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Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. Juan Diego, 1474-1548; it was to Juan Diego that Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared at Tepeyac Hill in 1531; Juan Diego later lived near the shrine constructed at Tepeyac, revered as a holy, unselfish, and compassionate catechist, who taught by word and especially by example Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/09/25 Gospel: Matthew 18:12-14

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Monday of the Second Week of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/8/25 Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

Second Sunday of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/7/25 Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12

Saturday of the First Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. Nicholas, 270-343; bishop of Myra, a city in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor; legend tells the best-known story about Nicholas concerning his charity toward a poor man who was unable to provide dowries for his three daughters of marriageable age; rather than see them forced into prostitution, Nicholas secretly tossed a bag of gold through the poor man’s window on three separate occasions, thus enabling the daughters to be married; over the centuries, this particular legend evolved into the custom of gift-giving on the saint’s feast; in the English-speaking countries, Saint Nicholas became, by a twist of the tongue, Santa Claus Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/6/25 Gospel: Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5-8

Friday of the First Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. John the Wonder-Worker; Eighth Century bishop of Polybatum, in Phrygia;  he was a defender of sacred images in the face of the ascendancy of the Iconoclasts, which placed him in considerable danger with the Ionoclast Emperor Leo V the Armenian, but he performed so many miracles that the ruler did not dare to persecute him; he died in 750   Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/5/25 Gospel: Matthew 9:27-31

Thursday of the First Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. John Damascene, 676-749; spent most of his life in the Monastery of Saint Sabas near Jerusalem, and all of his life under Muslim rule, indeed protected by it; famous for his writings against the iconoclasts, for his treatise, "Exposition of the Orthodox Faith," and for being one of the two greatest poets of the Eastern Church Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/4/25 Gospel: Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent Memorial of St. Francis Xavier, 1506-1552; an early member of the Society of Jesus; after his ordination he was appointed apostolic nuncio in the East; he traveled to Goa, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, China, and Japan establishing missionary outposts and converting hundreds of thousands; Pius X named him patron of foreign missions Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/3/25 Gospel: Matthew 15:29-37

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Chromatius; a native of Aquileia, Italy, and participated in the Synod of Aquileia that condemned Arianism in 381; seven years later, he became bishop of the see; Chromatius was known and revered as a scholar and was described by St. Jerome as “a most learned and most holy man”; he was also a friend of St. John Chrysostom; Chromatius died in 406 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/2/25 Gospel: Luke 10:21-24

Monday of the First Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Edmund Campion, 1540-1581; English convert who became a Jesuit, and preached up to three times per day, riding from town to town on horseback, winning many converts; in 1581 he was captured by Elizabethan authorities, and tortured on a rack before being sentenced to death; in December 1581, he was executed by drawing and quartering at Tyburn, London Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/1/25 Gospel: Matthew 8:5-11

First Sunday of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/30/25 Gospel: Matthew 24:37-44

Saturday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Radbod of Utrecht, 850-917; he was educated by his Uncle Gunther, the bishop of Cologne, Germany, and became bishop of Utrecht, Holland in 900; he distinguished himself for his aid to the poor and for his poetry; he was forced to move his see to France after an invasion by the Danes, and he died there Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/29/25 Gospel: Luke 21:34-36

Friday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. James of the Marches, 1391-1476; born in Ancona, studied law, and joined the Franciscans in 1416; he became an effective and forceful preacher; he worked as a missionary in Italy and in Germany, Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary, and in 1426 was named inquisitor against the Fraticelli by Pope St. Martin V; in 1462 he became involved with the Inquisition because of a sermon he preached at Brescia; the case was referred to Rome, and no decision was ever rendered; he died in Naples, where he spent the last three years of his life Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/28/25 Gospel: Luke 21:29-33

Thursday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time - Thanksgiving Day in the United States Saint of the Day St. James Interecisus; in the Fifth Century, he was a favorite of King Yezdigerd I of Persia, and James was a Christian; but James renounced his faith when the king began a persecution of Christians; when Yezdigerd died, James repented and once again professed Chrstianity; when he refused to apostasize, he was executed by having his body cut apart in pieces--thus, his name, "Intercisus"--cut in pieces--and he was beheaded. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/27/25 Gospel: Luke 17:11-19

Wednesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Leonard of Port Maurice; born in Port Maurice, Italy, and joined the Franciscans of the Strict Observance in 1697; after ordination in 1703, he began preaching through Tuscany in Italy, and attracted huge crowds; he erected almost 600 Stations of the Cross through the lands; in 1744, Leonard was sent by Pope Benedict XIV to preach on Corsica, returning to Rome in 1751 after receiving a summons from the pope; he died at his friary in 1751 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/26/25 Gospel: Luke 21:12-19

Tuesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time Optional Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria; became Christian after receiving a vision; debated 50 pagan philosophers, who became Christian, along with 200 soldiers and members of the emperor's family, and all were martyred; Catherine touched the spiked wheel on which she was to be executed, and it shattered; she was beheaded in about 310 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/25/25 Gospel: Luke 21:5-11

Monday of the 34th 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, and received beatification during four different occasions between 1900 and 1951; all were canonized during the papacy of Saint John Paul II Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/24/25 Gospel: Luke 21:1-4

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe; Christ the King 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/23/25 Gospel: Luke 23:35-43

Saturday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Cecilia; legend has it that was a young Christian of high rank betrothed to a Roman named Valerian; through her influence, Valerian converted, and was subsequently martyred, along with his brother; Cecilia is reputed to have been struck three times on the neck with a sword, but lived for three days, and asked the pope to convert her home into a church; she died in about 230 A.D.; since the time of the Renaissance she has usually been portrayed with a viola or a small organ; she is the patroness of musicians Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/22/25 Gospel: Luke 20:27-40

Friday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; a feast of the Universal Church since the 16th Century; this celebration continues the impact of the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the birth of Mary Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/21/25 Gospel: Luke 19:45-48

Thursday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time Saint of the Day: St. Edmund Rich, 1175-1240; he studied at Oxford and Paris, and taught art and mathematics, and was ordained; he taught theology for eight years, and became canon and treasurer of the Salisbury Cathedral; he preached a Crusade for Pope Gregoy IX, and was made Archbishop of Canterbury; he resigned his see in 1240, and went to France, where he became a Cistercian; he died at Soissons Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 11/20/25 Gospel: Luke 19:41-44