Nov. 16 Wednesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time; Optional Memorials of St. Margaret of Scotland; St. Gertrude, Virgin, Opt. Mem.

Gospel Verse Ordinary Time, 1 Jn 15:16: I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.Gospel Verse, St. Margaret, Jn 13:34: I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.Gospel Verse, St. Gertrude: Jn 15:9b, 5b: Remain in my love, says the Lord; whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.St. Margaret of Scotland (c. 1045-1093) was the great-niece of St. Edward the Confessor. She was a Saxon princess, raised in Hungary in exile. Returning to England, she had to flee once again after the Battle of Hastings, to the court of Malcolm, the King of Scotland, whom she married shortly thereafter. She proved to be a model mother and exemplary queen who brought up her eight children in an atmosphere of great devotion and worked hard to improve the morality of her subjects.