Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Septuagesima

Week

Week 1 of Septuagesima

Rank

Feast

Septuagesima is the preparatory season before Lent, a short liturgical period of reflection and spiritual ordering that helps families turn their hearts toward the coming penitential time. No octave or vigil is indicated here, so the observance is normally kept on the named day itself.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Let us all rejoice in the Lord, celebrating the feast in honor of blessed Agatha, Virgin and Martyr, for whose passion the angels rejoice and praise with one accord the Son of God.
Ps 44:2
My heart overflows with a goodly theme; as I sing my ode to the King.
Glory Be to the Father…

O God, Who among the other miracles of thy power have bestowed the victory of martyrdom even upon the weaker sex, graciously grant that we who commemorate the anniversary of the death of blessed Agatha, thy Virgin and Martyr, may come to thee by the path of her example.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Weekly Formation

Idolatry, Sorcery, and Faithfulness

The Works of the Flesh

Idolatry
Idolatry gives a creature, image, power, or human good the worship or absolute trust owed to God alone. It is a work of the flesh because it turns the heart from the Creator toward something finite and makes that created thing the governing object of life.
Sorcery
Sorcery seeks hidden power, knowledge, or control through occult practices rather than through God’s providence and lawful means. It violates faith by appealing to spiritual powers apart from God and can involve superstition, deception, or direct openness to evil.

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit

Faithfulness
Faithfulness is steadfast reliability toward God and toward rightful human commitments. It makes belief, promises, duties, and relationships stable rather than subject to convenience, mood, or pressure.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Agatha

St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr

Christian saint and martyress

Born: 0235-09-08 · San Giovanni Galermo
Died: 0261-02-05 · Catania

Agatha of Sicily is a Christian saint. Her feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred c. 251. She is one of several virgin martyrs who are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass.

Learn more about Agatha

Today in Church History

Election of Pope Pius XI
1922Papal
Pope Pius XI was elected on February 5, 1922. His pontificate was marked by the signing of the Lateran Treaty, which established Vatican City as an independent state, and his efforts to address the challenges of the modern world.
Leadership rooted in faith can guide the Church through times of change.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life: one God revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three divine persons are distinct, yet they are one God, equal in glory and coeternal in majesty. The Incarnation reveals that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, and the mission of the Holy Spirit reveals that the Spirit is one God with the Father and the Son. Though distinct in person, the divine persons are inseparable in all they are and do. Through Baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are called to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity, now in faith and after death in eternal light. As families pray and grow in faith, they can return with wonder to this great mystery of the God they worship.

The Catechism teaches that God’s omnipotence is central to our faith: his power is universal, loving, and shown in his fatherly care for us. As families, we can find hope in knowing that nothing is impossible for God, who rules the universe and governs history with wisdom and justice, even when suffering and evil test our faith. In the voluntary humiliation and Resurrection of Christ, God reveals his power by conquering evil; and in our weakness, faith draws us to Christ’s power. Like the Virgin Mary, we are invited to trust that nothing is impossible with God. God also shows his almighty power through mercy, forgiving our sins and restoring us to friendship with him by grace.

¶ 262

The Incarnation of God's Son reveals that God is the eternal Father and that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, which means that, in the Father and with the Father the Son is one and the same God.

Today's Mass Readings

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