Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Pentecost

Week

Week 4 of Time After Pentecost

Rank

Sunday

The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost falls in the Time after Pentecost, the long season following Pentecost when the Church reflects on ordinary Christian life, growth in holiness, and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the Church. As a Sunday it is the principal day of Christian worship each week, shaped by readings and prayers that help families hear the Gospel and apply it at home. Its rank is Semidouble, an older liturgical classification indicating this celebration has proper prayers and readings but does not outrank greater feasts; in practical family terms, treat it as a normal Sunday with particular scriptural themes to guide prayer and discussion. There is no octave or special vigil attached here, so the Sunday liturgy stands on its own.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Ps. 26:1-2
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? My enemies that trouble me, themselves stumble and fall.
Ps 26:3
Though an army encamp against me, my heart will not fear.
Glory Be to the Father…

Grant us, we beseech You, O Lord, that the course of the world may be directed according to Your rule in peace and that Your Church may have the joy of serving You undisturbed.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.

Weekly Formation

Commandment 9

The Ten Commandments

Thou shalt not covet another person’s spouse.
The Ninth Commandment guards purity and marital fidelity within the heart, where deliberate desires begin. It distinguishes an unwanted temptation from a chosen desire and forbids willingly entertaining thoughts that would violate another person or another marriage.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebrationCalendar title

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.

Commemoration

Aloysius Gonzaga

St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Confessor

Italian aristocrat and Jesuit seminarian and saint

Born: 1568-03-09 · Castiglione delle Stiviere
Died: 1591-06-21 · Rome

Aloysius de Gonzaga, SJ was an Italian aristocrat who became a member of the Society of Jesus. While still a student at the Roman College, he died as a result of caring for the victims of a serious epidemic. He was beatified in 1605 and canonized in 1726.

Learn more about Aloysius Gonzaga

Today in Church History

Election of Pope Paul VI
1963Papal
In 1963, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini was elected as Pope Paul VI, succeeding Pope John XXIII. His papacy is noted for the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council and efforts to implement its reforms, significantly shaping modern Catholicism.
Pope Paul VI's leadership reminds us of the importance of renewal and dialogue in the Church's mission.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

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.

The sacrament of Confirmation is a profound moment in the life of a Catholic. Sacred chrism is consecrated by the bishop, and, in the Roman Rite when Confirmation is celebrated separately from Baptism, the liturgy begins with the renewal of baptismal promises and the profession of faith. Through the laying on of hands, anointing with chrism, and the words “Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit,” the confirmand receives the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Confirmation deepens baptismal grace, unites us more firmly to Christ, strengthens our bond with the Church, and gives us strength to spread and defend the faith as true witnesses of Christ. Given only once, it leaves an indelible spiritual mark, or “character,” enabling the confirmed person to profess faith in Christ publicly.

¶ 1295

By this anointing the confirmand receives the "mark," the seal of the Holy Spirit. A seal is a symbol of a person, a sign of personal authority, or ownership of an oblect. Hence soldiers were marked with their leader's seal and slaves with their master's. A seal authenticates a juridical act or document and occasionally makes it secret.

Today's Mass Readings

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

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Understanding the Day

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Collect

Weekly Prayer

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Weekly Formation

Commandment 9

The Ten Commandments

Saint & Feast

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Aloysius Gonzaga

Today in Church History

Election of Pope Paul VI

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Today's Mass Readings

Baltimore Catechism No. 3