Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Pentecost

Week

Week 1 of Time After Pentecost

Rank

Second-class feast

The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated in Ordinary Time after Pentecost as a joyful, focused feast honoring Mary’s role as Queen of Heaven and Mother of the Church. In the older Divino Afflatu calendar this is a “Double of the II Class” — a high-ranking liturgical celebration that takes precedence over most other feasts on the same day. There is no octave or vigil attached in this context, so the celebration is observed on the single appointed day rather than extended over eight days.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Ps 44:8
Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (Alleluja, alleluja.)
Ps 44:2
My heart hath uttered a good word I speak my works to the king.
Glory Be to the Father…

O God, Who willed that through blessed Angela a new family of holy Virgins should flower in Your Church, grant us through her intercession to lead angelic lives, so that, foregoing all worldly pleasures, we may be found worthy to enjoy eternal happiness.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Act of Spiritual Communion

My Jesus,
I believe that Thou art present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love Thee above all things,
and I desire to receive Thee into my soul.

Since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace Thee as if Thou wert already there,
and unite myself wholly to Thee.

Never permit me to be separated from Thee. Amen.

Weekly Formation

Commandment 6

The Ten Commandments

Be faithful in marriage and respect God’s gift of the body.
The Sixth Commandment guards fidelity in marriage and the holiness of God’s gift of the body. It requires purity appropriate to each state of life, respect for personal boundaries, and faithful conduct in thought, word, and action.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Queenship of Mary

Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Pope Pius XII instituted the liturgical Feast of the Queenship of Mary in 1954.

Pope Pius XII instituted the liturgical Feast of the Queenship of Mary in 1954. It was first assigned to May 31 and was moved to August 22 in the revised Roman calendar.

Learn more about Queenship of Mary

Commemoration

Angela Merici

St. Angela Merici, Virgin

Foundress of the Ursulines

Born: 1474-03-21 · Desenzano del Garda
Died

Today in Church History

Saint Angela Merici Founds the Ursulines
1535Founding
Saint Angela Merici established the Company of Saint Ursula in Brescia, Italy, the first teaching order of women in the Catholic Church. The Ursulines would become one of the most influential religious orders in Catholic education, spreading throughout Europe and the Americas.
Saint Angela's vision for women's education continues to bear fruit in Catholic schools worldwide.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

In the Catechism, we learn that Mary was uniquely prepared by God to be the Mother of the Savior, enriched with grace from her conception to fulfill her divine role. Celebrated as "full of grace," she was redeemed in an extraordinary way through the merits of Christ, remaining free from sin throughout her life. At the Annunciation, Mary exemplified perfect obedience and faith, accepting God's will with the words, "Let it be done to me according to your word." For Catholic families, Mary's example inspires us to embrace God's call with trust and surrender, reminding us of the importance of grace and obedience in our own lives.

Baptism is a profound sacrament of faith that marks the person baptized as belonging to Christ and signifies liberation from sin. As families attentively follow its gestures and words, they are invited to see the riches that Baptism signifies and brings about: the sign of the cross marks the candidate with Christ’s redemption, and the proclamation of God’s Word calls forth the response of faith. Baptism itself signifies and brings about death to sin and entry into the life of the Most Holy Trinity through union with Christ’s Paschal mystery. The anointing with sacred chrism signifies the gift of the Holy Spirit, while the white garment and candle show that the newly baptized has put on Christ, risen with him, and been enlightened by him. As a child of God, the baptized person is oriented toward the Eucharist and can pray, “Our Father.”

¶ 490

To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role." The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace". In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.

Today's Mass Readings

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