by mass media, we are called to practice moderation and discipline, forming enlightened consciences so that our use of information promotes justice, solidarity, and respect rather than passivity, defamation, or harmful influences. Individuals, journalists, and civil authorities each have responsibilities to serve truth, protect privacy and reputation, and resist the manipulation of public opinion.
¶ 2492
Everyone should observe an appropriate reserve concerning persons' private lives. Those in charge of communications should maintain a fair balance between the requirements of the common good and respect for individual rights. Interference by the media in the private lives of persons engaged in political or public activity is to be condemned to the extent that it infringes upon their privacy and freedom.
¶ 2493
Within modern society the communications media play a major role in information, cultural promotion, and formation. This role is increasing, as a result of technological progress, the extent and diversity of the news transmitted, and the influence exercised on public opinion.
Egyptian saint, martyr and wonder-worker, said to have lived 285-ca. 309
Born
0285-01-01 · Memphis
Died
0309-01-01 · Phrygia
Menas of Egypt, a martyr and wonder-worker, is one of the most well-known Coptic saints in the East and the West, due to the many miracles that are attributed to his intercession and prayers. Menas was a Coptic soldier in the Roman army martyred because he refused to recant his Christian faith. The common date of his commemoration is November 11, which occurs 13 days later on the Julian calendar.
The information provided by the media is at the service of the common good. Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, justice, and solidarity:
¶ 2495
"It is necessary that all members of society meet the demands of justice and charity in this domain. They should help, through the means of social communication, in the formation and diffusion of sound public opinion." Solidarity is a consequence of genuine and right communication and the free circulation of ideas that further knowledge and respect for others.
¶ 2496
The means of social communication (especially the mass media) can give rise to a certain passivity among users, making them less than vigilant consumers of what is said or shown. Users should practice moderation and discipline in their approach to the mass media. They will want to form enlightened and correct consciences the more easily to resist unwholesome influences.
¶ 2497
By the very nature of their profession, journalists have an obligation to serve the truth and not offend against charity in disseminating information. They should strive to respect, with equal care, the nature of the facts and the limits of critical judgment concerning individuals. They should not stoop to defamation.
¶ 2498
"Civil authorities have particular responsibilities in this field because of the common good.... It is for the civil authority ... to defend and safeguard a true and just freedom of information." By promulgating laws and overseeing their application, public authorities should ensure that "public morality and social progress are not gravely endangered" through misuse of the media. Civil authorities should punish any violation of the rights of individuals to their reputation and privacy. They should give timely and reliable reports concerning the general good or respond to the well-founded concerns of the people. Nothing can justify recourse to disinformation for manipulating public opinion through the media. Interventions by public authority should avoid injuring the freedom of individuals or groups.
¶ 2499
Moral judgment must condemn the plague of totalitarian states which systematically falsify the truth, exercise political control of opinion through the media, manipulate defendants and witnesses at public trials, and imagine that they secure their tyranny by strangling and repressing everything they consider "thought crimes."
Baltimore track
Baltimore Catechism No. 3
Lesson 31 — The First Commandment--On the Honor and Invocation of the Saints
Q. 1205.How many kinds or classes of relics are there?
A.There are three kinds or classes of relics: (1) The body or part of the body of a saint; (2) articles, such as clothing or books, used by the saint; (3) articles that have touched a relic of the body or other relic.
Q. 1206.What is there special about a relic of the true cross on which Our Lord Died, and also about the instruments of His Passion?
A.The relics of the true Cross and relics of the thorns, nails, &c., used in the Passion are entitled to a very special veneration, and they have certain privileges with regard to their use and the manner of keeping them that other relics have not. A relic of the true Cross is never kept or carried with other relics.
Q. 1207.What veneration does the Church permit us to give to relics?
A.The Church permits us to give relics a veneration similar to that we give images. We do not venerate the relics for their own sake, but for the sake of the persons they represent. The souls of canonized saints are certainly in heaven, and we are certain that their bodies also will be there. Therefore, we may honor their bodies because they are to be glorified in heaven and were sanctified upon earth.
Q. 1208.What care does the Church take in the examination and distribution of relics?
A.The Church takes the greatest care in the examination and distribution of relics. (1) The canonization or beatification of the person whose relic we receive must be certain; (2) the relics are sent in sealed packets, that must be opened only by the bishop of the diocese to which the relics are sent, and each relic or packet must be accompanied by a document or written paper proving its genuineness; (3) the relics cannot be exposed for public veneration until the bishop examines them and pronounces them authentic; that is, that they are what they are claimed to be.