Catholic Saints & Feasts of the Liturgical Year

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November 4: Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop—Memorial

1538–1584
Patron Saint of apple orchards, bishops, catechism writers, catechists, catechumens, seminarians, starchmakers, and spiritual directors
Invoked against abdominal pain, colic, stomach diseases, and ulcers
Canonized by Pope Paul V on November 1, 1610
Liturgical Color: White

Quote:
Most dearly beloved brethren, If you should look diligently into what was written in the Old Law about the excellence and purity of priests and other ministers serving the altar, and what was written about external cleanliness of body, it will surely enough become clear to you how much more excellent and pure, and how much more free from all stain and blemish of body, and even more of soul, the ministers and priests of the Law of the Gospel must be. For if we compare the New Law’s most holy sacrifice of the immaculate Lamb, the sacrifice of the Son of our God and Lord offered daily on the altar to God the Father for our sins, with those irrational victims slaughtered in the Temple of Solomon on prescribed days, what else will that be, if not to compare shadow to reality, darkness to light, earth to heaven, or rather brute animals to the most high God of gods, our savior Jesus Christ? ~Saint Charles Borromeo to newly ordained priests

Prayer:
Saint Charles Borromeo, you were born into privilege, but once ordained, you became a fervent follower of Christ and a holy shepherd of God’s people. Please pray for me, that I will follow your example of Church reform by applying the fervor you had to my own soul and family. May all I do always be done for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Saint Charles Borromeo, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

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Image from Lawrence OP, Flickr

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November 3: Saint Martin de Porres, Religious—Optional Memorial

1579–1639
Patron Saint of African-Americans, biracial people, barbers, innkeepers, the poor, Peru, public health workers, public schools, television, and interracial and social justice
Canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 6, 1962
Liturgical Color: White

Quote:
Certain that he deserved more severe punishment for his sins than others did, he would overlook their worst offenses. He was tireless in his efforts to reform the criminal, and he would sit up with the sick to bring them comfort. For the poor he would provide food, clothing and medicine. He did all he could to care for poor farmhands, blacks, and mulattoes who were looked down upon as slaves, the dregs of society in their time. Common people responded by calling him, “Martin the charitable.” He excused the faults of others. He forgave the bitterest injuries, convinced that he deserved much severer punishments on account of his own sins. ~From the canonization homily of Saint John XXIII

Prayer:
Saint Martin de Porres, your poverty and rejection did not deter you from pursuing the love of God. Your love of God then filled you with many virtues and a deep love for God’s people. Pray for me, that I may learn humility from your life and will never waver in my commitment to prayer, so that God can do great things in me and through me for the world. Saint Martin de Porres, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

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Image from Lawrence OP, Flickr

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November 2: All Souls’ Day—Commemoration

Liturgical Color: White, Violet, or Black

Quote:
Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection in mind; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin. ~ 2 Maccabees 12:42–46

Prayer:
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, all the angels and saints, I beg for an outpouring of Your Divine Mercy upon every poor sinner and every poor soul in Purgatory. Cleanse them all, especially my family and friends who have died, and bring them into the full beauty and splendor of Your presence. Please also pour Your mercy down upon my poor soul, and free me from every sin and every attachment I have to sin. Increase my virtue, and draw me into union with You, my God. Angels and saints of God, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You.

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Public Domain, via Wikimedia

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November 1: All Saints’ Day—Solemnity

Holy Day of Obligation
Liturgical Color: White

Quote:
After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” ~ Revelation 7:9–10

Prayer:
All saints in Heaven, I thank you for the holy witness you each have given to the Church and rejoice in the blessings you now enjoy in Heaven. Please pray for me and for all people, that every one of us will become holy, bearing witness to Christ with our lives, and one day enter Heaven. May God pour forth an abundance of grace upon the world through the example you set and the prayers you now pray before His throne. All saints of God, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

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October 28: Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles—Feast

First Century
Patron Saint of curriers, woodcutters, and tanners (Simon); hopeless causes and hospital workers (Jude)
Pre-Congregation canonization
Liturgical Color: Red

Quote:
In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. ~Luke 6:12–16

Prayer:
Saints Simon and Jude, you were both privileged to learn from Jesus Himself. After His Ascension, you were among the first to receive the Holy Spirit and ordination as bishops. God used you to then go forth and fulfill His command to share the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Please pray for me, that I will more fully understand my mission within the Body of Christ and will fulfill my duties with diligence and love. Saints Simon and Jude, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

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Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons