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Feast of the Holy Family Seventh Day of Christmas Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/31/23 Gospel: Luke 2:22-40

Sixth Day of Christmas Saint of the Day: St. Egwin of Evesham; English noble who became the bishop of Worcester, England, in 692; prompted by a vision of Mary he founded Evesham Monastery with the aid of the kingdom of Mercia Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/30/23 Gospel: Luke 2:36-40 

Fifth Day of Christmas Optional Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, 1118-1170; as a friend of King Henry II of England, he became chancellor of England, and then archbishop of Canterbury; Henry and Thomas immediately disagreed on the rights of the Church; Henry eventually cried out, "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?"; two of Henry's knights killed Thomas in Canterbury Cathedral Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/29/23 Gospel: Luke 2:22-35

Feast of the Holy Innocents Fourth Day of Christmas Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/28/23 Gospel: Matthew 2:13-18

Feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist, 6-100 A.D.; "the apostle whom Jesus loved"; John's is the Gospel of Jesus' glory Third Day of Christmas Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/27/23 Gospel: John 20:1-8

Feast of St. Stephen; first martyr, and one of the first ordained deacons; died about 34 A.D. Second Day of Christmas Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/26/23 Gospel: Matthew 10:17-22

Solemnity of Christmas Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/25/23 Gospel: Luke 2:1-14

Fourth Sunday of Advent/Christmas Eve Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/24/23 Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. John of Kanty, 1390-1473; a country boy who did well in the city and University of Krakow, Poland; after ordination, he became a professor of theology; he was then sent to be a parish priest; he returned to Krakow and taught scripture for the remainder of his life; he slept little, ate sparingly, and took no meat Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/23/23 Gospel: Luke 1:57-66

Friday of the Third Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Zeno; martyred soldier at Nicomedia (modern Turkey); he was seized and condemned to death for laughing while Emperor Diocletian offered a sacrifice to the Roman god Ceres; Zeno had his jaws shattered and was then beheaded in 303 A.D. Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/22/23 Gospel: Luke 1:46-56

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, 1521-1597; born in Holland; he had edited and written several volumes on Church history and theology, been a delegate to the Council of Trent, and reformed the German universities from heresy; he was called to Vienna to reform their university, and administered the diocese for a year; in 1565, the pope called on him to distribute the decrees of the Council of Trent to the European bishops Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/21/23 Gospel: Luke 1:39-45

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Dominic of Silos, 1000-1073; Benedictine abbot who refused to surrender some of the order's lands to the crown, so he was exiled to Castile; King Ferdinand I made him abbot of St. Sebastian Abbey at Silos, now called St. Dominic's; Dominic reformed the abbey, built the cloisters in Romanesque style, and started a scriptorium that became famous; Dominic also rescued Christian slaves from the Moors, and was noted for miracles of healing Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/20/23 Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Anastasius I; a Roman by birth, elected pope in 399; he was among the first to condemn the works of Origen; he also urged the church in North Africa to continue its struggle against Donatism; died in 401 and was buried in the cemetery of Pontian Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/19/23 Gospel: Luke 1:5-25

Monday of the Third Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Winebald; born in Wessex, England, the brother of Saints Willibald and Walburga; traveled to Rome, and at the invitation of St. Boniface, gathered together a group of English missionaries and went to Germany in 739; with his brother, he founded the monastery of Heidenheim, Germany, where he served as abbot with his sister as abbess; helped to make the monastery one of the leading ecclesiastical centers in Germany Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/18/23 Gospel: Matthew 1:18-25

Third Sunday of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/17/23 Gospel: John 1:6-8, 19-28

Saturday of the Second Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Adelaide, 932-999; entered an arranged marriage at about 15 to Lothair of Italy; when Lothair died, his successor tried to force Adelaide to marry his son; she appealed to Otto of Germany, who conquered Italy and married Adelaide; the two became rulers of the Holy Roman Empire; after Otto's death, Adelaide established many monasteries and churches; she died at the convent at Seltz, which she founded Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/16/23 Gospel: Matthew 17:9-13

Friday of the Second Week of Advent Saint of the Day: St. Maria Crocifissa di Rosa, 1813-1855; born in Brescia, Italy; cared for the spiritual needs of young girls working in her father's mills, volunteered at the Brescia hospital during the cholera epidemic of 1836, and founded a home for girls and a school for deaf mutes; in 1840, she became superior of a group of religious who cared for the sick, the Handmaids of Charity of Brescia Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/15/23 Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19

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 Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/14/23 Gospel: Matthew 11:11-15

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, and Lucy used this to convince her mother to give the dowry money to the poor; but the rejected bridegroom betrayed Lucy's faith to the governor, and she was executed Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/13/23 Gospel: Matthew 11:28-30

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