Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Passiontide

Week

Week 2 of Passiontide

Rank

Weekday

Holy Saturday (Sabbato Sancto) falls in Passiontide, the final days of Lent when the Church remembers Christ’s suffering, death, and burial. The day is a Greater Privileged Feria: in plain terms, it is an important weekday observance marked by solemn reflection rather than ordinary daily duties. As the Vigil of Easter Sunday, Holy Saturday is the night the Church keeps watch, awaiting the joy of Christ’s resurrection.

Collect (Daily Prayer)

℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray
O God, who dost illuminate this most holy night by the glory of the Lord's Resurrection, preserve in the new children of Thy family the spirit of adoption which Thou hast given; that renewed in body and mind, they may render to Thee a pure service. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
℟. Amen.

Weekly Prayer

Act of Faith

O my God, I firmly believe that Thou art one God in Three Divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

I believe that Thy Divine Son became Man, and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.

Weekly Formation

Beatitude 6

The Beatitudes

Blessed are the pure of heart; for they shall see God.
Purity of heart is singleness of purpose before God, together with purity in thought, desire, word, and deed. A heart cleansed from divided and sinful attachments is made capable of knowing God more clearly and seeing Him in glory.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebrationCalendar title

Holy Saturday

A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.

Customs & Fasting

Traditional fast · Complete abstinence

Traditional Lenten Saturday fast and complete abstinence.

Today in Church History

Death of Martin Luther King Jr.
1968Event
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister and civil rights leader, was assassinated. While not Catholic, his work for justice resonated with Catholic social teaching. This event is not directly related to Catholic Church history.
The call to justice and peace is universal, transcending denominational boundaries and inspiring all to act with love.
Death of Pope Nicholas IV
1292Papal
Pope Nicholas IV, the first Franciscan pope, died on April 4, 1292. His papacy was marked by efforts to organize crusades and support missionary work in Asia.
Pope Nicholas IV's dedication to mission work exemplifies the Church's commitment to spreading the Gospel to all corners of the world.
Death of Saint Ambrose of Milan
397Church Father
Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, died on April 4, 397. He was a key figure in the early Church, known for his influence on Saint Augustine and his role in combating Arianism.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

In the Catechism, we learn that Jesus, by God’s grace, truly tasted death for every person and experienced the separation of his soul from his body. Holy Saturday, when Christ lay in the tomb, reveals God’s great sabbath rest after the fulfilment of salvation and brings peace to the whole universe (CCC 624). His time in the tomb connects his suffering before Easter with his glorious risen life: the same Christ who died is alive for evermore (CCC 625). His death was real, yet his body was preserved from corruption through its union with the divine Son (CCC 627). For families, Baptism helps us enter this mystery: dying to sin with Christ so that we may walk in newness of life, as Christ was raised from the dead (CCC 628).

The Church is apostolic: she is built on the foundation of the apostles, whom Christ chose and sent to continue his mission. With the help of the Holy Spirit, she keeps and hands on the teaching received from them. Although the apostles were uniquely chosen witnesses of the Resurrection, their pastoral ministry continues through their successors. The bishops, assisted by priests and united with the successor of Peter, teach, sanctify, and guide the Church. As a family, we can give thanks that Christ continues to shepherd his Church through this enduring apostolic ministry; the Catechism teaches that listening to the bishops is listening to Christ.

¶ 627

Christ's death was a real death in that it put an end to his earthly human existence. But because of the union his body retained with the person of the Son, his was not a mortal corpse like others, for "divine power preserved Christ's body from corruption." Both of these statements can be said of Christ: "He was cut off out of the land of the living", and "My flesh will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption." Jesus' Resurrection "on the third day" was the proof of this, for bodily decay was held to begin on the fourth day after death.

Today's Mass Readings

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