Saint Andrew The Apostle Feast Day - 30 November

Quoted from Wikipedia [1]:

Andrew the Apostle...also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Saint Peter. He is referred to in the Orthodox tradition as the First-Called...

According to Orthodox tradition, the apostolic successor to Saint Andrew is the Patriarch of Constantinople.

Quoted from Catholics Online [2]:

According to the New Testament, Andrew was born in the village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee during the early first century. Much like his younger brother, Simon Peter, Andrew was also a fisherman...

In the Gospel of Matthew, it is said Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and saw Andrew and Simon Peter fishing. It is then he asked the two to become disciples and "fishers of men."

In the Gospel of Luke, Andrew is not initially named. It describes Jesus using a boat, believed to be solely Simon's, to preach to the multitudes and catch a large amount of fish on a night that originally was dry. Later, in Luke 5:7, it mentions Simon was not the only fisherman on the boat, but it is not until Luke 6:14 that there is talk of Andrew being Simon Peter's brother.

However, the Gospel of John tells a separate story, stating Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. When Jesus walked by one day, John the Baptist stated, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" It is then that Andrew and another made the decision to follow Jesus.

Little else is said about Andrew in the Gospels, but it is believed Andrew was one of the closer disciples to Jesus. It was he who told Jesus about the boy with the loaves and fishes, according to John 6:8. When Philip wanted to speak to Jesus about Greeks seeking him, he spoke to Andrew first. Andrew was also present at the last supper.

Per Christian tradition, Andrew went on to preach the Good News around the shores of the Black Sea and throughout what is now Greece and Turkey. Andrew was martyred by crucifixion in Patras. He was bound, rather than nailed, to a cross, as is described in the Acts of Andrew. He was crucified on a cross form known as "crux decussata," which is an X-shaped cross or a "saltire." Today this is commonly referred to as "St. Andrew's Cross." It is believed Andrew requested to be crucified this way, because he deemed himself "unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross as Jesus."

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_the_Apostle, quoted without hyperlinks and references.

[2] https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=109

Presentation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary - 21 November

Quoted from Wikipedia [1]:

The account of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple is principally based on the Protoevangelium of James, which has been dated by historians prior to the year 200 AD. The story relates that in thanksgiving for the birth of their daughter Mary, Joachim and Anne decide to consecrate her to God, and bring her, at the age of three years, to the temple in Jerusalem...

Mary remained in the Temple until her twelfth year, at which point she was assigned to Joseph as guardian. According to Coptic tradition, her father Joachim died when Mary was six years old and her mother when Mary was eight.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentation_of_Mary, quoted without hyperlinks and references.

Saint Elizabeth Of Hungary Feast Day - 19 November

Quoted from Catholic News Agency [1]:

On Nov. 17 [November 19 is the feast day of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in the Extraordinary Form. [2]], the Catholic Church celebrates the life and example of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a medieval noblewoman who responded to personal tragedy by embracing St. Francis' ideals of poverty and service. A patron of secular Franciscans, she is especially beloved to Germans, as well as the faithful of her native Hungary. 

As the daughter of the Hungarian King Andrew II, Elizabeth had the responsibilities of royalty thrust upon her almost as soon as her short life began in 1207. While she was still very young, Elizabeth's father arranged for her to be married to a German nobleman, Ludwig of Thuringia.

The plan forced Elizabeth to separate from her parents while still a child. Adding to this sorrow was the murder of Elizabeth's mother Gertrude in 1213, which history ascribes to a conflict between her own German people and the Hungarian nobles. Elizabeth took a solemn view of life and death from that point on, and found consolation in prayer. Both tendencies drew some ire from her royal peers.

For a time, beginning in 1221, she was happily married. Ludwig, who had advanced to become one of the rulers of Thuringia, supported Elizabeth's efforts to live out the principles of the Gospel even within the royal court. She met with friars of the nascent Franciscan order during its founder's own lifetime, resolving to use her position as queen to advance their mission of charity.

