Understanding the Day
Season
Ascensiontide
Week
Week 1 of Ascensiontide
Rank
Sunday or semidouble observance
St. Bernardine of Siena is celebrated on a semidouble feast in the first week of Ascensiontide. Ascensiontide is the liturgical season following Easter that centers on Christ’s ascension into heaven and the sending of the Holy Spirit; its prayers and readings draw the community’s attention to the risen Lord’s presence and mission. A semidouble rank means this is a true feast with its own proper prayers and readings; in practical family devotion it takes precedence over ordinary seasonal weekday observances but does not have the greater liturgical weight of a principal feast or solemnity. There is no octave or vigil attached in the information given, so observance is on the single liturgical day.
Introit (Daily Prayer)
Ps 36:30-31
The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom, and his tongue utters what is right. The law of his God is in his heart. (Alléluia, alléluia.)
Ps 36:1
Be not vexed over evildoers, nor jealous of those who do wrong.
Glory Be to the Father…
The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom, and his tongue utters what is right. The law of his God is in his heart. (Alléluia, alléluia.)
Ps 36:1
Be not vexed over evildoers, nor jealous of those who do wrong.
Glory Be to the Father…
O Lord Jesus, Who bestowed on blessed Bernardine, Your Confessor, an unusual love for Your holy name, we beseech You, by his merits and intercession, graciously pour upon us the spirit of Your love.
Who livest…
Who livest…
Weekly Prayer
Prayer to St. Joseph
Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so prompt, so strong,
before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.
Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession,
and obtain for me from your Divine Son
all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power,
I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of fathers.
Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms;
I dare not approach while he reposes near your heart.
Press him in my name and kiss his fine head for me and
ask him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath.
St. Joseph, patron of departing souls - pray for me.
Amen.
before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.
Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession,
and obtain for me from your Divine Son
all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power,
I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of fathers.
Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms;
I dare not approach while he reposes near your heart.
Press him in my name and kiss his fine head for me and
ask him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath.
St. Joseph, patron of departing souls - pray for me.
Amen.
Weekly Formation
Commandment 4
The Ten Commandments
Honor thy father and thy mother.
The Fourth Commandment concerns the honor, gratitude, obedience, and care owed to parents and to lawful authority. It also binds parents and superiors to govern justly, provide what is needed, and seek the true good of those entrusted to them.
Saint & Feast
Principal celebration
Bernardine of Siena
St. Bernardine of Siena, Confessor
Italian Franciscan missionary and saint
- Born
- 1380-09-08 · Massa Marittima
- Died
- 1444-05-20 · L'Aquila
Bernardino of Siena, OFM, was an Italian Catholic priest and Franciscan missionary preacher in Italy. He was a systematizer of scholastic economics.
Learn more about Bernardine of SienaCommemorationCalendar title
Day 7 within the Octave of the Ascension
Today in Church History
Council of Nicaea Begins
325CouncilThe First Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church, began on May 20, 325. It was convened by Emperor Constantine I to address the Arian controversy and resulted in the Nicene Creed.
The Nicene Creed remains a cornerstone of Christian faith, uniting believers in core doctrines.
Catechism
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The liturgy proclaims, celebrates, and lives the mystery of Christ within many cultures, not abolishing them but redeeming and fulfilling them in Christ. It includes an unchanging part instituted by God and entrusted to the Church, as well as elements the Church may adapt to cultures when appropriate. Different recognized rites express and communicate the same mystery of Christ and show the catholicity of the Church. For family reflection, cultural expressions in worship are a gift when they remain faithful to the common faith, the sacramental signs received from Christ, and communion with the Church. The liturgy both finds expression in culture and helps shape it, while calling for conversion wherever customs are incompatible with the Catholic faith.
The Catechism teaches that Christ instituted seven sacraments, which touch the important stages of Christian life by giving birth, growth, healing, and mission to faith. Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist lay the foundations of Christian life: through Baptism we are born anew, Confirmation strengthens us, and the Eucharist nourishes us with the food of eternal life. Baptism is the gateway to life in the Spirit and to the other sacraments. Through it we are freed from sin, reborn as children of God, made members of Christ, incorporated into the Church, and made sharers in her mission. Its immersion in water symbolizes burial with Christ in his death and rising with him as a new creature. Scripture’s images of water, the ark, the Red Sea, and the Jordan River help us reflect on Baptism as liberation, salvation, communion with Christ’s death, and the promise of eternal life. As we pray and learn together, these truths can help us treasure the sacramental life Christ has given his Church.