Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Epiphany

Week

Week 1 of Time After Epiphany

Rank

Feast

S. Anthony, Abbot falls in the time after Epiphany, the season that follows Christmas and the Epiphany celebrations. This part of the liturgical year continues to unfold the mystery of Christ’s life and mission as the Church moves toward Lent and Easter. The rank given here is “Double,” a traditional classification indicating a feast of moderate importance: it is more solemn than an ordinary memorial but not as solemn as a major feast like a solemnity. No octave or vigil is attached in the supplied context, so the observance is kept to the day itself.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Ps 36:30-31
The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom, and his tongue utters what is right. The law of his God is in his heart. (Alléluia, alléluia.)
Ps 36:1
Be not vexed over evildoers, nor jealous of those who do wrong.
Glory Be to the Father…

May the intercession of the blessed Abbot Antónii, commend us to You, O Lord, so that through his merits we may obtain that which we cannot accomplish by our own.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Act of Charity

O my God, I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all-good and worthy of all love.

I love my neighbor as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and ask pardon of all whom I have injured.

Weekly Formation

Provocation, Praise, and Concealment

Ways of Being Accessory to Another’s Sin

By provocation
A person becomes accessory by provocation when words or actions deliberately stir another toward anger, vice, or a specific sinful response. The fault lies in intending or recklessly encouraging the temptation rather than merely being present when another reacts badly.
By praise or flattery
A person becomes accessory by praise or flattery when approval makes sinful conduct seem admirable, harmless, or worth repeating. Compliments and social encouragement can strengthen another’s bad choice even when no direct command is given.
By concealment
A person becomes accessory by concealment when wrongdoing is deliberately hidden by someone who has a duty to reveal or prevent it. Not every secret must be disclosed, but secrecy becomes cooperation when it protects the sinful action or allows injustice to continue.

The Spiritual Works of Mercy

Admonish the sinner
Admonishing the sinner is a charitable warning intended to help a person recognize and leave serious wrongdoing. It requires truth, prudence, and concern for the person’s salvation, not humiliation, anger, or a desire to display superiority.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Anthony of Egypt

S. Anthony, Abbot

Egyptian Christian monk, hermit, and saint (died 356)

Born: 0251-00-00 · Coma
Died: 0357-00-00 · Thebes

Anthony the Great was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony, such as Anthony of Padua, by various epithets: Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Anthony the Hermit, and Anthony of Thebes. For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism, he is also known as the Father of All Monks. His feast day is celebrated on 17 January among the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches and on Tobi 22 in the Coptic calendar.

Learn more about Anthony of Egypt

Today in Church History

Edict of Saint-Germain and Religious Toleration in France
1562Event
The Edict of Saint-Germain, issued in 1562, marked a significant moment in the French Wars of Religion by granting limited religious toleration to the Huguenots. This event is relevant to Catholic Church history as it reflects the tensions between Catholicism and Protestantism, and the Church's response to the challenges posed by the Reformation.
In times of conflict, the call for understanding and dialogue remains essential for unity.
Return of Papacy to Rome from Avignon
1377Papal
Pope Gregory XI returned the papacy to Rome on January 17, 1377, ending the Avignon Papacy, where popes resided in France for nearly 70 years. This move was significant in restoring the papal seat to its traditional location.
The return of the papacy to Rome symbolizes the Church's resilience and commitment to its spiritual roots.
Pope Gregory XI Returns the Papacy to Rome
1377Event

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to us in a human way, inviting us to seek both what the human authors intended to affirm and what God reveals through their words. To understand Scripture well, we should consider the time and culture in which it was written, along with its different literary forms. Because Scripture is inspired, it must also be read and interpreted in the light of the Holy Spirit. As we read together, we can attend to the unity of the whole of Scripture, whose center and heart is Christ Jesus, and receive it within the living Tradition of the Church, mindful of the harmony of all the truths of faith.

The Catechism teaches that Scripture has a literal sense, conveyed by its words and discovered through sound interpretation, and spiritual senses: allegorical, moral, and anagogical. These senses enrich the Church’s living reading of Scripture, while all the other senses are based on the literal sense. As a family reads the Bible, they can notice how its events point to Christ, receive instruction for acting justly, and consider their eternal significance as signs leading toward our true homeland. The Church watches over and interprets the Word of God, and the work of explaining Scripture is ultimately subject to her judgment.

The Catechism teaches that the Church, through apostolic Tradition, discerned which writings belong among the sacred books. The Old Testament remains an indispensable, divinely inspired part of Sacred Scripture: the Old Covenant has never been revoked, and these books prepare for and proclaim in prophecy the coming of Christ. They reveal God’s saving love and offer sublime teaching about God, sound wisdom for human life, and a wonderful treasury of prayers. The New Testament hands on the ultimate truth of God’s Revelation, centered on Jesus Christ—his life, teachings, Passion, glorification, and the beginnings of his Church under the Holy Spirit’s guidance. At the heart of Scripture are the Gospels, our principal source for the life and teaching of Jesus, which the Church affirms faithfully hand on what he truly did and taught for our salvation. As we read these Scriptures together, we can cherish the one saving love of God revealed throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Today's Mass Readings

Open the day's Sancta MissaDivinum Officium · Divino Afflatu - 1954View readings