Daybreak

Wednesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Radbod of Utrecht, 850-917; became bishop of Utrecht, Holland, in 900; known for his aid to the poor, and for his poetry; died in France, where he was forced to move, due to an invasion by the Danes Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/29/23 Gospel: Luke 21:12-19

Tuesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Catherine Labouré, 1806-1867; became a member of the Daughters of Charity, and received two visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary; in the second one, she showed Catherine an image, and asked that it be struck on a medal; after her confessor took the story to the archbishop, he had 2,000 Miraculous Medals struck; Catherine spent the next...

Monday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. James Intercisus; a Christian, and a favorite of King Yezdigerd I of Persia; Yezdigerd launched a persecution of Christians, and James apostasized; he later repented, and was executed in 420 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/27/23 Gospel: Luke 21:1-4

Solemnity of Christ the King - The Final Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/26/23 Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46

Saturday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria; legend has it that she converted after receiving a vision, and then debated 50 pagan philosophers, who all converted; Catherine was sentenced to death on a spiked wheel; when she touched the wheel, it shattered; she was beheaded in about 310 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/25/23 Gospel: L...

Friday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and companions, the Vietnamese martyrs; Andrew Dung-Lac, a Catholic convert ordained to the priesthood, was one of 117 people martyred in Vietnam between 1820 and 1862. Members of the companions group gave their lives for Christ in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/24/23 Gospel: L...

Thursday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time - Thanksgiving Day in the United States Optional Memorial of Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro, 1891-1927; after becoming a Jesuit, he fled Mexico because of religious persecution; ordained in Belgium in 1925, and returned to Mexico, to serve a church operating "underground"; he celebrated the Eucharist clandestinely, and administered the sacraments to small gro...

Wednesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr; legend has it that Cecilia was a young Third Century Christian of high rank betrothed to a Roman named Valerian; Valerian converted, and was martyred, along with his brother; the legend of Cecilia's death is that she was struck three times on the neck with a sword, and lived for three days, asking the pope to c...

Tuesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/21/23 Gospel: Luke 19:1-10

Monday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Edmund the Martyr, 841-869; became king of the East Angles in 855 at the age of 14; began ruling Suffolk, England, the following year; captured by the Danes, tortured, and beheaded; he died calling upon Jesus Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/20/23 Gospel: Luke 18:35-43

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning  Prayer for 11/19/23 Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30

Saturday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, 1769-1852; born in Grenoble, France; joined the Society of the Sacred Heart, and was sent to the United States at the age of 49; founded a boarding school for daughters of pioneers near St. Louis and opened the first free school west of the Missouri; at the age of 71, she began a school for Native Americans; known...

Friday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, 1207-1231; married to Louis of Thuringia at the age of 14, and bore him three children; she led a life of prayer, sacrifice, and service to the poor and sick; her husband died in the Crusades, and his family had Elizabeth thrown out of the palace; she was reinstated when her husband's allies returned from the Crusades;...

Thursday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland, 1045-1093; shipwrecked with her family off the coast of Scotland, and befriended by King Malcolm, who married Margaret; Margaret helped Malcolm to become a virtuous king; she promoted the arts and education, encouraged synods, and helped to correct religious abuses; she and Malcolm founded several churches; s...

Wednesday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Albert the Great, 1206-1280; master of Thomas Aquinas; wrote a compendium of all knowledge--natural science, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy, ethics, economics, politics, and metaphysics; defended the mendicant orders and preached the Crusade in Germany and Bohemia; patron of scientists and philosophers Office of Readings...

Tuesday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Lawrence O'Toole, 1128-1180; named archbishop of Dublin in 1161; negotiated with the English following their invasion of Ireland; convened a synod at Cashel in 1172; attended the general Lateran Council in Rome in 1179; died in Normandy, France, while on a mission to King Henry II of England Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 1...

Monday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, 1850-1917; after being refused admission to the order which had educated, her, she began charity work at the House of Providence Orphanage in Cadogno, Italy; made her vows there in 1877; traveled with six sisters to New York City to work with the thousands of Italian immigrants living there; in 35 years, Frances Xavie...

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/12/23 Gospel: Matthew 25:1-13

Friday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Leo the Great; elected pope in 440; known as one of the best administrative popes of the ancient Church; he worked to control heresies, clarified the doctrine of the two natures of Christ, and served as peacemaker when Rome was under barbarian attack; died November 10, 461 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/10/23 Gospel: Luke...

Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome Thursday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/9/23 Gospel: John 2:13-22

Wednesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: The Four Crowned Martyrs; There were two such groups--one, a group of carvers who refused to carve a pagan statue, martyred by Diocletian; the second group was martyred at Albano, Italy, and a basilica was erected in their honor in Rome Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/8/23 Gospel: Luke 14:25-33

Tuesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Engelbert; the 13th Century son of the count of Berg; he became the archbishop  of  Cologne in 1217, at the age of thirty; in this office, he became tutor to the son of Emperor Frederick II; in 1222 he crowned Henry King of the Romans; Engelbert  was slain by his cousin Frederick, whom he had thwarted in an attempt to steal from the ...

Monday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Illtyd; revered Welsh saint; reputed to be a cousin of King Arthur, and one of the knights of the Holy Grail; he and his wife became hermits; he eventually founded the abbey of Llanilltud Fawr in Glamorgan, Wales; died in the Seventh Century Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/6/23 Gospel: Luke 14:12-14

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/5/23 Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12

Saturday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, 1538-1584; belonged to Milanese nobility, but decided to work for the Church; as archbishop of Milan, he was key in keeping the Council of Trent in session when it was about to break up; he instituted much needed reforms in his diocese for both clergy and laity; he gave most of his income to charity, forbade himself all l...