Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Eastertide

Week

Week 3 of Eastertide

Rank

Weekday

Eastertide is the fifty-day season from Easter Sunday to Pentecost, a time when the Church celebrates Christ’s Resurrection and the new life it brings. This Monday is in the third week of Eastertide, so the readings and prayers continue to focus on the risen Lord, the early Christian community, and the unfolding mystery of salvation. The rank “Feria” (a weekday) means this day is an ordinary weekday of the liturgical season rather than a higher-ranking feast, memorial, or solemnity. There is no special octave or vigil attached beyond its place within Eastertide; its character flows from the ongoing celebration of Easter.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Ps 32:5-6
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord, alleluia: by the word of the Lord were the heavens made, alleluia, alleluia.
Ps 32:1
Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: praise is comely for the upright.
Glory Be to the Father…

O God, who, by the humility of Thy Son, didst lift up a fallen world, grant unending happiness to Thy faithful: that those whom Thou hast snatched from the perils of endless death, Thou mayest cause to rejoice in everlasting days.
Through the same Christ our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Act of Contrition

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love.

I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

Weekly Formation

Beatitude 9

The Beatitudes

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
This Beatitude applies the promise of persecution personally to those insulted, opposed, or falsely accused because of Christ. Their joy rests not in the pain itself but in union with Christ and the promised reward that earthly hostility cannot take away.

Featured Saint

Modern saint

Featured saintCalendar title

Monday of Week 3 of Eastertide

Saint John XXIII

A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.

Today in Church History

Establishment of Sapienza University by Pope Boniface VIII
1303Founding
In 1303, Pope Boniface VIII established the Sapienza University of Rome through a papal bull, marking a significant moment in the Church's commitment to education and the promotion of theological and philosophical studies. This institution became a vital center for learning and the development of Catholic thought in Europe.
The establishment of educational institutions reflects the Church's dedication to fostering knowledge and wisdom in the pursuit of truth.
Pope Leo XIII Condemns Freemasonry in Humanum genus
1884Doctrine
In 1884, Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical Humanum genus, which condemned Freemasonry as a secret society that undermines the Catholic faith and promotes relativism. This document reaffirmed the Church's stance against organizations perceived as threats to its teachings and authority.
The encyclical serves as a reminder of the importance of fidelity to the faith amidst societal challenges.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

In the Catechism, we learn that Jesus’ Resurrection is unlike the return to ordinary earthly life experienced by those he raised before Easter. In his risen body, he passes from death to a new life beyond time and space. His body still bears the marks of his Passion, showing that it is truly the same body that was crucified, yet it also has the new properties of a glorious body and is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Resurrection is a real event, witnessed through the empty tomb and the apostles’ encounters with the risen Christ, while still remaining a mystery that transcends history and human senses. Jesus revealed himself to his disciples in ways meant to awaken their faith. As a family, we can prayerfully contemplate Christ’s suffering, death, and risen glory, trusting in the Father’s power revealed in raising his Son.

The Catechism teaches that faith in the forgiveness of sins is closely joined to faith in the Holy Spirit, the Church, and the communion of saints. The risen Christ gave the Holy Spirit to the apostles and entrusted them with the power to forgive sins. Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness: it unites us with Christ, cleanses us from sin, and calls us to walk in newness of life. Yet Baptism does not remove every weakness or the ongoing struggle against the inclination toward evil. Through the sacrament of Penance, the baptized can be reconciled with God and with the Church. No offense is beyond the Church’s power to forgive when repentance is honest, for Christ desires the gates of forgiveness to remain open to all who turn away from sin.

The Catechism teaches that the resurrection of the dead is an essential part of Christian faith and that the Creed culminates in this proclamation and in life everlasting. As we reflect together, we can hold firmly to the hope that Christ is truly risen and lives forever, and that the righteous will live with him after death. The resurrection of the flesh means that not only does the immortal soul live on after death, but our mortal bodies will also come to life again. This hope rests on faith in God, the Creator of the whole human person, soul and body, and in Jesus, who says, “I am the Resurrection and the life.” Christ himself will raise up on the last day those who believe in him, and to witness to Christ is to witness to his Resurrection. Even when this faith is questioned or opposed, Christians confess with confidence that Christ has been raised from the dead and that we shall rise like him, with him, and through him.

Today's Mass Readings

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

Monday of Week 3 of Eastertide

Understanding the Day

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Collect

Weekly Prayer

Act of Contrition

Weekly Formation

Beatitude 9

The Beatitudes

Featured Saint

Monday of Week 3 of Eastertide

Today in Church History

Establishment of Sapienza University by Pope Boniface VIII

Pope Leo XIII Condemns Freemasonry in Humanum genus

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Today's Mass Readings

Baltimore Catechism No. 3