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Feast of the Holy Innocents Fourth Day of Christmas Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for12/28/24 Gospel: Matthew 2:13-18

Feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist, 6-100 A.D.; "the disciple whom Jesus loved"; the one who reclined next to Jesus at the Last Supper, and the one to whom Jesus gave the exquisite honor of caring for his mother, as John stood beneath the cross; author of the fourth Gospel, and traditionally believed to be the author of three New Testament letters, as well as the Book of Revelation; John's...

Feast of St. Stephen, first Christian martyr Second Day of Christmas Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/26/24 Gospel: Matthew 10:17-22

Christmas Day - The Nativity of Our Lord Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/25/24 Gospel: Luke 2:1-14

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent (Christmas Eve) Saint of the Day: St. Adele; became a nun on the death of her husband; founded a convent near Trier, and became its first abbess; she ruled with prudence, holiness, and compassion; Adele was a disciple of St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany; she died in 730 A.D.

Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. John of Kanty, 1390-1473; ordained a priest, and taught theology, later becoming a parish priest; he later returned to Krakow, and taught Scripture for the remainder of his life; he was a serious, humble man, known to all of the poor of Krakow for his kindness; made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, hoping to be martyred by the Turks; made four...

Fourth Sunday of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/22/24 Gospel: Luke 1:39-45

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, 1521-1597; received a master's degree from the University at Cologne at the age of 19, and joined the Society of Jesus shortly thereafter; he attended several sessions of the Council of Trent, whose decrees he was later assigned to implement; he was entrusted with the mission to Germany, which then became his life's work...

Friday of the Third Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Philogonius; originally a lawyer in Antioch, Syria, he entered the Church after the death of his wife, and eventually became bishop of the city; he was one of the first Church leaders to assail the evils of Arianism; he suffered imprisonment in the persecutions, and died in 324 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/20/24 Gospel:...

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Nemesius; lived under the persecutions of Emperor Trajanus Decius; Nemesius was arrested, scourged, and burned to death in Alexandria, Egypt; like Christ, he died between two criminals Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/19/24 Gospel: Luke 1:5-25

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Rufus; Rufus and Zosimus were natives of either Antioch or Philippi; they were brought to Rome with Ignatius of Antioch during the reign of Emperor Trajan, and were condemned to death for their Christianity; they were thrown to wild beasts in the arena two days before the martyrdom of Ignatius Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/...

Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Wivina, 1103-1170; a native of Flanders, Belgium; refused offers of marriage until, at 23, she became a hermitess; she gathered disciples, and accepted the offer of land from Count Godfrey of Brabant, and built a convent, where she served as first abbess Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/17/24 Gospel: Matthew 1:1-17

Monday of the Third Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Adelaide, 932-999; born in Burgundy; at the age of about 15, she married Lothair; he died three years later, and his successor tried to force Adelaide to marry his son; Adelaide escaped to Canossa, where she appealed to Otto of Germany for help; Otto conquered Italy, and married Adelaide in 951; Pope John XII crowned the pair rulers of the H...

Third Sunday of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/15/24 Gospel: Luke 3:10-18

Saturday of the Second Week of Advent Memorial of St. John of the Cross, 1542-1591; ordained a Carmelite priest at age 25, and worked with Teresa of Avila toward reform of the Carmelite order, stressing observance of the primitive Carmelite rule; John experienced increasing opposition, misunderstanding, persecution, imprisonment; he was unique as a mystic-poet Office of Readings and Morning Prayer...

Friday of the Second Week of Advent Memorial of St. Lucy, 283-304; a disappointed suitor accused Lucy of being a Christian, and she was executed in Syracuse, Sicily; Lucy knew of the heroism of earlier virgin martyrs; she remained faithful to their example and to the example of the carpenter, whom she knew to be the Son of God; she is the patroness of eyesight Office of Readings and Morning Prayer...

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe; in 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a poor Indian in Mexico, and asked him to have the bishop of Mexico build a chapel on the site; she provided roses as a sign; when Juan Diego opened his tilma, the roses fell to the ground, and the bishop fell to his knees before an image of Our Lady imprinted on the tilma Thursday of the Second Week of Advent Office of R...

Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent Optional Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, 304-384; son of a Roman priest, under whom he served as a deacon; served Pope Liberius, whom he succeeded as pope; however, a minority elected an antipope; supporters of the antipope even accused Damasus of a grave crime; he had to go before a civil court and a church synod to clear himself; as pope, he fiercely denoun...

Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent Saint of the Day: Pope St. Gregory III; fought with Emperor Leo III, who attacked the veneration of holy images; Gregory called a synod which approved strong measures against anyone who attempted to destroy images of Jesus, Mary, or the saints; Leo sent ships to kidnap Gregory, but his ships were destroyed in a storm, and Leo was only able to capture some of th...

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (transferred from December 8) Monday of the Second Week of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/9/24 Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

Second Sunday of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/8/24 Gospel: Luke 3:1-6

Saturday of the First Week of Advent Memorial of St. Ambrose, 337-397; Ambrose cut a furrow through the lives of his contemporaries; even royal personages suffered divine punishment for standing in his way; but another side of Ambrose was one which influenced Augustine of Hippo, whom Ambrose converted; Ambrose was a passionate little man with a high forehead, a long melancholy face, and great eyes...

Friday of the First Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. Nicholas of Myra, 270-343; bishop of Myra, a city in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor; the best-known story about him has him secretly throwing a bag of gold through the window of a poor man, three times, so that his daughters could marry; by a twist of the tongue, St. Nicholas became Santa Claus Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 1...

Thursday of the First Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Gerald; French abbot; in the latter portion of the Eleventh Century, he was appointed choir director of the Cathedral of Toledo, Spain, as part of an ecclesiastical reform; he did his work so well that he was appointed bishop of Braga; he visited his diocese, and eradicated abuses which had cropped up; he died December 5, 1109, in Portugal...

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. John Damascene, 676-749; born in Damascus, and followed his father in a government position under the Arabs; he resigned, and went to the monastery of St. Sabas; he is famous for his writings against the iconoclasts, who opposed the veneration of images; for his treatise,  Exposition of the Orthodox Faith , a summary of the Greek Fathe...