NUNTIATORIA

8–15 November 2026 | In Octava Omnium Sanctorum — In Dedicatione Basilicæ Ss. Salvatoris — Dominica XXV post Pentecosten

The Church passes from the Octave of All Saints to the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, the mother church of Christendom, and through a succession of saints whose lives illustrate the pastoral, missionary, doctrinal and contemplative character of Catholic holiness. The week concludes with St Gertrude the Great and the commemoration of the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost, whose Mass is taken from the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany.

TABULA HEBDOMADIS

DIES	DOM VIII XI	FER II IX XI	FER III X XI	FER IV XI XI	FER V XII XI	FER VI XIII XI	SAB XIV XI	DOM XV XI
OFFICIUM	In Octava Omnium Sanctorum; com. Dom. XXIV post Pent. et Ss. IV Coronatorum Mm.	In Dedicatione Basilicæ Ss. Salvatoris; com. S. Theodori M.	S. Andreæ Avellini C.; com. Ss. Tryphonis, Respicii et Nymphæ Mm.	S. Martini Ep. C.; com. S. Mennæ M.	S. Martini I Papæ et M.	S. Didaci C.	S. Josaphat Ep. M.	S. Gertrudis V.; com. Dom. XXV post Pent.
CLASSIS	Dupl. majus	Dupl. II cl.	Duplex	Duplex	Semiduplex	Semiduplex	Duplex	Duplex
COLOR	Albus	Albus	Albus	Albus	Rubeus	Albus	Rubeus	Albus
MISSA	Gaudeamus omnes	Terribilis est locus iste	Os justi	Statuit ei	Sacerdotes Dei	Justus ut palma	Gaudeamus omnes	Dilexisti
ORATIONES	2a Dom. XXIV; 3a Ss. IV Coronatorum	2a S. Theodori M.	2a Ss. Tryphonis, Respicii et Nymphæ	2a S. Mennæ M.	2a A cunctis; 3a ad libitum	2a A cunctis; 3a ad libitum	Propria	2a Dom. XXV
RUBRICÆ	Gl. Cr.; Præf. Ss. Trinitatis; Ult. Ev. Dom.	Gl. Cr.; præf. comm.	Gl.; præf. comm.	Gl.; præf. comm.	Gl.; præf. comm.; Psalt. ant.	Gl.; præf. comm.; Psalt. ant.	Gl.; præf. comm.	Gl. Cr.; Præf. Ss. Trinitatis; Ult. Ev. Dom.
VESPERÆ	I de Dedicatione; com. præc. et Dom.	II de Dedicatione; com. seq.	A cap. de seq.; com. præc.	II de S. Martino; com. seq.	De Officio diei; com. seq.	A cap. de seq.; com. præc.	A cap. de seq.; com. præc. et Dom.	II de S. Gertrude; com. Dom.

Abbreviationes: Dupl. = Duplex; Gl. = Gloria; Cr. = Credo; Dom. = Dominica; Pent. = Pentecosten; com. = commemoratio; Præf. = Præfatio; Psalt. ant. = Psalterium antiquum; Ult. Ev. = Ultimum Evangelium; propr. = proprium; Mm. = Martyres; M. = Martyr; C. = Confessor; Ep. = Episcopus; V. = Virgo.

Color: Albus = White; Rubeus = Red; Viridis = Green; Purpura = Purple; Niger = Black.

Nota: The Mass and Office entries follow the earlier Roman arrangement established for this Ordo. Particular calendars, privileged churches and approved local usages may require their own propers or additional commemorations.

DAILY LITURGICAL COMMENTARY

Sunday, 8 November — Octave Day of All Saints; Commemoration of the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost

In Octava Omnium Sanctorum — Dominica XXIV post Pentecosten

Double Major — White — Missa Gaudeamus omnes

The Octave of All Saints reaches its conclusion with the Church returning once more to the glory of those who have completed their earthly pilgrimage. For eight days the sacred liturgy has held before the faithful the innumerable company of the blessed, whose victory demonstrates the efficacy of divine grace and the eternal destiny for which man was created.

