Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Eastertide

Week

Week 4 of Eastertide

Rank

Major feast

Octave Day of the Solemnity of Saint Joseph falls within the Eastertide season, the Church’s liturgical time of joy following Easter. Eastertide focuses on the risen Christ and the renewed life of the Christian family. The rank given here—Greater Double—indicates a significant liturgical observance: it carries proper prayers, readings, and a higher place in the calendar than ordinary feasts, so it takes precedence over many other commemorations that day. This particular day is the octave day of the solemnity of Saint Joseph, meaning it concludes the eight-day extension of the solemn celebration that began on Saint Joseph’s principal solemnity.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Ps 20:2-3
In thy strength, O Lord, the king shall joy; and in thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly. Thou hast given him his heart's desire.
Ps 20:4
For thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness: thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones.
Glory Be to the Father…

Grant us grace, we beseech thee, O Almighty God, to follow with zeal conformable thereto after the pattern of that great example of faith, thy blessed Martyr Peter, who, for the spreading of the same faith, did so run as to obtain the palm of martyrdom.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Confiteor

I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,

through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault;

therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

Weekly Formation

Commandment 1

The Ten Commandments

I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me.
The First Commandment requires the worship, faith, hope, and love owed to God alone. A strange god is not only an idol, but anything treated as more important than God or trusted in place of His providence.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebrationCalendar title

Octave Day of the Solemnity of St. Joseph

A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.

Commemoration

Peter Martyr

St. Peter the Martyr

Italian Roman Catholic priest, martyr, and saint

Born: 1206-01-01 · Verona
Died: 1252-04-06 · Seveso

Peter of Verona, also known as Saint Peter Martyr and Saint Peter of Verona, was a 13th-century Italian Catholic priest. He was a Dominican friar and a celebrated preacher. He served as Inquisitor in Lombardy, was killed by an assassin, and was canonized as a Catholic saint 11 months after his death — the fastest canonization in history.

Learn more about Peter Martyr

Today in Church History

Martyrdom of Blessed Richard Sergeant
1587Martyrdom
Blessed Richard Sergeant, an English Catholic priest, was martyred on April 29, 1587, during the English Reformation for his steadfast faith and refusal to renounce Catholicism.
Blessed Richard's martyrdom is a testament to the enduring strength of faith amidst persecution.
Joan of Arc's Entry into Orléans
1429Event
On April 29, 1429, Joan of Arc entered the besieged city of Orléans, marking a turning point in the Hundred Years' War. Her faith-driven leadership inspired the French troops to lift the siege.
Joan's courage and faith in God's mission exemplify the impact of divine inspiration in worldly affairs.
Death of Saint Catherine of Siena
1380Event
Saint Catherine of Siena, a Dominican tertiary and influential mystic, died on April 29, 1380. She was instrumental in persuading Pope Gregory XI to return the papacy to Rome from Avignon. However, she is not considered a Church Father.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. After the universal judgment, the righteous will reign forever with Christ, glorified in body and soul, and the universe itself will be renewed. This “new heavens and a new earth” will fulfill God’s plan to bring all things together in Christ. God will dwell among his people, and there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. United with Christ, the redeemed will share lasting happiness, peace, and communion with God and one another. As we await this fulfillment, the hope of a new earth should not lessen our concern for this world, but spur us to work for the better ordering of human society. Our earthly efforts, offered according to the Lord’s command and in his Spirit, point toward the eternal kingdom Christ will present to the Father.

In the journey of faith, every person receives an eternal recompense in a particular judgment by Christ from the moment of death. Those who die in Christ’s grace are the People of God beyond death and, on the day of resurrection, will be reunited with their bodies. In heaven, the multitude gathered around Jesus and Mary sees God in eternal blessedness, is associated with the holy angels, and intercedes for us with fraternal concern. Those who die in God’s grace and friendship but are imperfectly purified are assured of eternal salvation and undergo purification after death so as to enter the joy of God. As families, we can commend our deceased loved ones to God’s mercy and pray for them, especially through the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist. We are also called to take seriously the reality of hell, eternal separation from God, while praying that no one may be lost and trusting that God desires all to be saved.

¶ 1050

Today's Mass Readings

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

Octave Day of the Solemnity of St. Joseph

Understanding the Day

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Collect

Weekly Prayer

Confiteor

Weekly Formation

Commandment 1

The Ten Commandments

Saint & Feast

Octave Day of the Solemnity of St. Joseph

Peter Martyr

Today in Church History

Martyrdom of Blessed Richard Sergeant

Joan of Arc's Entry into Orléans

Death of Saint Catherine of Siena

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Today's Mass Readings

Baltimore Catechism No. 3