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Tuesday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Wolfgang; 10th Century bishop and reformer, born in Germany; became a Benedictine; appointed bishop of Regensburg in 972; he brought the clergy into his reforms, promoted education, preached enthusiastically, and was renowned for his charity and aid to the poor; died near Linz, Austria Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/31/2...

Monday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, 1532-1617; born in Segovia, Spain; after being widowed, he became a Jesuit lay brother, and served for 24 years as the porter on the island of Majorca; he influenced young students, including St. Peter Claver, as well as local civic and social leaders who came to him for advice; obedience and  penance  were the hal...

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/29/23 Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40

Friday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Abraham the Poor; born in Menuf, Egypt; became a disciple of St. Pachomius, the founder of cenobitic monasticism; spent almost two decades in a cave near Pachomius' foundations in the Delta Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/27/23 Gospel: Luke 12:54-59

Thursday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Alfred the Great, 848-899; fifth son of the Wessex king; received as a godson by Pope Leo IV; became king, and spent most of his reign in conflict with the Danes; he was a patron of the arts, literature, and especially the Church Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/26/23 Gospel: Luke 12:49-53

Wednesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. John Houghton, 1486-1535; native of Essex; became prior of the Carthusian Charterhouse in London; he opposed King Henry VIII's Acts of Succession and Supremacy, and was arrested, but released temporarily; he was the first to refuse to swear the oath of Supremacy, and was arrested and executed at Tyburn, with four companions; he was...

Monday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. John of Capistrano, 1386-1456; born in Capistrano, Italy; after serving as governor of Perugia, he entered the Franciscans; began his preaching apostolate in 1420, and traveled throughout Italy, Germany, Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and  Russia  preaching  penance and establishing numerous communities of Franciscan renewal; at...

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/22/23 Gospel: Matthew 22:15-21

Saturday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Hilarion, 291-371; disciple of St. Anthony, and companion of St. Hesychius; performed so many miracles that crowds flocked to him when it was discovered he was in any region; died on Cyprus Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/21/23 Gospel: Luke 12:8-12

Friday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Paul of the Cross, 1694-1775; born in northern Italy, and became known as one of the most popular preachers of his day, both for his words and for his generous acts of mercy; in 1720, he founded the Congregation of the Passion--the Passionists--and he was elected superior general Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/20/23 Go...

Thursday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Isaac Jogue and Jean de Brébeuf and companions, the North American martyrs; Isaac Jogues and Jean de Brébeuf arrived in Quebed in 1636 to work among the Huron Indians; Jogues was captured by the Iroquois and escaped, but returned; in 1646 he was tomahawked and beheaded by a Mohawk war party; Jean de Brébeuf worked among the Hurons for 2...

Feast of St. Luke; traditionally held to be a native of Antioch; wrote the Third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles; accompanied Paul on some of his journeys; Paul calls him "our beloved physician"; died about 84 A.D. Wednesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/18/23 Gospel: Luke 10:1-9

Tuesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch; born in Syria, converted to Christianity, and became bishop of Antioch; refused to apostasize under persecution of Emperor Trajan, and was sentenced to death in Rome; wrote seven letters during his journey to Rome, the final one to the Christians of Rome asking that they not try to prevent his martyrdom; died in Circus...

Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, 1647-1690; joined the Visitation nuns at age 24; in 1674, she received the first revelation from Christ; Christ appeared to her at intervals for the next 13, months, asking that his love for humankind be made evident through her; His human heart was to be the symbol of his divine-human love; Margaret Mary die...

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/15/23 Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14

Saturday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. Callistus I; born in the Second Century; under Pope Zephyrinus, he administered church property and arranged for burial of martyrs in what is still called "St. Callistus Cemetery"; he became the 16th pope in 217; he regulated the sacrament of penance and battled heresies; he was thrown into prison and tortured, eventually bei...

Friday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Theophilus of Antioch; Second Century Eastern Roman Empire philosopher who studied the scriptures intending to refute Christianity, but ended up converting; he became bishop of Antioch, in modern-day Turkey, and was a gifted apologist; died 181 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/13/23 Gospel: Luke 11:15-26

Thursday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Edwin of Northumbria, 586-633; pagan king of Northumbria, who converted on the urging of his wife, St. Ethelburga, her chaplain, St. Paulinus of York, and Pope Boniface V; reigned for six years as a devout Catholic monarch; slain in battle, and revered as a martyr Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/12/23 Gospel: Luke 11:5-1...

Wednesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII, 1881-1963; first born son of an Italian farming family; ordained in 1904; served as a stretcher-bearer in World War I; became a papal diplomat in 1925; named a cardinal and appointed patriarch of Venice in 1953; elected pope just a month shy of the age of 78; called the Second Vatican Council; most famous encycli...

Tuesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Francis Borgia, 1510-1572; Spanish nobleman; upon being widowed, he gave up his dukedom and became a Jesuit priest; performed menial tasks for his community, but never complained; he preached everywhere, and advised many important people; as superior general, he was responsible for a great expansion of the Society of Jesus Office of R...

Monday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Denis and companions, martyrs; sent to Gaul from Rome, and was beheaded in the persecution of Emperor Valerius in 258; Denis is regarded as the first bishop of Paris; one legend has him carrying his own head--after his martyrdom--to a village northeast of Paris; he is the patron saint of France Office of Readings and Morning Prayer...

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/8/23 Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43

Saturday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary - originally, "Our Lady of Victory," celebrating the Christian defeat of the Turks at Lepanto in 1571 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/7/23 Gospel: Luke 10:17-24

Friday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Blessed Marie Rose Durocher, 1811-1849; born in St. Antoine, Quebec, Canada; established the first Canadian  parish   Sodality for young women; founded the Sisters of the Holy Names of  Jesus and Mary, dedicated to Christian education; the community flourished, in spite of great obstacles; Marie Rose remained unswerving in her concern f...

Thursday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, 1819-1867; born in Germany, joined the Redemptorists, and came to America; served in Pittsburgh with St. John Neumann, then returned to Baltimore, later being transferred to Cumberland and then Annapolis; he was an expert confessor, a watchful and prudent spiritual director and a  pastor always joyfully...