The Octave Day possesses its own dignity in the older Roman calendar. Under the precedence retained in this Ordo, it is celebrated as a Double Major, with commemoration of the occurring Sunday and the Four Crowned Martyrs. This observance continues the arrangement explained in the preceding week’s Ordo and must not be displaced by the later rubrical treatment of the Sunday.²

The Mass is Gaudeamus omnes, with Gloria and Creed. The Collect, Secret and Postcommunion of the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost are added, followed by those of the Four Crowned Martyrs. The Preface of the Most Holy Trinity is used, and the Sunday Gospel is read as the proper Last Gospel.

The Sunday employs the formulary of the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, resumed because of the number of Sundays falling between Pentecost and Advent. Its Gospel, Matthew 13:24–30, relates the parable of the wheat and the cockle.

Our Lord describes a field in which good seed and weeds grow together. The servants wish immediately to uproot the weeds, but the master forbids them lest they damage the wheat. Both must remain until the harvest, when the appointed separation will take place.

The significance of this Gospel upon the Octave Day is considerable. The saints have passed beyond the present condition of the Church Militant, where grace and sin, fidelity and rebellion, conversion and obstinacy are encountered until the final judgement. Their glory assures the faithful that the harvest is real, that perseverance is possible and that God will bring His work to completion.

The parable also teaches that judgement belongs ultimately to God. This does not diminish the Church’s obligation to distinguish truth from error, correct sin or exercise legitimate discipline. It forbids the presumption that man possesses the divine knowledge necessary to pronounce upon the final condition of another soul.

The Four Crowned Martyrs, commemorated on this day, offer a further example of fidelity under persecution. Their traditional history recalls Christians who refused to comply with demands contrary to their faith, accepting death rather than participating in idolatry.

The day is also Remembrance Sunday in the United Kingdom. The faithful may appropriately commend to God’s mercy those who died in war, particularly those whose resting places are unknown or for whom no one now offers prayers. Such remembrance belongs naturally within November’s continuing concern for the Holy Souls.

At Vespers the Church turns towards the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, bringing the Octave of All Saints to its conclusion and directing attention towards the visible, sacramental society established by Christ upon earth.

Monday, 9 November — Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

In Dedicatione Basilicæ Sanctissimi Salvatoris

Double of the Second Class — White — Missa Terribilis est locus iste

The Basilica of St John Lateran is the cathedral church of the Bishop of Rome and, consequently, holds a dignity exceeding that of St Peter’s Basilica. It is the mother and head of the churches of Rome and of the world, a title which expresses its particular place within the visible constitution of the Catholic Church.

Originally dedicated under Pope St Sylvester I in the fourth century, the Lateran became the principal ecclesiastical seat of the Roman pontiffs. Councils, papal ceremonies, solemn professions of faith and the ordinary exercise of episcopal authority have all contributed to its history.

The feast celebrates the dedication of the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour, later associated particularly with St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist.

The Mass begins Terribilis est locus iste, from Genesis 28:17, recalling Jacob’s recognition of the place where God had manifested His presence. The word terribilis here expresses awe before divine majesty, rather than ordinary human fear.

The Epistle, Apocalypse 21:2–5, describes the heavenly Jerusalem descending from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. The Gospel, Luke 19:1–10, recounts the conversion of Zacchaeus, into whose house Christ declares that salvation has come.

These readings illuminate the meaning of a consecrated church. The building is set apart for divine worship because Christ has established His Church as the ordinary instrument through which men are brought to salvation. Its sacred character is determined by the worship offered there, above all the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

The church building therefore witnesses to something more than a religious gathering place. Its altar, consecration, sacramental appointments and orientation towards worship express the reality that man approaches God upon God’s terms. The faithful do not assemble to create the Church; they assemble because Christ has already established her.

The Gloria and Creed are said, with the Common Preface. St Theodore, Martyr, is commemorated through the appointed prayers.

St Theodore of Amasea, traditionally associated with martyrdom under the early fourth-century persecutions, was honoured in Rome long before the Lateran Dedication acquired its later prominence in the universal calendar. His surviving commemoration provides another example of the older Roman liturgy’s preservation of its historical layers.

The feast also reminds Catholics that the Pope is first a bishop, entrusted with a particular episcopal church, and that his universal primacy exists for the preservation of the faith, unity and sacramental communion of the Church.

