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Thursday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Engelbert; son of the Count of Berg; excommunicated, but he was restored to union with the Church and became archbishop of Cologne in 1217 at the age of 30; tutor to the son of Emperor Frederick II; crowned Henry king of the Romans in 1222; prevented his cousin Frederick from stealing from the nuns of Essen, and Frederick killed him...

Wednesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Iltyd; one of the most revered saints of Wales; traditionally believed to be a cousin of the legendary King Arthur; Iltyd and his wife lived as members of a Glamorgan chief's army until they became  hermits near the river Nadafan; he studied with St. Dudricius and founded a great abbey near Glamorgan, Wales; he was a disciple of St....

Tuesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Elizabeth; a daughter of the line of Aaron, and the wife of Zechariah, was "righteous before God" and was "blameless" but childless; she was a cousin to the Blessed Virgin Mary; after Zechariah's prayers in the temple, Elizabeth became pregnant; Mary visited Elizabeth, and the baby leapt in Elizabeth's womb; she proclaimed to Mary, "B...

Monday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, 1538-1584; belonged to a noble family, but desired to dedicate himself to the Church; as bishop of Milan, Charles deserves the credit for keeping the Council of Trent in session when at several points it was on the verge of breaking up; the archdiocese of Milan was in need of reform in every phase of Catholic life; Charles...

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/3/24 Gospel: Mark 12:28b-34

Commemoration of All of the Faithful Departed - All Souls Day Saturday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/2/24 Gospel: John 6:37-40

Solemnity of All Saints Friday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/1/24 Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12a

Thursday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Wolfgang; born in Swabia, Germany, in the Tenth Century; ordained in 971, and set out with a group of monks to preach to the Magyars of Hungary; the following year, he was named bishop of Regensburg; he was distinguished by his reforming zeal and his statesmanship; he promoted education, preached enthusiastically, and was renowned fo...

Wednesday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, 1532-1617; born in Segovia, Spain; accepted as a lay brother by the Jesuits in 1571; he labored as a hall porter at Montesion College on the island of Majorca for 24 years; many came to him for advice and direction; he experienced many spiritual consolations, and wrote religious treatises; Alphonsus died after a...

Tuesday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Abraham of Rostov; lived in the 10th and 11th Centuries in Russia; followed the pagan beliefs of the region, but in a serious illness, he called upon Christ, and was miraculously healed; he became a Christian, was baptized, and became a monk; he went to the city of Rostov, where he began his apostolate among the pagans; he built two p...

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, apostles Monday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/28/24 Gospel: Luke 6:12-16

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/27/24 Gospel: Mark 10:46-52

Saturday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Alfred the Great, 848-899; a great scholar, translating classics for his people, and early on seemed destined for a career in the Church; instead, he became king and was forced to spend most of his reign in conflict with the Danes; his work as a patron of the arts, literature, and especially the Church made him a beloved figure in En...

Friday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. John Houghton, 1486-1535; a native of Essex, he graduated from Cambridge and became a parish priest; he then joined the Carthusians; he opposed Henry VIII's Acts of Succession and Supremacy, and was arrested, but later released; he was then the first to refuse to sign the Oath of Supremacy; he was dragged through the streets and execut...

Thursday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, 1807-1870; as a weaver in Barcelona, he learned Latin and printing; ordained at 28, and became a popular preacher; at age 42, he founded a religious institute of missionaries beginning with five young priests, known today as the Claretians; appointed to head the archdiocese of Santiago, Cuba, where he preached...

Wednesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. John of Capistrano, 1386-1456; became governor of Perugia at age 26; he soon decided to take his life in a different direction--he joined the Franciscan novitiate, and was ordained a priest at age 34; his preaching drew large crowds in an age of religious apathy and confusion; commissioned to preach a crusade for the defense of E...

Tuesday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. John Paul II, 1920-2005; born in Poland, ordained in 1946, became auxiliary bishop of Krakow in 1958, archbishop of Krakow in 1964, and a cardinal three years later; elected pope in 1978, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years; promoted ecumenical and interfaith relations; encouraged the growth of the Solidarity movement in P...

Monday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Hilarion, 291-371; disciple of St. Anthony and companion of St. Hesychius; after spending time with St. Anthony, he became a hermit in 356; he returned to St. Anthony, and found that his fame had spread there; he tried to escape notice, but crowds flocked to see him whenever he was in there area; he performed many miracles; died on Cyp...

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/20/24 Gospel: Mark 10:35-45

Saturday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of Saints Isaac Jogues and Jean de Brébeuf and companions, martyrs; Jesuits from France, they came to the New World in the 17th Century to serve the Native Americans; they eventually died martyrs' deaths Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/19/24 Gospel: Luke 12:8-12

Feast of St. Luke; writer of the Third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles; traditionally held to be a native of Antioch; referred to by Paul as "our beloved physician"; died about 84 A.D. Friday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 10/18/24 Gospel: Luke 10:1-9

Thursday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch; became bishop of Antioch in 307, when the emperor forced Christians to choose between apostacy and death; Ignatius chose the latter, and was sentenced to death in Rome; he is famous for the seven letters he wrote during the journey from Antioch to Rome; five were to the churches in Asia Minor, whom he urged to remain f...

Wednesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, 1647-1690; entered the order of the Visitation Nuns at the age of 24; characterized by a fellow novice as simple, and frank, but above all, kind and patient under sharp criticism and correction; received the first of her revelations in 1674 when Christ requested that his love for humankind be made evident...

Tuesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila, 1515-1582; a woman, a contemplative, and an active reformer; she was a woman of prayer, discipline, and compassion; she spent much of her time and energy seeking to reform herself and the Carmelites, to lead them back to the full observance of the primitive Rule; her writings, especially the Way of Perfection  and  The Inte...

Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Pope St. Callistus I; a slave of Rome, and later ordained deacon by Pope St. Zephyrinus, whom he succeeded as pope in the year 217; as a deacon, he was guardian of the Christian cemetery on the Appian way, which still bears his name; he vigorously opposed heresy, but his charitable attitude toward repentant sinners incurred the wrath of...