Understanding the Day
Season
Time After Epiphany
Week
Week 4 of Time After Epiphany
Rank
Sunday
Introit (Daily Prayer)
God gave him wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart as the sand that is on the seashore.
Ps 112:1
Praise the Lord, you children, praise the name of the Lord.
Glory Be to the Father…
Through our Lord…
Weekly Prayer
Confiteor
through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.
Weekly Formation
Purity and Self-Control
The Works of the Flesh
Conduct contrary to purity and faithfulness
Conduct against purity and faithfulness follows bodily appetite outside the order of faithful love established by God. St. Paul calls such conduct a work of the flesh because fallen desire, rather than grace and right reason, is allowed to govern the person.
Disrespect for purity and personal boundaries
Disrespect for purity and personal boundaries treats another person’s dignity, commitments, or rightful limits as obstacles to appetite. It belongs to the works of the flesh because desire is separated from charity, responsibility, and reverence for the person.
Reckless indulgence that dishonors God’s gift of the body
Reckless indulgence is the deliberate abandonment of moderation in bodily pleasure. It dishonors the body by making immediate satisfaction rule over reason, duty, health, and the spiritual purpose for which human freedom is given.
Indulgent gatherings that cast aside modesty and self-control
Indulgent gatherings are social occasions ordered toward excess and the abandonment of modesty or self-control. Their fault is not celebration itself, but a shared atmosphere that encourages participants to set aside reason, purity, and responsibility.
The Fruits of the Holy Spirit
Saint & Feast
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany Anticipated
A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.
John Bosco
St. John Bosco, Confessor
Italian Roman Catholic priest, educator, writer (1815–1888)
- Born
- 1815-08-16 · Castelnuovo Don Bosco
- Died
- 1888-01-31 · Turin
John Melchior Bosco, SDB, popularly known as Don Bosco or Dom Bosco, was an Italian Catholic priest, educator and writer. While working in Turin, where the population suffered many of the ill effects of industrialization and urbanization, he dedicated his life to the betterment and education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other disadvantaged youth. He developed teaching methods based on love rather than punishment, a method that became known as the Salesian Preventive System.
Today in Church History
Death of Saint John Bosco
1888FoundingSaint John Bosco, founder of the Salesians, passed away. He dedicated his life to the education and care of young people, especially the poor and marginalized.
Saint John Bosco's life teaches us the value of nurturing the youth with love and education.
Consecration of Pope Sylvester I
314PapalPope Sylvester I was consecrated in 314, succeeding Pope Miltiades. His papacy is significant as it coincided with the Edict of Milan, which legalized Christianity and marked a pivotal moment in the Church's history and growth in the Roman Empire. However, the specific date of his consecration is not definitively known, and January 31 is his feast day.
The leadership of Pope Sylvester I reminds us of the importance of steadfast faith during times of change.
Election of Pope Sylvester I
314PapalPope Sylvester I was elected as the 33rd pope of the Catholic Church. His papacy coincided with the reign of Emperor Constantine and the First Council of Nicaea, but the exact date of his election is not definitively recorded.