The Lateran bears witness to the continuity of that office through centuries in which Roman pontiffs have displayed both considerable sanctity and serious human weakness. Its significance rests upon Christ’s institution of the Church, not upon the personal distinction of every man who has occupied the Roman See.

Tuesday, 10 November — St Andrew Avellino, Confessor

Sancti Andreæ Avellini Confessoris

Double — White — Missa Os justi

St Andrew Avellino, a Theatine priest and distinguished reformer of the sixteenth century, belonged to an age in which the Church urgently required renewal among her clergy.

Born in 1521 in the Kingdom of Naples, he first pursued legal studies before embracing the ecclesiastical life. An experience involving a false statement made in the course of his legal work awakened in him a profound determination to pursue truthfulness and holiness. He subsequently joined the Theatines, whose commitment to priestly discipline, common life and pastoral reform corresponded closely to his aspirations.

The Mass is Os justi, from the Common of Confessors, with Gloria and Common Preface. The martyrs Saints Tryphon and Respicius, together with St Nympha, are commemorated through the appointed prayers.

St Andrew’s reforming work was directed particularly towards the clergy. He understood that the renewal of ecclesiastical life required priests who were themselves men of prayer, discipline, theological seriousness and charity. Regulations could assist reform, but they could never substitute for the personal fidelity of those entrusted with their observance.

The traditional account of his death is especially memorable. While preparing to offer Mass, he suffered a fatal seizure and died shortly afterwards, having devoted his final years to the priestly ministry in which he had persevered throughout his life.

His example bears upon a perennial question concerning reform in the Church. How can the clergy effectively summon the faithful to repentance, holiness and fidelity unless those same obligations are understood to bind the clergy themselves?

The answer supplied by the saints is practical. The priest must first be a Christian living under the authority of Christ. His office confers sacred obligations which personal weakness does not annul but which personal sanctity ought to adorn.

St Andrew’s feast therefore invites prayer for priests, particularly that their offering of the Holy Sacrifice should be accompanied by a corresponding dedication of their lives to God.

Wednesday, 11 November — St Martin of Tours, Bishop and Confessor

Sancti Martini Episcopi et Confessoris

Double — White — Missa Statuit ei

St Martin of Tours is among the most beloved saints of Western Christendom. A soldier who became a monk and bishop, his life unites the obligations of charity, the pursuit of personal holiness and the apostolic responsibility of bringing the faith to others.

Born in the fourth century, traditionally in Pannonia, Martin entered military service before embracing the Christian vocation which would determine the remainder of his life.

The celebrated account of his dividing his cloak with a beggar outside Amiens is familiar to generations of Christians. That night, according to the traditional narrative, Christ appeared wearing the portion of the cloak which Martin had given away. The incident expresses the teaching of Our Lord that charity towards those in need is rendered to Him.

Martin subsequently pursued the monastic life under the influence of St Hilary of Poitiers. Eventually chosen Bishop of Tours, he laboured to extend the Christian faith beyond the principal towns into the countryside of Gaul, confronting remaining pagan practices and establishing communities devoted to prayer and evangelical discipline.

The Mass is Statuit ei Dominus, with Gloria and Common Preface. St Menna, Martyr, is commemorated.

The feast possesses particular historical associations in England. Martinmas marked an important turning point in the agricultural year, associated with the completion of the harvest, the preparation of winter provisions and the settlement of customary obligations.

Many English churches bear St Martin’s dedication, reflecting the considerable influence of his cult upon the Christianisation of the country. His feast also preserves the memory of the close historical relationship between the churches of Gaul and Britain.

Martin demonstrates that the episcopal office is fundamentally pastoral and missionary. The bishop is appointed to preserve the faith, sanctify the faithful and extend the Church’s life through preaching, sacraments and apostolic government.

His episcopacy was neither an administrative retirement from spiritual labour nor a promotion beyond the ordinary obligations of Christian charity. The same man who had shared his cloak with a beggar continued, as bishop, to serve Christ in the people entrusted to him.

The faithful may appropriately mark Martinmas through works of practical charity, provision for those in need and prayers for bishops and priests.

