Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
It's a Feria, 4th Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: "Sin of the Ears", today's news from the Church: "Belgium: A Bishop in Favor of Married Priests", a preview of the Sermon: "Why Was Mary Assumed Into Heaven", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org
Sources Used Today:
• "Sin of the Ears" — From Trinity Sunday to the Assumption
• angeluspress.org/products/from-trinity-sunday-to-the-assumption
• "Belgium: A Bishop in Favor of Married Priests" (FSSPX.news)
• https://fsspx.news/en/news/belgium-bishop-favor-married-priests-60453
• "Why Was Mary Assumed Into Heaven" (SSPX Sermons)
• SSPX YouTube: Sermons Playlist (youtube.com/playlist?list=PLonegYXBrLbQh2Cjr0SU5x7WGNyMO25cw)
• Listen & Subscribe: SSPX Sermons Podcast (sspxpodcast.com/sermons)
• The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
• angeluspress.org/products/spiritual-life-archbishop
Please support our new project, the Archbishop Lefebvre Biography Audiobook:
• Learn more:youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Wp4MQdK2o
• Donate:https://sspx.gifts/audiobook
Saint John Berchmans is a refreshing kind of saint because, honestly, almost nothing dramatic happened to him.
He didn't found a religious order.
He wasn't martyred.
He didn't travel to distant countries as a missionary.
He never even became a priest.
John simply became extraordinarily good at doing ordinary things well.
He was born in 1599 in the Belgian town of Diest, the son of a shoemaker. His family wasn't wealthy, and as a teenager John sometimes had to work simply to continue his education. Eventually he encountered the newly founded Society of Jesus and became fascinated by the Jesuit way of life.
His father wasn't thrilled.
The family needed him, and joining a religious order meant giving up whatever career might have helped support them. John entered anyway, convinced that God was calling him.
What happened next is almost wonderfully uneventful.
John studied.
He prayed.
He served Mass.
He helped around the house.
He followed the community schedule.
And he tried to do every one of those things as well as he possibly could.
That became his spirituality. John believed you didn't need to go searching for enormous sacrifices if God had already placed a hundred small opportunities for holiness in front of you every day. He became known for saying, in essence, that his greatest penance was simply ordinary community life faithfully observed.
Eventually his superiors sent him to Rome to study philosophy at the Roman College. John was an excellent student, but people remembered him even more for his cheerfulness. He wasn't gloomy or overly serious. He loved jokes, enjoyed friendships, and somehow managed to combine intense devotion with being genuinely pleasant to live with.
Then his life ended almost without warning.
After participating brilliantly in a public academic debate, John became sick with what was probably dysentery. Within days, it became clear that he was dying.
He was only twenty-two.
As death approached, John reportedly held three things close to him: his crucifix, his rosary, and the book of Jesuit rules he had tried so faithfully to live.
That little detail really sums him up.
There was no dramatic final sermon. No great unfinished mission. Just a young man who had tried to love God in whatever happened to be in front of him.
His tomb can still be visited in Rome at the Church of Saint Ignatius, while his heart was returned to his native Belgium and is preserved in Leuven.
For students especially, John Berchmans became a wonderfully approachable patron. His life suggests that sanctity doesn't always require doing something extraordinary.
Sometimes it means doing your homework, showing up on time, being cheerful, saying your prayers, and doing today's duty well.
Saint John Berchmans, joyful patron of students and saint of ordinary things, pray for us.
Please Support this Apostolate with 1-time or Monthly Donation ＞＞ (https://sspx.gifts/collections/frontpage/products/sspx-podcast)
- - - - - -
Explore more:
• Subscribe to the email version of this Devotional (us13.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=c98bae64255bbd7d863e838ec&id=7e99fe6b53) - it's a perfect companion!
• Subscribe to this Podcast (https://sspx-podcast.captivate.fm/listen) to receive this and all our audio episodes
• Subscribe to the SSPX YouTube channel (youtube.com/c/SSPXNewsEnglish?sub_confirmation=1) for video versions of our podcast series and Sermons
• FSSPX News Website:https://fsspx.news (https://fsspx.news/en)
• Visit the US District websit...
