Daybreak

Monday of the Third Week of Lent Commemoration of St. Frances of Rome, 1384-1440; at the age of 12, she was arranged to marry Lorenzo Ponziani; the marriage lasted forty years and bore three children; Frances’ two daughters were killed, her husband seriously wounded, and her son nearly escaped ransom; these events led her into deep prayer and a life of service; caring for the sick and poor of the city, Frances turned part of her family estate into a hospital, and she eventually founded the Olivetan Oblates of Mary, a group of pious women not cloistered or vowed but serving the needs of their community through prayer and acts of charity; after her husband’s death, Frances moved into the monastery and became its president Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 3/9/26 Gospel: Luke 4:24-30