Thursday, 12 November — St Martin I, Pope and Martyr

Sancti Martini I Papæ et Martyris

Semidouble — Red — Missa Sacerdotes Dei

The Church commemorates another St Martin, a Roman pontiff whose defence of Catholic doctrine brought him into direct conflict with imperial authority.

St Martin I became Pope in 649, during the controversy concerning Monothelitism, the teaching that Christ possessed only one will. Such a doctrine compromised the integrity of His human nature and therefore the orthodox confession of the Incarnation.

The Catholic Faith teaches that Our Lord Jesus Christ is one divine Person possessing two complete natures, divine and human, and consequently two natural wills corresponding to those natures. His human will is perfectly obedient to His divine will, without being suppressed or rendered unreal.

St Martin convened the Lateran Council of 649, which condemned Monothelitism and defended the doctrine subsequently solemnly affirmed at the Third Council of Constantinople.

His determination provoked the hostility of Emperor Constans II. Arrested under imperial authority, Martin was taken to Constantinople, subjected to degrading treatment and eventually sent into exile. He died in 655, worn down by suffering.

The Mass is Sacerdotes Dei, with Gloria and Common Preface. The semidouble rank requires the additional prayers appointed by the older rubrics: A cunctis and a third prayer ad libitum.

His martyrdom illustrates the distinction between ecclesiastical and political authority. The State possesses legitimate duties within its own order, but cannot determine the content of divine revelation or compel the Church to contradict her received doctrine.

The Pope’s office was instituted for the confirmation of the brethren in the faith. St Martin exercised that responsibility despite the considerable personal cost, demonstrating that fidelity to apostolic doctrine cannot be made conditional upon the favour of rulers.

His example deserves particular remembrance whenever political considerations are invoked as sufficient reason to diminish the clarity of Catholic teaching.

Friday, 13 November — St Didacus of Alcalá, Confessor

Sancti Didaci Confessoris

Semidouble — White — Missa Justus ut palma

St Didacus, commonly known as San Diego, was a Franciscan lay brother whose holiness became renowned through simplicity, obedience and the corporal works of mercy.

Born in Spain around the beginning of the fifteenth century, he entered the Franciscan life and served in several communities, including missionary establishments in the Canary Islands. His vocation did not depend upon priestly ordination, academic distinction or ecclesiastical promotion.

He became especially associated with the care of the sick, notably during his service at the Franciscan friary of Ara Coeli in Rome. Accounts of his life describe the tenderness with which he attended those who were suffering, together with the confidence in divine Providence which accompanied his practical charity.

The Mass is Justus ut palma, with Gloria and Common Preface. The additional prayers are A cunctis and a third prayer ad libitum, according to the semidouble discipline.

The Gospel and prayers of the Common of Confessors direct attention towards fidelity to grace and the fruits of a life consecrated to God.

St Didacus provides a necessary reminder that Christian sanctity is not measured by intellectual attainment or public responsibility. The Church requires learned doctors, courageous bishops and eloquent missionaries; she also requires those whose apparently ordinary obedience and charity make the love of Christ visible.

The Franciscan vocation places particular emphasis upon poverty, humility and service. In Didacus these were not abstract ideals but habits of daily life, exercised in the immediate duties assigned to him.

His feast is particularly suitable for prayer concerning the corporal works of mercy and for practical assistance to those experiencing illness, poverty or loneliness.

Friday retains its penitential character, and the customary abstinence is observed according to the applicable discipline. During November, an additional prayer for the Holy Souls, particularly those whose earthly lives were marked by obscurity and suffering, would be especially fitting.

Saturday, 14 November — St Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr

Sancti Josaphat Episcopi et Martyris

Double — Red — Missa Gaudeamus omnes

St Josaphat Kuntsevych, Archbishop of Polotsk, was martyred in 1623 amid the religious and political divisions affecting the Ruthenian lands following the Union of Brest.

Born into the Ruthenian Christian tradition, Josaphat entered the monastic life and became a zealous advocate of ecclesiastical union with the Apostolic See. His labours sought to preserve the Eastern liturgical inheritance while maintaining communion with Rome and the profession of Catholic doctrine.

The circumstances of his episcopacy were frequently contentious. Disputes concerning ecclesiastical authority, property, religious identity and competing jurisdictions created an atmosphere in which theological disagreement became entangled with political and social conflict.

