Understanding the Day
Season
Passiontide
Week
Week 1 of Passiontide
Rank
Weekday
Passiontide is the final part of Lent leading to Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum. It focuses more intensely on Christ’s suffering and his approaching death, preparing hearts for the solemnity of Good Friday and the joy of Easter. A “Greater Non-Privileged Feria” is a weekday in the liturgical cycle that has a higher importance than ordinary weekdays but does not carry the special liturgical permissions of privileged ferias; in practice this means the day's Mass and prayers emphasize the season’s themes without displacing higher-ranking commemorations. This Thursday, the first week of Passiontide, continues the season’s call to prayer, penance, and deeper reflection on the Passion.
Introit (Daily Prayer)
Dan 3:31
All that You have done to us, O Lord, You have done in true judgment: because we have sinned against You, and have not obeyed Your commandments: but give glory to Your Name, and deal with us according to the multitude of Your mercy.
Ps 118:1
Happy are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.
All that You have done to us, O Lord, You have done in true judgment: because we have sinned against You, and have not obeyed Your commandments: but give glory to Your Name, and deal with us according to the multitude of Your mercy.
All that You have done to us, O Lord, You have done in true judgment: because we have sinned against You, and have not obeyed Your commandments: but give glory to Your Name, and deal with us according to the multitude of Your mercy.
Ps 118:1
Happy are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.
All that You have done to us, O Lord, You have done in true judgment: because we have sinned against You, and have not obeyed Your commandments: but give glory to Your Name, and deal with us according to the multitude of Your mercy.
Grant, we beseech You, almighty God, that the dignity of human nature, weakened by excessive self-indulgence, may be restored by the earnest practice of healing self-denial.
Through our Lord…
Through our Lord…
Weekly Prayer
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.
Weekly Formation
Beatitude 5
The Beatitudes
Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.
The merciful recognize another’s misery and act to relieve needs of body or soul. Their mercy imitates God’s compassion and disposes them to receive mercy from Him, without making mercy contrary to truth or justice.
Saint & Feast
Principal celebrationCalendar title
Thursday of Week 1 of Passiontide
A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.
Customs & Fasting
Traditional fast
Traditional Lenten fast.
Today in Church History
Pope John XIX Crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor
1027EventIn 1027, Pope John XIX crowned Conrad II, marking a significant moment in the relationship between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire. This event underscored the pope's authority in legitimizing rulers and reinforced the intertwining of church and state in medieval Europe.
The crowning of emperors by the pope illustrates the divine authority bestowed upon leaders and the Church's role in guiding temporal power.
Catechism
Catechism of the Catholic Church
In these passages, we see how Jesus provoked opposition from religious authorities, especially through his authority to forgive sins and his merciful conduct toward sinners. He ate familiarly with tax collectors and sinners, teaching that sin is universal and that those who think they do not need salvation are blind to themselves. Jesus called sinners to repentance and, by forgiving sins, revealed God’s own merciful attitude toward them. He did not abolish the Law but fulfilled it, and the Temple prefigured his own mystery: his Body would be the definitive Temple. For Catholic families, these passages invite us to humility, repentance, and merciful attention toward those in need of salvation, trusting that Christ calls sinners to himself.
The Church, as the Bride of Christ, is held by faith to be unfailingly holy because Christ loved her, gave himself for her sanctification, joined her to himself as his body, and endowed her with the Holy Spirit for God’s glory. United with Christ, the Church is sanctified and becomes sanctifying; through God’s grace, her members acquire holiness. Although the Church’s holiness on earth is real, it is still imperfect, and every faithful person is called to grow toward the perfection of holiness. Because the Church embraces sinners, all her members, including her ministers, need penance and renewal as they continue on the path to holiness. Charity is the soul of this calling, governing, shaping, and perfecting every means of sanctification. In honoring canonized saints, the Church recognizes the Spirit’s work in them and offers them as models and intercessors, sustaining believers’ hope. As we seek to conquer sin and grow in holiness, we can also turn our eyes to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in whom the Church has already reached her all-holy perfection.
The Church is called “catholic,” meaning universal, because Christ is present in her and she receives from him the fullness of the means of salvation. She is also catholic because Christ has sent her on mission to the whole human race (CCC 830-831). This universality is visible in local communities of the faithful, where the Gospel is preached and the Lord’s Supper is celebrated. Particular Churches are united in faith and sacraments with their bishops and are fully catholic through communion with the Church of Rome (CCC 832-834). The Church’s many disciplines, liturgical rites, and spiritual and theological traditions show a rich diversity that shines within her common unity (CCC 835). All people are called to the catholic unity of God’s People. Those who believe in Christ and are properly baptized, yet do not fully profess the Catholic faith or remain in full communion under the successor of Peter, are joined to the Catholic Church in a real though imperfect communion (CCC 836-838). As we reflect together, we can pray with gratitude for Christ’s presence in his Church, seek unity with fellow Christians, and remember the need to persevere in charity.