| DIES | 09 Sun | 10 Mon | 11 Tue | 12 Wed | 13 Thu | 14 Fri | 15 Sat | 16 Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Officium | In Dedicatione Basilicæ Ss. Salvatoris | S. Andreæ Avellini Confessoris | S. Martini Episcopi et Confessoris | S. Martini Papæ et Martyris | S. Didaci Confessoris | S. Josaphat Episcopi et Martyris | S. Gertrudis Virginis | Dominica XXIII Post Pentecosten |
| Classis | Duplex II. | Duplex | Duplex | Semiduplex | Semiduplex | Duplex | Duplex | Semiduplex |
| Color* | Albus | Albus | Albus | Rubeum | Albus | Rubeum | Albus | Viridis |
| Missa | Terríbilis | Os justi | Státuit ei Dóminus | Sacerdótes Dei, | Justus | Gaudeámus | Dilexísti | Dicit Dóminus |
| Orationes | 2a. Dominica XXII Post Pentecosten | 2a. Ss. Tryphonis, Respicii, et Nymphæ Virg., Martyrum | 2a. S. Mennæ Martyris | 2a. A cunctis 3a. ad libitum | 2a. A cunctis 3a. ad libitum | NA | NA | 2a. A cunctis 3a. ad libitum |
| Notae | Gl. Cr. Pref. de sanctissima Trinitate | Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Pref. de Communis | Gl. Cr. Pref. de sanctissima Trinitate |
| Nota Bene/Vel/Votiva | UK: S. Erconwaldi Episcopi et Confessoris: Missa “Sacerdotes tui” | UK: S. Edmundi Ep & Conf: Missa “Statuit ei Dominus” Comm. Dominica |
SUNDAY
November 9 – The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
The feast of the Dedication of the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist celebrates not only a building but the visible unity of the Church. The Lateran, “Mother and Head of all the churches of the City and of the World,” is the Pope’s own cathedral — the mother see of Christendom. Dedicated first by Pope Sylvester I in A.D. 324, it has witnessed the rise and fall of empires, the coronation of popes, and the solemn definitions of faith. The Gospel of the day reminds us that true worship is not confined to temples made with hands: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Yet the Church, as the Mystical Body of Christ, is the living temple of the Holy Ghost; and each soul, renewed by grace, is a stone in that divine edifice. To honour the Lateran is to honour the visible Church in her unity, sacramental life, and authority — the house not built by man but by God Himself upon the rock of Peter.
November 10 – St. Andrew Avellino, Confessor
A Theatine priest of Naples, St. Andrew Avellino (1521–1608) reformed the clergy by example rather than by decree. Formerly a lawyer, he turned from the world after a rash oath in court convinced him of the peril of careless words. His reforming zeal as a priest and superior combined strict discipline with tender charity; he was known for his constant prayer and purity of life. Struck by apoplexy while ascending the altar steps to say Mass, he died uttering the words, Introibo ad altare Dei — “I will go unto the altar of God.” His life recalls that sanctity is forged through vigilance and repentance: the priest who once sinned by a word died sanctified in the Word made Flesh.
November 11 – St. Martin of Tours, Bishop and Confessor
Born a pagan in Pannonia (modern Hungary) around 316, Martin served as a Roman soldier before embracing the faith. The famous story of his dividing his cloak with a beggar, to whom Christ later appeared wearing the half, shows the harmony of charity and humility that marked his life. As Bishop of Tours, he opposed Arianism and worked tirelessly to evangelize rural Gaul, founding monasteries and reforming clergy and laity alike. His death in 397 was so holy that the Church calls it a birth into heaven. St. Martin’s feast is the oldest non-martyr’s feast in the Western calendar. In medieval England, Martinmas marked the end of autumn and the time for slaughtering livestock for winter — a reminder that charity and providence must both precede the cold season of the soul.
November 12 – St. Martin I, Pope and Martyr
This lesser-known St. Martin, a pontiff of the seventh century, faced the heresy of Monothelitism, which denied the full human will of Christ. Summoned by the Byzantine emperor to Constantinople, he was arrested, stripped, and exiled for defending the true doctrine. In the filth of a prison and the agony of hunger, he bore witness to the freedom of the Church before earthly power. He died a martyr in exile in 655. His steadfast confession recalls that fidelity to Christ’s two natures — divine and human — is the foundation of the Christian life: without it, both our redemption and our imitation of Christ collapse.
November 13 – St. Didacus (Diego) of Alcalá, Confessor
A humble Franciscan lay brother from Spain (c. 1400–1463), St. Didacus served in the Canary Islands as a missionary before being called to Rome to tend the sick at the friary of Ara Coeli. His holiness was marked by simplicity, cheerfulness, and the gift of healing. His body, found incorrupt, became a sign of God’s favour. Known in the Spanish world as San Diego, his quiet charity left an enduring legacy: holiness does not require learning, but love. His life illustrates that humility, united with obedience, is the surest path to wisdom and peace.
November 14 – St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr
St. Josaphat (1580–1623), Archbishop of Polotsk, was martyred for striving to reunite the Orthodox of the Ruthenian Church with Rome. Though often misunderstood, his motive was not politics but truth — unity in the one Faith. His body, cast into a river, was later found incorrupt. He stands as a reminder that true ecumenism demands fidelity to doctrine, not compromise.
The same day, in England, the faithful honour St. Erconwald, Bishop and Confessor a seventh-century Bishop of London and founder of Chertsey Abbey. A counsellor to kings and friend to the poor, he strengthened the foundations of Christian England. His shrine in old St. Paul’s Cathedral was once a centre of pilgrimage for Londoners seeking healing and wisdom — a tradition awaiting renewal in a land that has forgotten its saints.
November 15 – St. Gertrude the Great, Virgin
Born at Helfta in Saxony in 1256, St. Gertrude was educated in the Benedictine abbey from childhood and became one of the greatest mystics of the Middle Ages. Her visions and writings, especially the Herald of Divine Love, revealed the depths of the Sacred Heart centuries before its formal devotion. She combined the intellect of a theologian with the tenderness of a lover of Christ, and her mystical union with the Lord exemplifies the soul’s marriage to divine wisdom. The words of Christ to her — “In the sweetness of My Heart thou shalt find all that thou dost desire” — echo through every age as an invitation to contemplative intimacy.
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