Jul. 30 Saturday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time; Optional Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church; Bl. Solanus Casey, Priest (USA), Opt. Mem.

Gospel Verse, Matt 5:10: Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.St. Peter Chrysologus (“the man of golden speech”) earned the title of Doctor of the Church for his eloquent sermons, of which some two hundred remain. He was consecrated as Archbishop of Ravenna in 433. He rooted out all remaining traces of paganism, as well as a number of abuses among the Christians. In his sermons he strongly urged frequent Communion. He is supposed to have given us the saying: “He who wants to laugh with the devil cannot rejoice with Christ.” St. Peter died about the year 450 in his native city of Imola.