Daybreak

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent Memorial of St. John of the Cross, 1542-1591; Carmelite priest who, along with Teresa of Avila, vowed himself to the primitive rule; in his efforts at reform of the order, he encountered increasing opposition, misunderstanding, persecution, and imprisonment; in prison, his spirit came into the light, revealing him as a mystic-poet; John died at the age of 49 O...

Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent Memorial of St. Lucy, virgin and martyr; lived in Syracuse, and was martyred in the persecution of Christians in the early Fourth Century; legend has it that her mother arranged for her to marry a pagan, after she had promised her life to Christ; Lucy prayed to St. Agatha, who appeared to Lucy in a dream, said that Lucy's mother would be cured of her illness,...

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/12/23 Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

Monday of the Second Week of Advent Optional Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, 304-384; when elected pope, Damasus had to endure the existence of an antipope, Ursinus, elected and consecrated by a minority; this resulted in violent battles between two basilicas; supporters of the antipope even had Damasus accused of a grave crime, from which he had to clear himself in civil court and a Church synod;...

Second Sunday of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/10/23 Gospel: Mark 1:1-8

Saturday of the First Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. Juan Diego, 1474-1548; Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan at Tepeyac hill on December 9, 1531; the roses gathered in his tilma were transformed into the miraculous image of Our Lady; in time he lived near the shrine constructed at Tepeyac, revered as a holy, unselfish, and compassionate catechist, who taught by word and especially b...

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Friday of the First Week of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/8/23 Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

Thursday of the First Week of Advent Memorial of St. Ambrose, 337-397; he was an otherworldly man involved in the great issues of his day; in his disputes with the Emperor Auxentius, he coined the principle: “The emperor is in the Church, not above the Church”; Ambrose was largely responsible for the conversion of St. Augustine Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/7/23 Gospel: Matthew 7:21...

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. Nicholas, 270-343; Fourth-Century bishop of Myra, a city in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor; the best known legend of St. Nicholas has him secretly helping a poor man to provide dowries for his marriage-age daughters; by a twist of the tongue, St. Nicholas, in legend, became Santa Claus Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/6/23...

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Sabas, 439-532; became a monk at the age of 18, and was allowed to live in a remote cave for five days per week at the age of 30; moved farther into the desert, and was followed by some men who desired to join him in solitude; over the years, he traveled throughout Palestine, preaching the true faith and successfully bringing back many to t...

Monday of the First Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. John Damascene, 676-749; 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 Fathers, of which he became the last; and he is known as a poet, one of the two greatest of the Eastern Church Office of Readings and Morning Prayer fo...

First Sunday of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/3/23 Gospel: Mark 13:33-37

Saturday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Bibiana, virgin and martyr; Bibiana and her sister Demetria suffered under the persecution of the Roman governor, Apronianus in the latter half of the Fourth Century; they were stripped of possessions, but remained in their house, praying and fasting; Apronianus summoned them, and Demetria professed her faith and fell dead at his fee...

Friday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Edmund Campion, 1540-1581; Jesuit convert to the Catholic faith; in England, he preached one to three times a day, mentally preparing his homilies while traveling on horseback, winning many converts; captured by Elizabethan authorities in July 1581, tortured on a rack, and sentenced to death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12...

Feast of St. Andrew, apostle; brother of St. Peter; reputed to have preached the Good News in what is now modern Greece and Turkey and was crucified at Patras in about 60 A.D. on an X-shaped cross Thursday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/30/23 Gospel: Matthew 4:18-22

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