July 11 - Saint Benedict (Italy 480-547)
His name means "blessed".  When Benedict was about 17 years old, he decided to become a monk and a hermit.  He lived isolated in a cave for three years.  Gradually, other men recognized his holiness and wanted to live the way he did.  They built Monte Cassino, the best known Benedictine abbey.  It was there that he wrote his famous "Rule" to help monks live a common life of prayer and service based on scripture.  His twin sister St. Scholastica founded the Benedictine Sisters. 
O God, like the humble, obedient, and hard working St. Benedict, help us to never prefer anything to Your love and Your way.  Amen
July 15 - Saint Bonaventure (Italy 1221-1274)
He was baptized John but was given the name Bonaventure (good fortune) by St. Francis of Assisi after St. Francis healed him of a serious illness.  St. Bonaventure entered the Franciscan Order when he was twenty and had such an influence on the order that he is known as its second founder.  He was a close friend of St. Thomas Aquinas.  They both studied theology at the University of Paris.  He is well know for the many books he wrote on theology and divine love as well as on the life of St. Francis.
Almighty God, as we celebrate the heavenly birthday of St. Bonaventure, let us benefit by his wonderful teaching and always be inspired by his burning charity.  Amen
July 26 - Saint Joachim and Saint Anne
Nothing is known with certainty about the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, not even their names.  According to the traditional story familiar from legends, Joachim and Anne lived in Nazareth. They had no children, which was believed to be a punishment of God and so they spent much time praying for a child.  Their prayers were finally heard.  An angel promised them both that they would have a daughter. 

They called her Miriam, which means "Mary".  They offered her to God's service in the temple at a very early age.  The heroism and holiness of these people is inferred from the whole family atmosphere around Mary in the Scriptures.  We see her as fulfillment of many generations of prayerful persons, herself steeped in the religious traditions of her people.  There is much devotion to them as the parents of the Mother of God, and the grandparents of Jesus.
O God, grant that we who venerate St. Joachim and St. Anne be helped much by their intercessions.  Amen
July 31 - St. Ignatius of Loyola (Spain 1491-1556)
Ignatius was the youngest son in a noble family of eleven children.  As a young man, he spent several years as a soldier of Spain until he was badly wounded.  Both legs were broken and one of them had to be set three times - in a day when there was no anesthesia.  During his long recuperation, he began to read about the life of Jesus and a book about the saints.  This was the beginning of his conversion.  For a year he lived a rugged, disciplined life.  He wrote his famous "Spiritual Exercises", a guide for those who want to live a truly Christian life.  In his mid thirties he returned to school with students half his age to fill in his neglected education.  After ten hard years, he was ready for the University of Paris.  He met six young men who joined him in forming a new religious community - the Jesuits. They were all ordained and vowed to live in poverty and chastity and to the apostolic service of the Pope. The main work of the Jesuits is teaching and they became great missionaries scattered across the world.  O God, You raised up St. Ignatius in Your Church to inspire us to work for Your greater glory.  Grant that we may labour on earth with his help, and by his example and merit, be crowned with him in heaven.  Amen