Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Pentecost

Week

Week 6 of Time After Pentecost

Rank

Weekday

Time after Pentecost (also called Ordinary Time in some traditions) is the long season after Pentecost that focuses on the daily life and ongoing mission of the Church. The rank “Feria” simply means an ordinary weekday without a specific saint’s feast or higher-ranking liturgical observance; its prayers and readings follow the weekly cycle for that week of the season. There is no octave or vigil attached to this feria in the provided context. The celebration matters because even ordinary weekdays are ordered to prayer and Scripture, helping families to root their daily routines in the life of Christ and to practice regular participation in the Church’s prayer.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Ps. 27:8-9.
The Lord is the strength of His people, the saving refuge of His anointed. Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance; and rule them forever!
Ps 27:1
To You, O Lord, I call; O my God, be not deaf to me, lest, if You heed me not, I become one of those going down into the pit.
Glory Be to the Father…

O God of the heavenly powers, creator of all good things, implant in our hearts the love of Your Name, and bestow upon us an increase of godliness, fostering what is good, and, by Your loving care, guarding what You have fostered.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Act of Hope

O my God, relying on Thy almighty power and infinite mercy and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.

Weekly Formation

The Two Greatest Commandments

You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul and with all your mind.
To love God with the whole heart, soul, and mind is to prefer Him above every created good and to order the whole life toward Him. This love includes worship, obedience, trust, and the willing acceptance of His truth and commandments.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
To love one’s neighbor as oneself is to desire and seek the neighbor’s true good for the love of God. Every human person is a neighbor in this sense, and this charity excludes both deliberate harm and indifference to another’s genuine need.

Featured Saint

Modern saint

Featured saintCalendar title

Thursday of Week 6 of Time after Pentecost

Saint Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus

A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.

Today in Church History

Martyrdom of the Nineteen in Gorkum
1572Martyrdom
In 1572, nineteen Catholics were martyred in Gorkum for their steadfast faith during the tumultuous period of the Dutch Revolt. Their sacrifice is commemorated as a testament to the courage and resilience of believers facing persecution for their beliefs.
The martyrdom of the faithful reminds us of the strength found in unwavering belief amidst trials.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist are the sacraments of Christian initiation. They ground the common vocation of Christ’s disciples to holiness and to the mission of evangelizing the world, giving the graces needed to live according to the Spirit as pilgrims journeying toward the homeland. Holy Orders and Matrimony are directed toward the salvation of others and build up the People of God through service. Those ordained are consecrated in Christ’s name to feed the Church by God’s word and grace, while Christian spouses are fortified and consecrated for the duties and dignity of their state.

In the Catechism, we learn that God established the people of Israel as a “kingdom of priests” and set apart the tribe of Levi for liturgical service. The priests of the Old Covenant were appointed to act on behalf of the people before God, offering gifts and sacrifices for sins. Yet their sacrifices had to be repeated and could not bring definitive sanctification; this would be accomplished only by Christ’s sacrifice.

Everything foreshadowed by the Old Covenant priesthood finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the one mediator between God and humanity and the unique High Priest. By his single sacrifice on the cross, he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. This redemptive sacrifice was accomplished once for all, and it is made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Church. Christ’s one priesthood is also made present through the ministerial priesthood, while Christ himself remains the true priest and ordained ministers serve in his name.

¶ 1533

Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist are sacraments of Christian initiation. They ground the common vocation of all Christ's disciples, a vocation to holiness and to the mission of evangelizing the world. They confer the graces needed for the life according to the Spirit during this life as pilgrims on the march towards the homeland.

Today's Mass Readings

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

Thursday of Week 6 of Time after Pentecost

Understanding the Day

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Collect

Weekly Prayer

Act of Hope

Weekly Formation

The Two Greatest Commandments

The Two Greatest Commandments

Featured Saint

Thursday of Week 6 of Time after Pentecost

Today in Church History

Martyrdom of the Nineteen in Gorkum

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Today's Mass Readings

Baltimore Catechism No. 3