Daybreak

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 the Church Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/5/23 Gospel: Luke 10:21-24

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 for 12/4/23 Gospel: Matthew 8:5-11

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 feet; Bibiana was sent to a wicked woman, Rufina, who tried, unsuccessfully, to seduce her, Apronianus ordered Bibiana to be tied to a pillar and beaten with scourges, laden with lead plummets, until she expired Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/2/23 Gospel: Luke 21:34-36

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 12/1/23 Gospel: Luke 21:29-33

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 40 years of her life caring for the elderly, sick, and disabled; she died at the age of 70 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/28/23 Gospel: Luke 21:5-11

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: Luke 20:27-40

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: Luke 19:45-48

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 groups of Catholics; falsely accused of plotting to assassinate Mexico's president, he faced a firing squad Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/23/23 Gospel: Luke 19:41-44

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 convert her home into a church; she is depicted in artwork with a viola or a small organ; patroness of musicians Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/22/23 Gospel: Luke 19:11-28

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 for her courage in frontier conditions Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/18/23 Gospel: Luke 18:1-8

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; she joined the Secular Franciscan Order in 1228, and died before her 24th birthday Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/17/23 Gospel: Luke 17:26-37

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; she devoted time to prayer and scripture reading, and was kind to the poor; Malcolm and his eldest son were killed in a surprise attack on the castle, and Margaret died four days later Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/16/23 Gospel: Luke 17:20-25