Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Lent

Week

Week 1 of Lent

Rank

Feast

Lent is a penitential season preparing families for the Paschal mystery through prayer, fasting, and works of charity. A celebration in Lent draws our attention inward, helping households focus on conversion and the life of grace. The rank “Double” in older liturgical classification indicates this feast has greater importance than an ordinary memorial: it is celebrated with more solemnity in the divine office and Mass, including proper prayers and readings when they are provided.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Ps 24:17-18
Bring me out of distress, O Lord; put an end to my affliction and my suffering, and take away all my sins.
Ps 24:1-2
To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. In You, O my God, I trust; let me not be put to shame.
Glory Be to the Father…

Commemoration St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
O Lord, graciously accept the thanks we offer You for the gifts we have received on the feast of the blessed Gabriel, Your Confessor, through the hands of blessed Mary, ever Virgin, of whom You took that flesh whose sweetness we have been worthy to taste in this banquet of salvation.
Who livest…

Weekly Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful
and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.

℣ Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.
℟ And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.
O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His consolation.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Weekly Formation

Beatitude 1

The Beatitudes

Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Poverty of spirit is freedom from placing the heart’s security in wealth, status, or self-sufficiency. It belongs to rich and poor alike when they depend humbly on God and remain willing to surrender created goods rather than offend Him.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin, Confessor

Italian Passionist student and Catholic saint (1838–1862)

Born: 1838-03-01 · Assisi
Died: 1862-02-27 · Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia

Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows was an Italian Passionist seminarian. Born to a professional family, he gave up ambitions of a secular career to enter the Passionist congregation. His life in the monastery was not extraordinary, yet he followed the rule of the congregation perfectly and was known for his great devotion to the sorrows of the Virgin Mary. He died from tuberculosis at the age of 23 in Isola del Gran Sasso, in the province of Teramo. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920.

Learn more about Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

Customs & Fasting

Traditional fast · Complete abstinence

Traditional Lenten Ember Friday fast and complete abstinence.

Today in Church History

Edict of Thessalonica Issued
380Event
Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica, declaring Nicene Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire, significantly shaping the Church's role in society.
The Edict of Thessalonica reminds us of the enduring influence of faith in shaping civilizations.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The name "Jesus," meaning "God saves," encapsulates both the identity and mission of Christ, affirming that through Him, God offers salvation from sin to all humanity (CCC 430). This divine name signifies God's presence, as it is through Jesus' Incarnation that redemption becomes universally accessible (CCC 432). Historically, the high priest invoked God's name for atonement, but now all can call upon Jesus, whose Resurrection exemplifies the ultimate power of His name, instilling fear in evil spirits and enabling miracles (CCC 433-434). For Catholic families, invoking the name of Jesus in daily prayers, from simple blessings to profound petitions, reinforces the belief that He is central to our faith and a source of divine mercy (CCC 435).

In the Catechism, we learn that the title “Christ” means “anointed one.” Jesus fulfills Israel’s messianic hope as priest, prophet, and king. His birth was announced to the shepherds as the birth of the promised Savior, Christ the Lord, and he was conceived as holy in Mary’s virginal womb. God called Joseph to take Mary as his wife so that Jesus, who is called Christ, should be born of Joseph’s spouse into David’s messianic lineage. Anointed by the Father with the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ words and works revealed him as the Holy One of God. Although some understood the Messiah in political terms, Jesus showed that his kingship is found in his redemptive mission: he came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. The full meaning of his kingship is revealed on the cross and proclaimed after his Resurrection.

¶ 430

Today's Mass Readings

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