Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord

Pope Saint Sylvester I (ca. 335)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 73 This Rule only a Beginning of Perfection
Mass: 1 Jn 2:18-21; Resp Ps 96; Jn 1:1-18

The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. To those who accepted him he gave power to become the children of God.

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 72 The Good Zeal of Monks
Mass: Qo 3:2-6, 12-14; Resp Ps 128 or 1 S 1:20-22, 24-28; Resp Ps 84; Col 3:12-21 or 1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24; Lk 2:41-52

Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord.

Fifth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord

Saint Thomas Becket (1118-1170)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 71 Mutual Obedience
Mass: 1 Jn 2:3-11; Resp Ps 96; Lk 2:22-35

A light to reveal you to the nations and glory for your people Israel.

Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 70 The Presumption of Striking Another Monk at Will
Mass: 1 Jn 1:5-2:2; Resp Ps 124; Mt 2:13-18

The innocents were slaughtered as infants for Christ; spotless, they follow the Lamb and sing for ever: Glory to you, O Lord.

Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 69 The Presumption of Defending Another in the Monastery
Mass: 1 Jn 1:1-4; Resp Ps 97; Jn 20:1a, 2-8

This is John, who reclined on the Lord's breast at supper, the blessed Apostle, to whom celestial secrets were revealed and who spread the words of life through all the world.

Feast of Saint Stephen, the First Martyr

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 68 Assignment of Impossible Tasks
Mass: Ac 6:8-10; 7:54-59; Resp Ps 31; Mt 10:17-22

Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 67 Those Who Are Sent on a Journey
Mass During the Night: Is 9:1-6, Resp Ps 96; Tt 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14
Mass at Dawn: Is 62:11-12; Resp Ps 97; Tt 3:4-7; Lk 2:15-20
Mass During the Day: Is 52:7-10; Resp Ps 98; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18

A holy day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, and adore the Lord. For today a great light has come upon the earth.

December 24

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 66 The Porter of the Monastery
Mass in the Morning: 2 S 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Resp Ps 89; Lk 1:67-79
Vigil Mass: Is 62:1-5; Resp Ps 89; Ac 13:16-17, 22-25; Mt 1:1-25

Behold, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son into the world.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 65:11-22
Mass: Mi 5:1-4a; Resp Ps 80; Heb 10:5-10; Lk 1:39-45

He shall be peace.

December 22

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 65:1-10 The Prioress of the Monastery
Mass: 1 S 1:24-28; Resp Ps (1 S 2); Lk 1:46-56

O gates, lift high your heads: grow higher ancient doors. Let him enter, the king of glory!

December 21

Saint Peter Canisius, priest, Doctor of the Church (1521-1597)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 64:7-22
Mass: Sg 2:8-14 or Zp 3:14-18a; Resp Ps 33; Lk 1:39-45

O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the secret recesses of the cliff, Let me see you, let me hear your voice, For your voice is sweet, and you are lovely.

December 20

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 64:1-6 The Election of an Abbess
Mass: Is 7:10-14; Resp Ps 24; Lk 1:26-38

Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

December 19

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 63:10-19
Mass: Jg 13:2-7, 24-25a; Resp Ps 71; Lk 1:5-25

Be careful to take no wine or strong drink and eat nothing unclean.

December 18

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 63:1-9 Community Rank
Mass: Jr 23:5-8; Resp Ps 72; Mt 1:18-25

He named him Jesus.

December 17

HAPPY 82ND BIRTHDAY, POPE FRANCIS!
AD MULTOS ANNOS, FRANCISCUS!

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 62 The Priests of the Monastery
Mass: Gn 49:2, 8-10; Resp Ps 72; Mt 1:1-17

Rejoice, O heavens, and exult, O earth; for our Lord will come to show mercy to his poor.

Third Sunday of Advent: Gaudéte Sunday

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 61:6-14
Mass: Zp 3:14-18a; Resp Ps (Is 12); Ph 4:4-7; Lk 3:10-18

Rejoice in the Lord always, I shall say it again: rejoice!

