Today's Catholic Mass Readings

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin [In the Dioceses of the United States] Lectionary: 494The Saint of the day is Saint Frances Xavier CabriniSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr Lectionary: 493The Saint of the day is Saint JosaphatSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop Lectionary: 492The Saint of the day is Saint Martin of ToursSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church Lectionary: 491The Saint of the day is Saint Leo the GreatSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsFeast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome Lectionary: 671The Saint of the day is Dedication of Saint John Lateran BasilicaSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsSaturday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 490The Saint of the day is Blessed John Duns ScotusSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsFriday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 489The Saint of the day is Saint DidacusSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsThursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 488The Saint of the day is Saint Nicholas Tavelic and CompanionsSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsWednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 487The Saint of the day is Saint Peter ChrysologusSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop Lectionary: 486The Saint of the day is Saint Charles BorromeoSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMonday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 485The Saint of the day is Saint Martin de PorresSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsThe Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls) Lectionary: 668The Saint of the day is Commemoration of All the Faithful DepartedThe Story of the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed The Church has encouraged prayer for the dead from the earliest times as an act of Christian charity. “If we had no care for the dead,” Augustine noted, “we would not be in the habit of praying for them.” Yet pre-Christian rites for the deceased retained such a strong hold on the superstitious imagination that a liturgical commemoration was not observed until the early Middle Ages, when monastic communities began to mark an annual day of prayer for the departed members. In the middle of the 11th century, Saint Odilo, abbot of Cluny, France, decreed that all Cluniac monasteries offer special prayers and sing the Office for the Dead on November 2, the day after the feast of All Saints. The custom spread from Cluny and was finally adopted throughout the Roman Church. The theological underpinning of the feast is the acknowledgment of human frailty. Since few people achieve perfection in this life but, rather, go to the grave still scarred with traces of sinfulness, some period of purification seems necessary before a soul comes face-to-face with God. The Council of Trent affirmed this purgatory state and insisted that the prayers of the living can speed the process of purification. Superstition easily clung to the observance. Medieval popular belief held that the souls in purgatory could appear on this day in the form of witches, toads or will-o'-the-wisps. Graveside food offerings supposedly eased the rest of the dead. Observances of a more religious nature have survived. These include public processions or private visits to cemeteries and decorating graves with flowers and lights. This feast is observed with great fervor in Mexico. Reflection Whether or not one should pray for the dead is one of the great arguments which divide Christians. Appalled by the abuse of indulgences in the Church of his day, Martin Luther rejected the concept of purgatory. Yet prayer for a loved one is, for the believer, a way of erasing any distance, even death. In prayer we stand in God's presence in the company of someone we love, even if that person has gone before us into death. Read St. Anthony Messenger‘s practical guide to death for Catholics Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsSolemnity of All Saints Lectionary: 667The Saint of the day is Solemnity of All SaintsSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsFriday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 483The Saint of the day is Saint Wolfgang of RegensburgSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsThursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 482The Saint of the day is Saint Alphonsus RodriguezSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsWednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 481The Saint of the day is Saint Narcissus of JerusalemSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsFeast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles Lectionary: 666The Saint of the day is Saints Simon and JudeSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMonday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 479The Saint of the day is Blessed Bartholomew of VicenzaSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsThirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 150The Saint of the day is Saint Peter of AlcantaraSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsSaturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 478The Saint of the day is Saint Antnio de SantAnna GalvoSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsFriday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 477The Saint of the day is Saint Anthony Mary ClaretSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsThursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 476The Saint of the day is Saint John of CapistranoSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsWednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 475The Saint of the day is Saint John Paul IISaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsTuesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 474The Saint of the day is Saint HilarionSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMonday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 473The Saint of the day is Saint Paul of the CrossSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsTwenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 147The Saint of the day is Saints Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brbeuf, and CompanionsSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr Lectionary: 471The Saint of the day is Saint Ignatius of AntiochSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsThursday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 470The Saint of the day is Saint Margaret Mary AlacoqueSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsTuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 468The Saint of the day is Saint Carlo AcutisSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMonday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 467The Saint of the day is Blessed Marie-Rose DurocherSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsTwenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 144The Saint of the day is Blessed Francis Xavier SeelosSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsSaturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 466The Saint of the day is Saint John XXIIISaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsFriday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 465The Saint of the day is Saint Francis BorgiaSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsThursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 464The Saint of the day is Saint Denis and CompanionsSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsWednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 463The Saint of the day is Saint John LeonardiSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Our Lady of the Rosary Lectionary: 462The Saint of the day is Our Lady of the RosarySaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMonday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 461The Saint of the day is Saint BrunoSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsTwenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 141The Saint of the day is Saint Maria Faustina KowalskaSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Francis of Assisi Lectionary: 460The Saint of the day is Saint Francis of AssisiSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsFriday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 459The Saint of the day is Saint Theodora GurinSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of the Holy Guardian Angels Lectionary: 458/650The Saint of the day is Feast of the Guardian AngelsSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church Lectionary: 457The Saint of the day is Saint Thrse of LisieuxSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church Lectionary: 456The Saint of the day is Saint JeromeSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsFeast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels Lectionary: 647The Saint of the day is Saints Michael, Gabriel, and RaphaelSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsTwenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 138The Saint of the day is Saint WenceslausSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest Lectionary: 454The Saint of the day is Saint Vincent de PaulSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsFriday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 453The Saint of the day is Saint Paul VISaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsThursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 452The Saint of the day is Saints Louis Martin and Zlie GurinSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsWednesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 451The Saint of the day is Saint John Henry NewmanSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMemorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest Lectionary: 450The Saint of the day is Saint Pio of PietrelcinaSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Full Text of ReadingsMonday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 449The Saint of the day is Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and CompanionsSaint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media