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Saturday of the First Week of Advent Memorial of St. Francis Xavier, 1506-1552; brought to Christ by Ignatius of Loyola, and joined the Jesuits; spent 10 years at Goa, India, bringing the faith to Hindus, Malayans, and Japanese; wanted to go to China, but died before reaching the mainland Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/3/22 Gospel: Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5-8

Friday of the First Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Bibiana; Fourth Century virgin and martyr of the persecution of Apronianus; she and her sister were stripped of possessions and left to suffer poverty, but they spent their time in prayer and fasting; Apronianus summoned them, and Bibiana's sister Demetria confessed her faith and fell dead; Bibiana was sentenced to scourging until she died Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/2/22 Gospel: Matthew 9:27-31

Thursday of the First Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Edmund Campion, 1540-1581; Protestant convert to the Catholic faith; became a Jesuit, and was ordained a priest; preached up to three times per day in England, traveling by horseback; captured in 1581, tortured, and executed Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/1/22 Gospel: Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Feast of St. Andrew, apostle; brother of Simon Peter; legend says the he preached in what is now modern Greece and Turkey, and was crucified at Patras on an X-shaped cross, about 60 A.D. Wednesday of the First Week of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/30/22 Gospel: Matthew 4:18-22

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Radbod of Utrecht, 850-917; great grandson of the last paga King of Friesland, Holland; became bishop of Utrecht in 900; know for his aid to the poor, and for his poetry; forced to move his see to France, due to invasion by the Danes, and died there Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/29/22 Gospel: Luke 10:21-24

Monday of the First Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. James of the Marche, 1394-1476; joined the Friars Minor, and studied with St. John of Capistrano; preached all over Italy and through 13 central and eastern European countries; established nonprofit credit organizations which lent money on pawned objects at low rates, making him one of the fathers of the modern pawnshop Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/28/22 Gospel: Matthew 8:5-11

First Sunday of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/27/22 Gospel: Matthew 24:37-44

Saturday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. John Berchmans, 1599-1621; born in what is now the Netherlands; entered the Jesuit college in 1615; in 1618, he was sent to Rome to continue his studies; he was known for his diligence and piety; John died in Rome in 1621; patron saint of altar servers Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/26/22 Gospel: Luke 21:34-36

Friday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria; at the age of 18, she debated 50 pagan philosophers, who all became Christians, along with 200 soldiers and members of the emperor's family--all were martyred; Catherine was to be executed on a spiked wheel which she touched, and it shattered, so she was beheaded in 310 A.D.; patroness of students, teachers, librarians, and lawyers; one of the 14 Holy Helpers Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/25/22 Gospel: Luke 21:29-33

Thursday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Thanksgiving Day in the United States Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and companions, the Vietnamese martyrs; St. Andrew of one of 117 people martyred in Vietname between 1820 and 1862; others gave their lives for christ in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/24/22 Gospel: Luke 17:11-19

Wednesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro, 1891-1927; joined the Jesuits in 1911, but fled to Spain to avoid religious persecution; ordained in Belgium in 1925; returned to Mexico, serving a Church forced to go underground; he celebrated the eucharist clandestinely, and ministered other sacraments to small groups of Catholics; arrested on trumped-up charges of attempting to assassinate the president of Mexico; died by firing squad November 23, 1927 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/23/22 Gospel: Luke 21:12-19

Tuesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr; legend has it that her fiancé, Valerian, was martyred along with his brother. Cecilia was struck three times on the neck with a sword, and lived for three days; she asked the pope to convert her home into a church; died about 230 A.D.; patroness of musicians Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/22/22 Gospel: Luke 21:5-11

Monday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/21/22 Gospel: Luke 21:1-4

Solemnity of Christ the King Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/20/22 Gospel: Luke 23:35-43

Saturday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Raphael Kalinowski, 1835-1907; Discalced Carmelite friar, priest, teacher, engineer, prisoner of war, and royal tutor; founded many monasteries around Poland after the suppression by the Russians Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/19/22 Gospel: Luke 20:27-40

Friday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of the Dedication of the Churches of St. Peter and St. Paul in Rome; both basilicas are built over the burial sites of their respective namesakes Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/18/22 Gospel: Luke 19:45-48

Thursday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, 1207-1231; married Louis of Thuringia, and bore him three children; led a life of prayer, sacrifice, and service to the poor and sick; Louis died in the Crusades, and Elizabeth joined the Secular Franciscan Order; she cared for the poor in a hospital which she had founded; died before her 24th birthday Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/17/22 Gospel: Luke 19:41-44

Wednesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Margaret of Scotland, 1045-1093; when her family fled William the Conqueror, they were shipwrecked off the coast of Scotland; she married King Malcom in 1070; promoted the arts and education, encouraged synods, and participated in discussions on correcting religious abuses; she was always surrounded by beggars in public, and never refused them; died four days after her husband was killed in an attack on Alnwick Castle Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/16/22 Gospel: Luke 19:11-28

Tuesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Albert the Great, 1206-1280; the "master" of St. Thomas Aquinas; a curious, honest, and diligent scholar; became a Dominican, and wrote a compendium of all knowledge; patron of scientists and philosophers Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/15/22 Gospel: Luke 19:1-10

Monday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Lawrence O'Toole, 1128-1180; born at Leinster, son of Murtagh, chief of the Murrays; taken hostage and surrendered to the bishop of Glendalough; became a monk, and was named archbishop of Dublin in 1161; negotiated with the invading English, convened a synod, and attended the General Lateran Council; named papal legate to Ireland Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/14/22 Gospel: Luke 18:35-43