Saturday of the Second Week of Advent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 61:1-5 The Reception of Visiting Monks
Mass: Si 48:1-4, 9-11; Resp 80; Mt 17:9a, 10-13

Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths: All flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Saint John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church (1542-1591)

Friday of the Second Week of Advent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 60 The Admission of Priests into the Monastery
Mass: Is 48:17-19; Resp Ps 1 (see Jn 8:12); Mt 11:16-19

If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity will be like a river.

Saint Lucy, early Christian martyr

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 59 The Offering of  Children by Nobles or by the Poor
Mass: Is 41:13-20; Resp Ps 145; Mt 11:11-15

Let the clouds rains down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas

Wednesday of the Second Week in Advent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 58:17-29
Mass: Zc 2:14-17 or Rev 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Resp Ps (Jdt 13); Lk 1:26-38 or Lk 1:39-47

Our Lady of Guadalupe with Juan Diego

Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

Pope St Damasus I (304-384)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 58:1-16 The Procedure for Receiving New Members
Mass: Is 40:1-11; Resp Ps 96 (Is 40:10ab); Mt 18:12-14

In the desert prepare the way of the Lord!

Monday of the Second Week of Advent

Human Rights Day

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 57 The Artisans of the Monastery
Mass: Is 35:1-10; Resp Ps 85 (Is 35:4f); Lk 5:17-26

Come, O Lord, visit us in peace, that we may rejoice before you with a blameless heart.

Second Sunday of Advent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 56 The Abbess's Table
Mass: Ba 5:1-9; Resp Ps 126; Ph 1:4-6, 8-11; Lk 3:1-6

God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patronal Feast Day of the United States of America

Beatification of 19 Religious Men and Women Martyred in Algeria between 1994 and 1996, including seven Trappist monks of Tibhirine murdered in 1996.

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 55:15-22
Mass: Gn 3:9-15, 20; Resp Ps 98; Ep 1:3-6, 11-12; Lk 1:26-38

Trappist Monks of Tibhirine

Saint Ambrose (337-397); First Friday of the Month

Friday of the First Week of Advent
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 55:1-14 Clothing and Footwear for the Community
Mass: Is 29:17-24; Resp Ps 27: Mt 9:27-31

The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Saint Nicholas (d. middle of 4th century)

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 54 The Reception of Letters and Gifts in the Monastery
Mass: Is 26:1-6; Resp Ps 118; Mt 7:21, 24-27

The Lord is an eternal Rock.

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 53:16-24
Mass: Is 25:6-10a; Resp Ps 23; Mt 15:29-37

The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.

Saint John Damascene, Doctor of the Church (7th-8th century)

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 53:1-15 The Reception of Guests
Mass: Is 11:1-10; Resp Ps 72; Lk 10:21-24

I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.

Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552)

Monday of the First Week of Advent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 52 The Oratory of the Monastery
Mass: Is 2:1-5; Resp Ps 122; Mt 8:5-11

Come and save us, Lord our God; let your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

First Sunday of Advent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 51 Those on Local Errands or Work
Mass: Jr 33:14-16; 1 Th 3:12-4:2; Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

Show us, Lord, your love; and grant us your salvation.

Blessed Virgin Mary; First Saturday of the Month

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 50 Those Working at a Distance or Traveling
Mass: Rev 22:1-7; Resp Ps 95 (1 Co 16:22b; see Rev 22:20c); Lk 21:34-36

Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy with carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.

Feast of Saint Andrew, one of the Twelve, Patron Saint of Scotland, Romania, Greece, Russia, Ukraine, and Poland; and the Patron Saint of Fishermen!

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 49 The Observance of Lent
Mass: Rm 10:9-18; Resp Ps 19; Mt 4:18-22

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Thursday of the Thirty-Fourth, or Last, Week in Ordinary Time

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 48:22-25
Mass: Rev 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a; Resp Ps 100 (Rev 19:9a); Lk 21:20-28

Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. 

Wednesday of the Thirty-Fourth, or Last, Week in Ordinary Time

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 48:10-21
Mass: Rev 15:1-4; Resp Ps 98; Lk 21:12-19

Let the rivers clap their hands, and the mountains shout with them for joy.

Tuesday of the Thirty-Fourth, or Last, Week in Ordinary Time

Readings of the Day
RB: 48:1-9 The Daily Manual Labor
Mass: Rev 14:14-19; Resp Ps 96; Lk 21:5-11

Let the plains be joyful and all that is in them! Then all the trees of the forest exult.

