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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

Monday of the Second Week of Advent Optional Memorial of Pope St. Damasus I, 304-384; when elected pope, Damasus had to endure the existence of an antipope, Ursinus, elected and consecrated by a minority; this resulted in violent battles between two basilicas; supporters of the antipope even had Damasus accused of a grave crime, from which he had to clear himself in civil court and a Church synod; during his pontificate, Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman state, and Latin became the liturgical language Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/11/23 Gospel: Luke 5:17-26

Second Sunday of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/10/23 Gospel: Mark 1:1-8

Saturday of the First Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. Juan Diego, 1474-1548; Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan at Tepeyac hill on December 9, 1531; the roses gathered in his tilma were transformed into the miraculous image of Our Lady; in time he 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 12/9/23 Gospel: Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5-8

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Friday of the First Week of Advent Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/8/23 Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

Thursday of the First Week of Advent Memorial of St. Ambrose, 337-397; he was an otherworldly man involved in the great issues of his day; in his disputes with the Emperor Auxentius, he coined the principle: “The emperor is in the Church, not above the Church”; Ambrose was largely responsible for the conversion of St. Augustine Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/7/23 Gospel: Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent Optional Memorial of St. Nicholas, 270-343; Fourth-Century bishop of Myra, a city in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor; the best known legend of St. Nicholas has him secretly helping a poor man to provide dowries for his marriage-age daughters; by a twist of the tongue, St. Nicholas, in legend, became Santa Claus Office of Readings and Morning Prayer for 12/6/23 Gospel: Matthew 15:29-37

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