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Monday of the Second Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. Nicholas, 270-343; Fourth Century bishop of Myra, a city in Lycia, province of Asia Minor; legend has it that he tossed bags of gold through a poor man’s window so that his daughters could be dowried, and married; in the English-speaking world, St. Nicholas has become known as Santa Claus Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 1...

Second Sunday of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/5/21 Gospel: Luke 3:1-6

Saturday of the First Week of Advent Optional Memoral of St. John Damascene, 676-749; followed his father in a government position under the Arabs; resigned, and went to the monastery of St. Sabas; known for his writings against the iconoclasts, for his treatise, “Exposition of the Orthodox Faith,” and as a poet Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/4/21 Gospel: Matthew 9:35-10:...

Friday of the First Week of Advent Memorial of St. Francis Xavier, 1506-1552; Ignatius of Loyola brought him to Christ, and Francis joined the Jesuits; Francis went to Lisbon, and on to the East Indies, landing at Goa, on the west coast of India, where he stayed for ten years; he lived with the poorest people, sharing their food and rough accomodations; he ministered to the sick and poor, especial...

Thursday of the First Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Bibiana; Fourth Century virgin and martyr; her parents were killed in a persecution; she and her sister spent their time in fasting and prayer in their house; her sister confessed her faith the governor, and then fell dead at his feet; Bibiana was placed in the hands of a wicked woman who tried, unsuccessfully, to seduce her; Bibiana was e...

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Edmund Campion, 1540-1581; English convert who became a Jesuit priest; preached up to three times per day, traveling on horseback across the English countryside; captured by authorities in 1581, tortured, and sentenced to death Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/1/21 Gospel: Matthew 15:29-37

Feast of St. Andrew, apostle, brother of Simon Peter Tuesday of the First Week of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/30/21 Gospel: Matthew 4:18-22

Monday of the First Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Radbod of Utrecht, 850-917; great-grandson of the last pagan King of Friesland; educated by his uncle, the bishop of Cologne; became bishop of Utrecht in 900; known for his aid to the poor, and for his poetry; died in France, where he was forced to move after an invasion by the Danes Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/29/21 Gospel:...

First Sunday of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/28/21 Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Saturday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. James Intercisus, 380-421; Christian servant of Persian royalty who apostasized when a persecution was launched; he later repented, and declared himself to be a Christian to the king; he was executed by having his body cut apart, thus his name, “Intercisus” Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/27/21 Gospel: Luke 2...

Friday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. John Berchmans, 1599-1621; Jesuit known for dilegence, piety, holiness, and his stress on perfection in little things; died in Rome, and many miracles were attributed to his intercession after his death; patron of altar servers Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/26/21 Gospel: Luke 21:29-33

Thursday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time, Thanksgiving Day in the United States Optional Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria; reputed to have converted after receiving a vision; at 18, she debated 50 pagan philosophers, who, in turn, converted, along with 200 soldiers and members of the emperor’s family–all were martyred; Catherine was also sentenced to death in about 310 A.D. Of...

Wednesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and companions; St. Andrew was one of 117 people martyred in Vietnam from 1820 to 1862; others gave their lives in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. All were canonized during the papacy of St. John Paul II Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/24/21 Gospel: Luke 21:12-19

Tuesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro, 1891-1926; born to a devout family Mexico, ordained in Belgium; returned to Mexico to serve a church which was operating underground, due to religious persecution; arrested on trumped-up charges of attempting assassinate the president of Mexico, and sentenced to firing squad Office of Readings and Morning Pr...

Monday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Cecilia; legend holds that she was a young Christian of high rank, betrothed to Valerian, whom she converted; both were martyred for their faith; 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 convert her home into a church; died about 230 A.D.; pa...

Solemnity of Christ the King Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/21/21 Gospel: John 18:33-37

Saturday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Edmund Rich, 1180-1240; Archbishop of Canterbury, who battled for discipline and justice; after his resignation, he traveled to France and became a Cistercian Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/20/21 Gospel: Luke 20:27-40

Friday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Raphael Kalinowski, 1835-1907; Polish Discalced Carmelite friar; a teacher, engineer, prisoner of war, royal tutor, and priest who founded many monasteries around Poland after the suppression by the Russians Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/19/21 Gospel: Luke 19:45-48

Thursday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/18/21 Gospel: Luke 19:41-44

Wednesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, 1207-1231; daughter of the King of Hungary; married at 14, bore three children; led a life of prayer, sacrifice, and service to the poor and sick; upon widowhood, she was thrown out of the palace by her in-laws, but reinstated upon the return of her husband’s allies from the Crusades; joined the Secular Francis...

Tuesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland, 1045-1093; fled, with her family, from William the Conqueror to Scotland; King Malcom married Margaret in 1070; Margaret promoted arts, education, and religious reform; her private life was austere, devoting much time to prayer and devotions Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/16/21 Gospel: Luke 19:1-...

Monday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Albert the Great, 1206-1280; German Dominican known as “the master of Thomas Aquinas”; wrote a compendium of all knowledge of his day; patron of scientists and philosophers Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/15/21 Gospel: Luke 18:35-43

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/14/21 Gospel: Mark 13:24-32

Saturday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, 1850-1917; traveled from Italy to New York City at the urging of Pope Leo XIII; founded 67 institutions dedicated to caring for the poor, the abandoned, the uneducated, and the sick; the first United States citizen to be canonized Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/13/21 Gospel: Luke 18:1-8

Friday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Josaphat, 1580-1623; as bishop of Vtebsk, he promoted the union of the Eastern and Western Churches; a dissident hierarchy spread the accusation that Josaphat had “gone Latin”; in Vtebsk, he was mobbed, struck with a halberd, and shot, and his body thrown into the river; first saint of the Eastern Church canonized by Rome Office...