Monday of the Thirty-Fourth, or Last, Week in Ordinary Time

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 47 Announcing the Hours for the Work of God
Mass: Rev 14:1-3, 4b-5; Resp Ps 24; Lk 21:1-4

The Lord's are the earth and its fullness.

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 46 Faults Committed Elsewhere
Mass: Da 7:13-14; Resp Ps 93; Rev 1:5-8; Jn 18:33b-37

Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him.

Saint Andrew Dũng-Lac and Companions (Vietnamese, Spanish, French martyrs of 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 45 Mistakes in the Oratory
Mass: Rev 11:4-12; Resp Ps 144; Lk 20:27-40

May we never boast, except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the word of the Cross is the power of God to us who have been saved.

Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro (1891-1927); Pope Saint Clement I (fourth Bishop of Rome after Peter, Linus, and Cletus; end of 1st century); Saint Columbanus (540-615)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 44 The Reconciliation of Those Excommunicated
Mass: Rev 10:8-11; Resp Ps 119; Lk 19:45-48

My house shall be a house of prayer.

Thanksgiving Day; Saint Cecilia (early Christian martyr)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 43:13-19
Mass: 
For Thanksgiving Day: Si 50:22-24; 1 Co 1:3-9; Lk 17:11-19
For Ferial Day: Rev 5:1-10; Resp Ps 149; Lk 19:41-44

And now, bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth.

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

World Day of Cloistered Life, or Pro Orantibus Day - the Day for Those Who Pray

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 43:1-12 Tardiness at the Work of God or at Table
Mass: 
For Feast: Si 24:17-21; Resp Ps (Is 61:10/Lk 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54); Lk 1:26-38
For Ferial Day: Rev 4:1-11; Resp Ps 150; Lk 19:11-28

I bud forth delights like a vine, my blossoms become fruit fair and rich.

Tuesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 42 The Great Silence After Compline
Mass: Rev 3:1-6, 14-22; Resp Ps 15; Lk 19:1-10

Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

Saint Mechtilde of Hackeborn (1241-1298)

Monday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

Readings of the Day:
RB: Ch 41 The Times for Community Meals
Mass: Rev 1:1-4; 2:1-5; Resp Ps 1; Lk 18:35-43

To be near God is my happiness, to place my hope in God the Lord.

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

World Day of the Poor
In other years: The Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 40 The Proper Amount of Drink
Mass: Da 12:1-3; Resp Ps 16; Heb 10:11-14, 18; Mk 13:24-32

Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231); Saint Hilda of Whitby (614-680)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 39 The Proper Amount of Food  
Mass: 3 Jn 5-8; Resp Ps 112; Lk 18:1-8

Pray always without becoming weary.

Saint Gertrude the Great of Helfta (1256-1301); Saint Margaret of Scotland (1045-1093)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 38 The Weekly Reader
Mass: 
For Solemnity of St Gertrude: Sg 8:1-4 or 6-7; Resp Ps 23; Ep 3:14-19; Jn 15:1-8
For Ferial Day: 2 Jn 4-9; Resp Ps 119; Lk 17:26-37

Set me as a seal on your heart; as a seal on your arm.

Saint Albert the Great, Doctor of the Church (1206-1280)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 37 Care for the Elderly and the Young
Mass: Phm 7-20; Resp Ps 146; Lk 17:20-25

Refresh my heart in Christ

Wednesday of the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 36 Care of the Sick
Mass: Tt 3:1-7; Resp Ps 23; Lk 17:11-19

In all circumstances, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

Feast of All Saints of the Benedictine Family; Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 35:12-18

Mass:
For Feast: Is 61:9-11; Resp Ps 88; Jn 15:1-8
For Ferial Day: Tt 2:1-8, 11-14; Resp Ps 37; Lk17:7-10

Listen carefully to the master's instructions, and attend to them with the of your heart.

Saint Josaphat (1580-1623)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 35:1-11
Mass: Tt 1:1-9; Resp Ps 24; Lk 17:1-6

Whoever loses his life for my sake, will find it in eternity, says the Lord.