Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Eastertide

Week

Week 5 of Eastertide

Rank

Feast

Eastertide is the fifty-day season from Easter Sunday to Pentecost, a time when Christians celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection and the new life it brings. A feast in this season focuses that paschal joy on a particular holy person whose life points to Christ. The rank “Double” is an older liturgical designation indicating this is a formally observed celebration with its own proper prayers and readings; in simple terms, it means the day takes precedence over ordinary weekday observances and is celebrated with fuller liturgy. The provided calendar context places this feast in the fifth week of Eastertide; no octave or vigil is indicated here, so it is celebrated on the appointed day without an extended eight-day octave or a preparatory vigil.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Ps 118:75; 118:120
I know, O Lord, that Your ordinances are just, and in Your faithfulness You have afflicted me. Pierce my flesh with Your fear; I fear Your ordinances. (Alleluja, alleluja.)
Ps 118:1
Happy are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.
Glory Be to the Father…

O God, the consoler of those Who mourn and the safety of those who put their trust in You; Who mercifully accepted the holy tears of blessed Monica for the conversion of Augustine, her son; grant us through the intercession of both to bewail our sins and to obtain the grace of Your forgiveness.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Weekly Formation

Commandment 2

The Ten Commandments

Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.
The Second Commandment protects the holiness of God’s name and everything specially dedicated to Him. It forbids using sacred names carelessly or falsely and requires reverence in oaths, vows, prayer, and speech about holy things.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Monica

St. Monica, Widow

Christian saint; mother of St. Augustine

Born: 0332-00-00 · Thagaste
Died: 0387-01-01 · Ostia

Monica was an early North African Christian saint and the mother of Augustine of Hippo. She is remembered and honored in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, albeit on different feast days, for her outstanding Christian virtues, particularly the suffering caused by her husband's adultery, and her prayerful life dedicated to the reformation of her son, who wrote extensively of her pious acts and life with her in his Confessions. Popular Christian legends recall Monica weeping every night for her son Augustine.

Learn more about Monica

Today in Church History

Constitution of the Augustinian Order
1256Founding
In 1256, Pope Alexander IV issued the papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae, which unified several groups of hermits into the Order of Saint Augustine. This event marked a significant development in the Church's efforts to promote communal religious life and the pursuit of holiness among its members.
The establishment of religious orders like the Augustinians invites us to reflect on our own commitment to community and spiritual growth.
Condemnation of John Wycliffe at the Council of Constance
1415Schism Heresy
John Wycliffe was posthumously condemned as a heretic by the Council of Constance in 1415, but the specific date of May 4 is not traditionally associated with this condemnation. The Council of Constance did address Wycliffe's teachings, but the formal condemnation of his works and the order to exhume and burn his remains occurred in 1415 without a specific date tied to May 4.
The Church's commitment to truth and doctrine calls us to discernment in our faith journey.
Papal Bull Inter caetera and the New World Division
1493

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

In the Catechism, we learn that Christ, seated at the right hand of the Father, acts through the sacraments to communicate his grace to the Church, his Body. In the liturgy, he makes present his Paschal Mystery—his death, burial, Resurrection, and being seated at the Father’s right hand. This saving mystery is not confined to the past: the Cross and Resurrection abide and draw everything toward life. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ entrusted the apostles, and through them their successors, with his sanctifying power. He is present in the Church’s liturgical celebrations: in the Sacrifice of the Mass, especially in the Eucharistic species; in the sacraments; in his word when Scripture is read; and when the Church prays and sings. For Catholic families, participating in the sacraments and liturgy is a way of joining the Church in worshiping the Father through Christ, receiving his grace, and looking forward with hope to the heavenly liturgy and eternal glory.

In the liturgy, the Holy Spirit is teacher of the faith and artisan of the sacraments, drawing the People of God into the life of the risen Christ. He prepares the Church to encounter the Lord, makes Christ’s mystery present in the celebration, and unites the Church to Christ’s life and mission. The Church’s liturgy also retains essential elements of the Old Covenant, revealing how events and signs of salvation history find their fulfillment in Christ—for example, the crossing of the Red Sea prefigures salvation by Baptism. Especially in Advent, Lent, and the Easter Vigil, the Church re-reads and re-lives these saving events in the liturgy. As we take part, we are invited to prepare our hearts in faith, conversion, and openness to the Father’s will, ready to receive the grace God gives.

In the liturgical life of the Church, the Holy Spirit works with the Church to manifest Christ and his saving work, especially in the Eucharist and, by analogy, in the other sacraments. The Spirit prepares the Church to encounter the Lord, recalls and makes Christ known to the faith of the assembly, and makes the mystery of Christ present here and now. As the Word of God is proclaimed, the Spirit gives it life and grants spiritual understanding according to the dispositions of those who hear or read it. Through the words, actions, and symbols of the celebration, the Spirit draws the faithful and ministers into a living relationship with Christ. The liturgy remembers God’s saving works, and the Spirit awakens this memory in the Church, inspiring thanksgiving and praise. This is a beautiful reminder for our families to approach the liturgy with open hearts, ready to hear God’s Word and give thanks for his saving love.

Today's Mass Readings

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