Josaphat was killed at Vitebsk by opponents of his ministry, and the Church subsequently honoured him as a martyr for Catholic unity.

The Mass is Gaudeamus omnes, with Gloria and Common Preface. Its proper texts commemorate the martyr’s pastoral charity and witness to ecclesiastical communion.

The significance of St Josaphat’s martyrdom must be understood in relation to the Church’s doctrine of unity. Catholic communion is founded upon a common profession of faith, participation in the sacramental life and ecclesiastical government under the successor of St Peter. It cannot be reduced to mutual goodwill or an arrangement between otherwise independent religious bodies.

The history of the Eastern Catholic Churches likewise demonstrates that unity with Rome does not require the abandonment of every legitimate liturgical, spiritual or disciplinary distinction. The Catholic Church has always possessed a unity capable of embracing genuine diversity, provided that diversity remains within the profession of the same faith.

Josaphat’s feast therefore concerns the nature of Catholic unity and the responsibilities of those entrusted with its preservation.

English proper — St Erconwald, Bishop and Confessor

In the relevant English particular calendar, St Erconwald, Bishop of London, is honoured on this date. A seventh-century ecclesiastical figure associated with the founding of Chertsey Abbey and Barking Abbey, he became a revered pastor of the early English Church.

His shrine in old St Paul’s Cathedral was a notable place of pilgrimage before the religious upheavals of the sixteenth century.

Where the approved English proper prescribes his observance, the Mass Sacerdotes tui is used according to its own rank and rubrics. The exact precedence and commemorations must follow that particular calendar rather than being imported indiscriminately into the universal Roman observance.

At Vespers the Church anticipates the feast of St Gertrude the Great, with the appropriate commemorations of St Josaphat and the occurring Sunday.

Sunday, 15 November — St Gertrude the Great, Virgin; Commemoration of the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Sanctæ Gertrudis Virginis — Dominica XXV post Pentecosten

Double — White — Missa Dilexisti

St Gertrude the Great occupies a distinguished place in the history of Western Christian mysticism. Born in 1256, she entered the religious community at Helfta in Saxony while still a child and received an education remarkable for its intellectual and spiritual breadth.

Her writings disclose a profound understanding of the sacred liturgy, the love of Christ and the interior life of prayer. Among the works associated with her are the Herald of Divine Love and the Spiritual Exercises, through which successive generations have encountered the devotional and theological tradition cultivated at Helfta.

The traditional Roman calendar followed in this Ordo celebrates St Gertrude on 15 November, rather than the date of 16 November found in later editions. Because her feast possesses double rank, it takes precedence over the ordinary semidouble Sunday under the older rules, while the Sunday receives its prescribed commemoration.³

The Mass is Dilexisti, from the Common of Virgins, with the proper prayer of St Gertrude. The Gloria and Creed are said, and the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost is commemorated through its Collect, Secret and Postcommunion. The Preface of the Most Holy Trinity is used, and the Sunday Gospel is read as the proper Last Gospel.

The Gospel of the feast, Matthew 25:1–13, presents the parable of the ten virgins. Those who had prepared themselves to meet the bridegroom entered with him into the marriage feast, whilst those whose lamps lacked sufficient oil found the door closed.

The imagery accords particularly well with St Gertrude’s spiritual writings, in which the soul’s union with Christ is expressed through the language of divine love and the intimacy of the sacred mysteries.

Her devotion to the Sacred Heart belongs to the long development of Catholic spirituality preceding the revelations associated with St Margaret Mary Alacoque. Gertrude contemplated the love of Christ as revealed through His Incarnation, Passion and abiding sacramental presence, especially in the Holy Eucharist.

Her mystical life was therefore deeply ecclesial and liturgical. The Divine Office, the feasts of the Church and the prayers of the Mass supplied the ordinary setting in which her extraordinary spiritual experiences were understood.

St Gertrude is also particularly associated with devotion to the Holy Souls. Her writings express considerable concern for the departed and confidence in the mercy of God. During November, her feast invites the faithful to continue the prayers, Mass intentions and suffrages which have characterised the month.

Care should nevertheless be exercised concerning devotional promises attributed to the saint, particularly claims that a single prayer will necessarily release a specified number of souls from Purgatory. Such assertions ought not to be presented as established doctrine or guaranteed effects of prayer.