It's a Feria, 4th Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: "Sin of the Ears", today's news from the Church: "Belgium: A Bishop in Favor of Married Priests", a preview of the Sermon: "Why Was Mary Assumed Into Heaven", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org
Sources Used Today:
• "Sin of the Ears" — From Trinity Sunday to the Assumption
• angeluspress.org/products/from-trinity-sunday-to-the-assumption
• "Belgium: A Bishop in Favor of Married Priests" (FSSPX.news)
• https://fsspx.news/en/news/belgium-bishop-favor-married-priests-60453
• "Why Was Mary Assumed Into Heaven" (SSPX Sermons)
• SSPX YouTube: Sermons Playlist (youtube.com/playlist?list=PLonegYXBrLbQh2Cjr0SU5x7WGNyMO25cw)
• Listen & Subscribe: SSPX Sermons Podcast (sspxpodcast.com/sermons)
• The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
• angeluspress.org/products/spiritual-life-archbishop
Please support our new project, the Archbishop Lefebvre Biography Audiobook:
• Learn more:youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Wp4MQdK2o
• Donate:https://sspx.gifts/audiobook
Saint John Berchmans is a refreshing kind of saint because, honestly, almost nothing dramatic happened to him.
He didn't found a religious order.
He wasn't martyred.
He didn't travel to distant countries as a missionary.
He never even became a priest.
John simply became extraordinarily good at doing ordinary things well.
He was born in 1599 in the Belgian town of Diest, the son of a shoemaker. His family wasn't wealthy, and as a teenager John sometimes had to work simply to continue his education. Eventually he encountered the newly founded Society of Jesus and became fascinated by the Jesuit way of life.
His father wasn't thrilled.
The family needed him, and joining a religious order meant giving up whatever career might have helped support them. John entered anyway, convinced that God was calling him.
What happened next is almost wonderfully uneventful.
John studied.
He prayed.
He served Mass.
He helped around the house.
He followed the community schedule.
And he tried to do every one of those things as well as he possibly could.
That became his spirituality. John believed you didn't need to go searching for enormous sacrifices if God had already placed a hundred small opportunities for holiness in front of you every day. He became known for saying, in essence, that his greatest penance was simply ordinary community life faithfully observed.
Eventually his superiors sent him to Rome to study philosophy at the Roman College. John was an excellent student, but people remembered him even more for his cheerfulness. He wasn't gloomy or overly serious. He loved jokes, enjoyed friendships, and somehow managed to combine intense devotion with being genuinely pleasant to live with.
Then his life ended almost without warning.
After participating brilliantly in a public academic debate, John became sick with what was probably dysentery. Within days, it became clear that he was dying.
He was only twenty-two.
As death approached, John reportedly held three things close to him: his crucifix, his rosary, and the book of Jesuit rules he had tried so faithfully to live.
That little detail really sums him up.
There was no dramatic final sermon. No great unfinished mission. Just a young man who had tried to love God in whatever happened to be in front of him.
His tomb can still be visited in Rome at the Church of Saint Ignatius, while his heart was returned to his native Belgium and is preserved in Leuven.
For students especially, John Berchmans became a wonderfully approachable patron. His life suggests that sanctity doesn't always require doing something extraordinary.
Sometimes it means doing your homework, showing up on time, being cheerful, saying your prayers, and doing today's duty well.
Saint John Berchmans, joyful patron of students and saint of ordinary things, pray for us.
Please Support this Apostolate with 1-time or Monthly Donation ＞＞ (https://sspx.gifts/collections/frontpage/products/sspx-podcast)
- - - - - -
Explore more:
• Subscribe to the email version of this Devotional (us13.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=c98bae64255bbd7d863e838ec&id=7e99fe6b53) - it's a perfect companion!
• Subscribe to this Podcast (https://sspx-podcast.captivate.fm/listen) to receive this and all our audio episodes
• Subscribe to the SSPX YouTube channel (youtube.com/c/SSPXNewsEnglish?sub_confirmation=1) for video versions of our podcast series and Sermons
• FSSPX News Website:https://fsspx.news (https://fsspx.news/en)
• Visit the US District websit...
