Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Pentecost

Week

Week 3 of Time After Pentecost

Rank

Simple feast

Septuagesima is the preparatory season before Lent in the older liturgical practice called the divino afflatu calendar. The Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Sanctæ Mariæ Sabbato) is celebrated on Saturdays during this season as a special devotion honoring Mary’s ongoing role in the Church’s life and in the spiritual formation of Christian households. The rank “Simple” indicates this is a proper devotion of modest liturgical weight: it is observed with particular prayers or antiphons in the Divine Office but does not supersede more important solemnities or Sundays. There is no octave or vigil attached here; this is a recurring weekly observance.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Sedulius
Hail, holy Mother, who in childbirth brought forth the King Who rules heaven and earth world without end.
Ps 44:2
My heart overflows with a goodly theme; as I sing my ode to the King.
Glory Be to the Father…

Commemoration St. Silverius
Being appeased, O Lord, guide thy Church, which has been nourished by holy refreshment, that under thy direction and powerful rule it may receive increase of liberty and may continue in religious integrity.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Prayer for the Home

Visit, we beseech Thee, O Lord, this home,
and drive far from it all snares of the enemy.

Let Thy holy angels dwell herein to preserve us in peace;
and may Thy blessing be always upon us.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Weekly Formation

Commandment 8

The Ten Commandments

Thou shalt not bear false witness.
The Eighth Commandment requires truthfulness and respect for another person’s good name. It forbids lies, false testimony, rash judgment, slander, detraction, and the needless disclosure of faults, because justice and charity both govern speech.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebrationCalendar title

Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.

Commemoration

Silverius

St. Silverius, Pope and Martyr

pope

Born: 0477-00-00 · Frosinone
Died: 0537-06-20 · Ponza

Pope Silverius was bishop of Rome from 8 June 536 to his deposition in 537, a few months before his death. His rapid rise to prominence from a deacon to the papacy coincided with the efforts of Ostrogothic king Theodahad, who intended to install a pro-Gothic candidate just before the Gothic War. Later deposed by Byzantine general Belisarius, he was tried and sent to exile on the desolated island of Palmarola, where he starved to death in 537.

Today in Church History

Treaty of Anagni (1295)
1295Event
The Treaty of Anagni was signed in 1295 to resolve conflicts between France, Aragon, and the Papacy, but it is not traditionally associated with June 20. It aimed to end the War of the Sicilian Vespers and restore peace in the region.
The papacy's role in fostering peace reminds us of the Church's mission to be a beacon of reconciliation in a divided world.
28th International Eucharistic Congress in Chicago
1926Event
The 28th International Eucharistic Congress held in Chicago in 1926 was a significant event that drew over 250,000 participants, highlighting the importance of the Eucharist in Catholic faith and fostering a sense of global Catholic unity. It served as a powerful reminder of the centrality of the Eucharist in Catholic worship and community life.
The gathering exemplified the unity of the Church in celebrating the Eucharist as the source and summit of Christian life.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

In the journey of faith, Baptism, the Eucharist, and Confirmation together form the sacraments of Christian initiation. Confirmation completes baptismal grace, binds the baptized more perfectly to the Church, and enriches them with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit rested upon Jesus for his saving mission, and Christ promised to pour out the Spirit upon his people—a promise fulfilled on Easter Sunday and more strikingly at Pentecost. Through Confirmation, received through the laying on of hands and anointing with chrism, the baptized are strengthened to be true witnesses of Christ, spreading and defending the faith by word and deed.

In the early Church, Confirmation was generally celebrated with Baptism as a “double sacrament,” highlighting the unity of Christian initiation. Eastern Churches continue to keep these sacraments united, while the Latin Church more clearly expresses the new Christian’s communion with the bishop, who serves the unity, catholicity, and apostolicity of the Church. In Confirmation, anointing with sacred chrism is a sign of consecration: the baptized share more completely in Christ’s mission and in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, so that their lives may give off “the aroma of Christ.” This anointing also gives the confirmand the seal of the Holy Spirit, marking total belonging to Christ and enrollment in his service forever. As families reflect on Confirmation, they can rejoice in this gift of belonging to Christ and his Church.

¶ 1288

"From that time on the apostles, in fulfillment of Christ's will, imparted to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism. For this reason in the Letter to the Hebrews the doctrine concerning Baptism and the laying on of hands is listed among the first elements of Christian instruction. the imposition of hands is rightly recognized by the Catholic tradition as the origin of the sacrament of Confirmation, which in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church."

Today's Mass Readings

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

Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Understanding the Day

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Collect

Weekly Prayer

Prayer for the Home

Weekly Formation

Commandment 8

The Ten Commandments

Saint & Feast

Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Silverius

Today in Church History

Treaty of Anagni (1295)

28th International Eucharistic Congress in Chicago

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Today's Mass Readings

Baltimore Catechism No. 3