Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Octave Of Pentecost

Week

Week 1 of Octave Of Pentecost

Rank

Sunday or semidouble observance

This day is the fifth day within the Octave of Pentecost, a weeklong celebration that continues the Church’s rejoicing in the gift of the Holy Spirit given at Pentecost. The rank “Semidouble” is an older liturgical term indicating this day keeps a clear liturgical identity—its prayers, readings, and hymns are marked to highlight the octave celebration—while allowing certain commemorations if needed.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Wis 1:7
The Spirit of the Lord fills the world, alleluia, is all-embracing, and knows man’s utterance, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Ps 67:2
God arises; His enemies are scattered, and those who hate Him flee before Him.
Glory Be to the Father…

O God, You Who on this day have taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us by that Holy Spirit Himself, to know what is right and ever to rejoice in His help.
Through our Lord… eiusdem

Weekly Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful
and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.

℣ Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.
℟ And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.
O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His consolation.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Weekly Formation

Commandment 5

The Ten Commandments

Thou shalt not kill.
The Fifth Commandment protects human life because every person is made by God and belongs ultimately to Him. It forbids unjust killing and deliberate injury, and it also condemns hatred, revenge, and conduct that recklessly endangers oneself or another.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebrationCalendar title

Day 5 within the Octave of Pentecost

A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.

Commemoration

Augustine of Canterbury

St. Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop and Confessor

6th-century missionary, archbishop, and saint

Born: 0550-00-00
Died: 0605-00-00

Augustine of Canterbury was a Christian monk who became the first archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English".

Learn more about Augustine of Canterbury

Today in Church History

Henry VIII's Marriage Declaration and Its Impact
1533Schism Heresy
In 1533, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, declared King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn valid, a pivotal moment that led to the English Reformation. This event significantly contributed to the schism between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, as it challenged papal authority and altered the religious landscape of England.
The importance of fidelity to Church teachings and the consequences of straying from them.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Mary, the all-holy ever-virgin Mother of God, is the masterwork of the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Prepared by the Spirit’s grace and full of grace, she humbly welcomed the eternal Son and conceived and gave birth to him through the Holy Spirit and her faith. In Mary, the Spirit made the Word visible in the humility of his flesh and began to manifest God’s wonders in Christ and the Church. Through her, people were brought into communion with Christ, with the humble among the first to receive him. Present with the Twelve in prayer at the dawn of Pentecost, Mary remains closely joined to the beginning of the Church’s life in the Spirit. As we reflect together, we can give thanks with Mary to the Father in the Holy Spirit for the gift of Christ.

On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out abundantly, fulfilling Christ's Passover and fully revealing the Holy Trinity. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to those who believe in him, who already share in the communion of the Trinity through faith. The Spirit’s first gift is God’s love, poured into our hearts; through this love our sins are forgiven and the baptized are restored to the divine likeness lost through sin. In our daily lives, let us receive this gift with gratitude and rely on the Spirit’s power, so that we may bear the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The more we renounce ourselves, the more we walk by the Spirit.

¶ 724

In Mary, the Holy Spirit manifests the Son of the Father, now become the Son of the Virgin. She is the burning bush of the definitive theophany. Filled with the Holy Spirit she makes the Word visible in the humility of his flesh. It is to the poor and the first representatives of the gentiles that she makes him known.

Today's Mass Readings

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

Day 5 within the Octave of Pentecost

Understanding the Day

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Collect

Weekly Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit

Weekly Formation

Commandment 5

The Ten Commandments

Saint & Feast

Day 5 within the Octave of Pentecost

Augustine of Canterbury

Today in Church History

Henry VIII's Marriage Declaration and Its Impact

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Today's Mass Readings

Baltimore Catechism No. 3