OXYGEN

30 Nov – Feast of St. Andrew, apostle
Andrew was the first apostle. A fisherman and the brother of St. Peter, and a follower of St. John the Baptist. He went through life leading people to Jesus, both before and after the Crucifixion. He became a missionary in Asia Minor and Greece, and possibly areas [...]

29 Nov
Takes Toil To Bloom
by Dorman Winger
One hot summer afternoon a woman was working strenuously, weeding her flower beds and pruning the plants. The flowers were especially magnificent.
A passerby asked, “I really like those flowers – do you?”
As she wiped perspiration from her face with a dirty hand, the woman’s weary [...]

28 Nov
Come Unto Me
Author Unknown
A well-known sculptor had a burning ambition to create the greatest statue of Jesus Christ ever made. He began in his oceanside studio by shaping a clay model of a triumphant, regal figure. The head was thrown back and the arms were upraised in a gesture of great majesty. [...]

27 Nov
The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous
Service Material from the General Service Office
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to [...]

26 Nov – Last Sunday in Ordinary Time: Solemnity of Christ The King
Christ The King
Today we celebrate Christ the universal King. He did not claim to be only the king of the Jews. His kingdom was not to be an exclusive one. He is king of all who are on the side of [...]

25 Nov – Memorial for St. Catherine of Alexandria, virgin and martyr
Catherine (d. 305) was a noble who was learned in science and oratory. After receiving a vision, she converted to Christianity. At the age of 18, during the persecution of Maximus, she offered to debate the pagan philosophers. Many were converted by her [...]

24 Nov – Memorial for St. Andrew Dung-Lac, priest and companions, martyrs
Andrew Dung-Lac (1785-1839) was a Vietnamese priest who worked in the missions with the priests of the Foreign Mission Society of Paris (MEP). He was imprisoned and repeatedly tortured in the persecutions of Minh-Meng. He died with St. Peter Thi, and is one [...]

23 Nov – Memorial for St. Clement I, pope and martyr; Memorial for St. Columban, abbot
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Charity unites us to God. There is nothing mean in charity, nothing arrogant. Charity knows no schism, does not rebel, does all things in concord. In charity all the elect of God have been made perfect.
- Pope [...]

21 Nov – Memorial for the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
This celebration commemorates the presentation of the child Mary, in the Temple at Jerusalem, when she was three. This feast was first kept in the eighth century. It symbolises the consecration of her life to the Lord.
- from the Weekday Missal
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The [...]

20 Nov
Lives Out Of Balance
Author Unknown
In 1923, nine of the world’s most successful financiers met at Chicago’s Edgewater Beach Hotel. Financially, they literally “held the world by the tail”. Anything that money could buy was within their grasp; they were rich – rich – rich! Read their names and the high position each [...]