| DIES | 19 Sun | 20 Mon | 21 Tue | 22 Wed | 23 Thu | 24 Fri | 25 Sat | 26 Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Officium | S. Petri de Alcantara Confessoris | S. Joannis Cantii Confessoris | Ss. Ursulæ et Sociarum Virg. et Mart. | Feria IV infra Hebdomadam XIX post Octavam Pentecostes | SANCTISSIMI REDEMPTORIS | S. RAPHAELIS ARCHANGELI | Ss. Chrysanthi et Dariæ Martyrum | IN FESTO DOMINO NOSTRO IESU CHRISITI REGIS |
| Classis | Duplex | Duplex | Duplex | Feria | Duplex majus | Duplex majus | Simplex | Duplex I |
| Color* | Albus | Albus | Rubeum | Viridis | Albus | Albus | Albus | Albus |
| Missa | Justus | Miserátio | Loquebar | Salus pópuli | Gaudens, gaudebo | Benedícite | Intret | Dignus |
| Orationes | 2a. Dominica XIX Post Pentecosten 3a. UK: In oct. S. Eduardi Regis | NA | 2a. S. Hilarionis Abbatis | 2a. A cunctis 3a. ad libitum | NA | NA | 2a. A cunctis 3a. ad libitum | 2a. Dominica XX Post Pentecosten |
| Notae | Gl. Cr. Pref. de Trinitate Ev. Propr. ad fin.Missae | Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Pref. de Communis | no Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Cr. Pref. de Cruce | Gl. Cr. Pref. de Communis | no Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Cr. Pref. de D.N. Jesu Christi Rege Ev. Propr. ad fin.Missae |
| Nota Bene/Vel/Votiva | UK: In Octava S. Wilfridi, Ebor (A) “Sacerdotes tui” 2a. Dom XIX Ev. Propr. ad fin.Missae | UK: In Octava S. Eduardi Regis (dm) Confessoris “Os justi” | Missae votivae vel Requiem permittuntur | UK: Ioannes Beverlacensis (d) Confessoris “Sacerdotes tui” 2a. Ss. Chrysanthi et Dariæ Mm |
SUNDAY
19 October — St Peter of Alcántara, Confessor
Born in 1499 at Alcántara in Spain, St Peter was a Franciscan of extraordinary austerity and recollection. He founded the Reformed Friars of the Strict Observance, reviving the primitive fervour of St Francis through severe poverty, fasting, and ceaseless prayer. His influence upon St Teresa of Ávila was decisive: she called him “a man of celestial understanding.” For years he lived in solitude, clothed in sackcloth, sleeping little, and subsisting almost entirely on roots. Yet his joy was radiant, his counsel gentle, his zeal for souls unquenchable. Canonised in 1669, he stands as a model of penitence ordered to divine charity.
In England the day also closes the Octave of St Wilfrid, Bishop of York, whose defence of Roman discipline in the seventh century ensured England’s fidelity to the See of Peter.
20 October — St John Cantius, Confessor
St John of Kęty, born in 1390 near Kraków, embodied the harmony of intellect and sanctity. A doctor of theology and professor at the University of Kraków, he combined learning with deep humility and charity, often giving away his own possessions to the poor and travelling on foot as a pilgrim to Rome. He was famed for his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and for his maxim: “Fight all error, but in such a way that charity never suffers.” He died in 1473, revered by his students as a saint. His cult was confirmed by Clement XIII in 1767.
In England this day marks the Octave of St Edward the Confessor, the gentle king whose piety and justice embodied the ideal of Christian monarchy and whose relics still rest in Westminster Abbey.
21 October — St Ursula and her Companion Martyrs; St Hilary, Abbot
The Church venerates on this day the virgin St Ursula, said by ancient tradition to have been a British princess who, with her companions—anciently numbered at eleven thousand—was martyred at Cologne by the Huns in defence of her purity and her faith. Though legendary in detail, the devotion to these holy virgins spread rapidly throughout Europe, inspiring countless maidens to consecrate themselves to Christ. St Angela Merici later placed her Company of St Ursula under their protection. Their feast exalts the beauty of chastity and the heroism of those who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.
On the same day is commemorated St Hilary, Abbot, a disciple of St Honoratus and second abbot of Lérins. Renowned for his ascetic wisdom, Hilary governed the monastery with gentleness and prudence, forming men who would later become bishops and teachers of Gaul. His hidden life of prayer and discipline helped shape the golden age of Gallican monasticism.
22 October — Feria of the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
When no feast intervenes, the Church continues to meditate upon the Gospel of the week—Our Lord’s parable of the marriage feast (Matthew 22 : 1-14). The invitation is universal, but only those clothed with the wedding garment of grace may remain within the banquet hall. The ferial Mass renews the call to vigilance and repentance, reminding the faithful that divine mercy must be met by conversion of heart. In the stillness of these later Green Sundays, the liturgy turns our gaze toward the approaching end of the ecclesiastical year and the judgement to come.
23 October — The Most Holy Redeemer (Sanctissimi Redemptoris)
This feast honours Christ our Saviour in the fullness of His redemptive work. The Church gives thanks for the price of our salvation—the Precious Blood shed on Calvary—and for the continual outpouring of that mercy in the Sacraments. The devotion originated among the Redemptorist Fathers and spread widely through diocesan calendars; Pius IX later granted it more general observance as a thanksgiving for deliverance from temporal and spiritual evils. The Collect beseeches that we who rejoice in being redeemed may also partake of the fruits of the Redemption, living henceforth not for ourselves but for Him who died and rose again for us.
24 October — St Raphael the Archangel
Together with Michael and Gabriel, St Raphael is one of the seven spirits who stand before the throne of God. His name means “God heals,” and his deeds are told in the Book of Tobit: he accompanies young Tobias on his journey, delivers Sara from a demon, restores Tobit’s sight, and reveals himself as a messenger of divine mercy. His feast, introduced in the sixteenth century, celebrates the loving providence of God in the ordinary paths of life. Raphael is the patron of travellers, of physicians and the blind, and of those seeking a good and holy spouse. His presence in the liturgical year reminds the faithful that the angelic world continues to minister invisibly to our salvation.
25 October — Saints Chrysanthus and Daria, Martyrs
Chrysanthus, a noble Roman, and Daria, his wife, were converted to Christianity and lived in perfect chastity amid the pagan corruption of the late third century. Their constancy under torture and final martyrdom under the emperor Numerian made them powerful examples of spousal fidelity sanctified by grace. Their tomb on the Via Salaria became one of Rome’s most ancient places of pilgrimage, and their names are inscribed in the Martyrology as witnesses to the triumph of faith over the world.
In England this day also commemorates St John of Beverley, Bishop of York, who trained both St Bede and St Wilfrid. His holiness and miracles won him veneration throughout medieval England; his shrine at Beverley was a national place of pilgrimage, and his name was invoked by King Henry V before the victory of Agincourt.
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