Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Epiphany

Week

Week 2 of Time After Epiphany

Rank

Sunday or semidouble observance

This day falls in the Time after Epiphany, the season between the Lord’s manifestation at Epiphany and the start of Lent. The celebration is ranked “Semidouble,” a traditional liturgical grade meaning it is more prominent than an ordinary memorial but less solemn than a major feast; in practical terms, the Mass and prayers for the day take clear precedence in parish and family worship, while ordinary weekday patterns are otherwise retained. No octave or vigil is specified here, so the observance is kept on the named day without an extended eight‑day celebration or special preparatory day.

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…

Commemoration St. Emerentiana
We who have been refreshed by the richness of Your divine sacrament beseech You, O Lord our God, that through the intercession of blessed Emerentiana, Your Virgin and Martyr, we may forevermore abide in its participation.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Act of Contrition

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love.

I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

Weekly Formation

Partaking, Silence, and Defense

Ways of Being Accessory to Another’s Sin

By partaking
A person becomes accessory by partaking when he knowingly shares in the performance, benefit, or necessary support of another’s sinful act. The degree of guilt depends on intention, freedom, closeness to the act, and whether the assistance helped cause it.
By silence
A person becomes accessory by silence when a serious duty to speak, warn, correct, or protect is deliberately neglected. Silence is not automatically consent, but it becomes blameworthy when speaking was reasonably possible and necessary to prevent or oppose the wrong.
By defense of the sinful action
A person becomes accessory by defending a sinful action when he knowingly excuses, justifies, or protects the wrongdoing as though it were right. Defending the dignity or legal rights of a sinner is different from defending the sin itself.

The Spiritual Works of Mercy

Instruct the ignorant
Instructing the ignorant means teaching needed truth to someone who does not know it, especially truth concerning faith and moral duty. The work presumes patience and accuracy and differs from winning an argument or displaying knowledge.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Raymond of Penafort

S. Raymond of Penafort, Confessor

Dominican Master General, archbishop and saint, catholic jurist from Catalonia

Born: 1175-01-01 · Santa Margarida i els Monjos
Died: 1275-01-06 · Barcelona

Raymond of Peñafort was a Catalan friar with the Dominicans who was a canon lawyer. He compiled the Decretals of Gregory IX, a collection of canonical laws that remained a major part of Church law until the 1917 Code of Canon Law abrogated it. He was canonized by Pope Clement VIII in 1601 and is the patron saint of canon lawyers.

Learn more about Raymond of Penafort

Commemoration

Customs & Fasting

No traditional fast · Complete abstinence

Traditional Friday complete abstinence.

Today in Church History

Founding of Turku and Episcopal Seat Transfer
1229Founding
In 1229, Pope Gregory IX permitted the transfer of the episcopal seat from Nousiainen to Koroinen, marking a significant moment in the establishment of the Diocese of Turku. This event is traditionally associated with the founding of Turku, which became a vital center for the Catholic faith in Finland.
The establishment of a bishopric is a reminder of the Church's mission to spread the Gospel and nurture communities in faith.
Foundation of Turku and Episcopal Seat Transfer
1229-1230Founding
In 1229, Pope Gregory IX granted permission to move the episcopal seat from Nousiainen to Koroinen, which contributed to the establishment of Turku as a religious center in Finland. This event symbolizes the growth of the Catholic Church in the region and its influence on local governance and culture.
The establishment of a bishopric reflects God's guidance in forming communities of faith.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Faith is a profound and entirely free gift from God. We believe not merely because revealed truths seem clear to natural reason, but because God himself reveals them and can neither deceive nor be deceived. Miracles, prophecies, and the Church’s growth, holiness, fruitfulness, and stability are signs that support the reasonableness of faith. Though faith can seem obscure to human reason and experience, it is certain because it rests on God’s unchanging word, and it invites us to seek an ever-deeper understanding of God and what he has revealed. Faith cannot be forced; it is a free response to God’s call. In our daily devotion, let us nourish this gift with God’s word, ask the Lord to increase our faith, and let it work through charity and hope, persevering in faith toward eternal life.

Faith is a profound gift that allows us to glimpse the eternal joy of the beatific vision, anchoring our hope as we navigate life’s challenges. While our journey often feels dark and filled with suffering, we are encouraged to lean on the examples of great witnesses like Abraham and Mary, who persevered through trials and maintained their faith in God's promises. Importantly, faith is not a solitary endeavor; it is nurtured within the community of the Church, which acts as our spiritual mother, teaching and sustaining us in belief. In fostering our faith, we not only strengthen our own relationship with God but also become vital links in a chain that supports and inspires others, ensuring that we all move together toward the eternal life promised to us.

¶ 162

Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. We can lose this priceless gift, as St. Paul indicated to St. Timothy: "Wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith." To live, grow and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; it must be "working through charity," abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church.

Today's Mass Readings

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