The Church teaches with certainty that the faithful departed are assisted by the suffrages of the living, above all the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The precise application of those suffrages belongs to divine wisdom and mercy.

The Sunday commemorated with St Gertrude takes its Mass from the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany. Its Gospel, Matthew 13:31–35, contains the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven.

Our Lord compares the kingdom of heaven to a small grain which grows into a great plant, and to leaven which gradually permeates the whole measure of flour.

Both images teach something essential concerning the operation of divine grace. The beginnings of holiness may be concealed from the world, but God brings forth fruit through means which human judgement may consider insignificant.

The monastery at Helfta was scarcely an institution of worldly consequence. Yet the spiritual writings produced within its walls have nourished Christian devotion for centuries. The hidden fidelity of a religious community became an instrument of grace extending far beyond its own time and place.

The parables also anticipate the completion of Christ’s kingdom. That which has already begun through His preaching and the establishment of His Church will reach its appointed fulfilment. The saints offer a foretaste of that consummation, while the faithful continue to labour in hope.

The Feast of St Gertrude thus provides an appropriate conclusion to a week in which the Church has commemorated bishops, martyrs, confessors and religious. The diversity of their vocations demonstrates the manifold operations of grace, whilst their common destination reveals the essential unity of Christian holiness.

NOTA BENE — RUBRICAL AND PASTORAL OBSERVATIONS

The calendar and Sunday assignments. In 2026, the Sundays of 8 and 15 November are respectively the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth after Pentecost by chronological reckoning. The formularies of the Fifth and Sixth Sundays after Epiphany are resumed on these dates. The final Sunday before Advent, 22 November, uses the proper of the Last Sunday after Pentecost. Advent begins on 29 November. The later Roman calendar continues to identify 8 and 15 November by their resumed Epiphany formularies, although its rules of occurrence and precedence differ from those employed here.⁴

The conclusion of the Octave of All Saints. The Octave Day occurs on 8 November and is celebrated as a Double Major under the older precedence retained in the preceding Ordo. The abolition of the octave in 1955 means that later calendars cannot be used without adjustment to determine the celebration. The commemoration of the occurring Sunday and the Four Crowned Martyrs must be retained in the arrangement followed here.

The Dedication of St John Lateran. Monday 9 November is celebrated as a Double of the Second Class. The Mass Terribilis est locus iste includes the commemoration of St Theodore, Martyr. The proper Gospel is Luke 19:1–10, concerning Zacchaeus. John 2:13–22, sometimes encountered in other liturgical arrangements for the feast, must not be substituted for the Gospel appointed in the older Roman formulary.

The semidouble feasts. St Martin I on 12 November and St Didacus on 13 November retain their semidouble ranks. The additional prayers A cunctis and ad libitum preserve the older discipline. The original Roman Psalter remains the governing baseline for the Office, subject to the proper and common elements prescribed for the individual celebration.

The English particular calendar. St Erconwald on 14 November is retained as an English proper where authorised. The observance is distinguished from the universal feast of St Josaphat. Local calendars must determine the applicable precedence, Mass and commemorations.

St Gertrude and the Sunday of 15 November. The retained earlier calendar places St Gertrude on 15 November. The double feast is celebrated, and the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost is commemorated, with its Mass taken from the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany. The later arrangement, in which the Sunday is principal and St Gertrude appears on 16 November, should not be introduced without acknowledging the change of calendar and rubrics.

November suffrages and Requiem Masses. The month remains especially dedicated to prayer for the faithful departed. The Guild of Holy Souls within the Old Roman Apostolate encourages the offering of Mass intentions, participation in Requiem Masses, the submission of names for the Chantry Books and the recitation of the De profundis. The faithful may request Masses for deceased relatives, friends and benefactors and seek the applicable indulgences under the prescribed conditions. The permission to celebrate Requiem Masses remains governed by the rank of the occurring day, the applicable rubrics and the restrictions proper to the particular celebration.

Friday penance. Friday 13 November retains its penitential character. The faithful should observe the applicable discipline of abstinence and may appropriately unite it with a work of mercy offered for the Holy Souls.