Remarkably, Ludwig agreed with his wife's resolution, and the politically powerful couple embraced a life of remarkable generosity toward the poor. They had three children, two of whom went on to live as as members of the nobility, although one of them –her only son– died relatively young. The third eventually entered religious life and became abbess of a German convent.

In 1226, while Ludwig was attending to political affairs in Italy, Elizabeth took charge of distributing aid to victims of disease and flooding that struck Thuringia. She took charge of caring for the afflicted, even when this required giving up the royal family's own clothes and goods. Elizabeth arranged for a hospital to be built, and is said to have provided for the needs of nearly a thousand desperately poor people on a daily basis.

The next year, however, would put Elizabeth's faith to the test. Her husband had promised to assist the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sixth Crusade, but he died of illness en route to Jerusalem. Devastated by Ludwig's death, Elizabeth vowed never to remarry. Her children were sent away, and relatives heavily pressured her to break the vow.

Undeterred, Elizabeth used her remaining money to build another hospital, where she personally attended to the sick almost constantly. Sending away her servants, she joined the Third Order of St. Francis, seeking to emulate the example of its founder as closely as her responsibilities would allow. Near the end of her life, she lived in a small hut and spun her own clothes.

Working continually with the severely ill, Elizabeth became sick herself, dying of illness in November of 1231. After she died, miraculous healings soon began to occur at her grave near the hospital, and she was declared a saint only four years later.

Pope Benedict XVI has praised her as a “model for those in authority,” noting the continuity between her personal love for God, and her public work on behalf of the poor and sick.

[1] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-elizabeth-of-hungary-56

[2] https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2018-11-17

Saint Gertrude The Great Feast Day - 16 November

 Quoted from Catholic Apostolate Center [1]:

St. Gertrude the Great was born on January 6, 1256 in the Holy Roman Empire. St. Gertrude became a Benedictine nun at a young age, when she wrote multiple texts involving her spirituality and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Christ. At age 25, she began to see visions and practiced “nuptial mysticism”, seeing herself as a bride of Christ. She was canonized in 1677 and her feast is celebrated on November 16. Pope Benedict XIV bestowed upon her the title “Great” to recognize her insight in theological and spiritual matters.

[1] https://www.catholicapostolatecenterfeastdays.org/feast-days-and-solemnities/st-gertrude-the-great

Saint Albert The Great (Albertus Magnus} Feast Day - 15 November

Quoted from catholicfaithpatronsaints.com [1]:

The feast day of St. Albert the Great is celebrated on November 15.  He is the patron saint of scientists and philosophers.

St. Albert the Great was born in Germany.   After experiencing an encounter with the Virgin Mary he was inspired to join the Dominican Order also known as the Order of Preachers.

St. Albert was well educated and respected for his knowledge of science and theology, He received his doctorate from the University of Paris in 1245.  He studied and commented on the works of Aristotle.   Eventually, he became a professor of theology the the University of Paris. He became bishop of Regenburg in 1260. Because he refused to ride a horse and traveled entirely by foot he became known as “boots the bishop”. St. Thomas Aquinas was one of his students, later becoming a good friend.

St. Albert was a prolific writer. His writings are compiled in 38 volumes. He wrote about many subjects including philosophy, geography, astronomy, law and love.

St. Albert became well known as a mediator of disputes.  He became ill and died on November 15, 1280.

St. Albert was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1931 and declared a Doctor of the Church.

Three years after his death his body was discovered to be incorrupt.  However, when his grave was opened centuries later, only a skeleton was found.  His relics are found in St. Andreas Church in Cologne. 

It is by the path of love, which is charity,

that God draws near to man, and man to God.

But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell.

If, then, we possess charity, we possess God,

for God is Charity.

Quote of St. Albert the Great

[1] http://catholicfaithpatronsaints.com/prayers-quips-and-quotes-st-albert-the-great-feast-day-nov-15/, quoted without hyperlinks and emphasis.