Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Pentecost

Week

Week 8 of Time After Pentecost

Rank

Feast

This day falls in the Time after Pentecost, the liturgical season focused on the growth of the Church and the Christian life following the coming of the Holy Spirit. The rank “Double” is an older canonical term indicating a solemn celebration of the saint with its own proper prayers and readings; in simple terms, it means this feast is important and observed with special liturgy rather than being a minor memorial. No octave or vigil is specified here, so the observance is on the single day itself.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Lam 2:11
My gall is poured out on the ground because of the downfall of the daughter of my people, as child and infant faint away in the open spaces of the town.
Ps 112:1
Praise the Lord, you children, praise the name of the Lord.
Glory Be to the Father…

Commemoration St. Margaret
We who have been refreshed by the richness of Your divine sacrament beseech You, O Lord our God, that through the intercession of blessed Margaret, Your Virgin and Martyr, we may forevermore abide in its participation.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Act of Contrition

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love.

I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

Weekly Formation

The Precepts of the Church: Eucharist and Discipline

The Precepts of the Church

You shall receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.
This precept requires worthy reception of Holy Communion at least during the Easter season. The minimum joins the faithful sacramentally to the Paschal mystery and presumes the preparation required for receiving the Eucharist reverently.
You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church.
This precept requires observance of the days and forms of fasting and abstinence established by lawful Church authority. These common disciplines unite bodily self-denial with repentance, prayer, and obedience rather than treating penance as a merely private preference.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Jerome Emiliani

St. Jerome Emiliani, Confessor

Jerome Emiliani was a Venetian soldier and magistrate who devoted himself to caring for the sick, poor, and orphaned.

Jerome Emiliani was a Venetian soldier and magistrate who devoted himself to caring for the sick, poor, and orphaned. He founded the Somaschi Fathers and was canonized in 1767.

Learn more about Jerome Emiliani

Commemoration

Margaret

St. Margarita, Virgin and Martyr

Today in Church History

Treaty of San Germano (1230)
1230Event
The Treaty of San Germano marked a significant moment in the relationship between the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy, as it was negotiated by Pope Gregory IX and Emperor Frederick II. This agreement aimed to resolve conflicts and assert papal authority, showcasing the ongoing struggle for power between church and state during the medieval period.
The treaty reminds us of the importance of dialogue and negotiation in resolving conflicts within the Church and society.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

In God’s mercy, marriage helps address the damaging effects of sin by calling spouses beyond self-absorption, egoism, and the pursuit of their own pleasure toward mutual aid and self-giving (CCC 1609). Through the Old Testament, God’s people were prepared for a deeper understanding of marriage’s unity and indissolubility, while the law also sought to protect wives from arbitrary domination (CCC 1610-1611). Jesus honored the goodness of marriage by performing his first sign at the wedding at Cana; the Church sees this as confirming marriage’s goodness and proclaiming it an efficacious sign of Christ’s presence (CCC 1613). He taught that the union of man and woman is indissoluble, and he gives spouses the strength and grace to live this calling through following him, self-renunciation, and taking up their crosses (CCC 1614-1615). Christian marriage between baptized persons is a true sacrament of the New Covenant, signifying and communicating the grace of Christ’s covenant with the Church (CCC 1616-1617).

At the heart of Christian life, Christ takes precedence over every other bond, including family ties, and he calls some to embrace virginity for the sake of the Kingdom. This vocation unfolds baptismal grace and points to the supremacy of the bond with Christ, while also recalling that marriage belongs to this present age. Matrimony and virginity for the Kingdom both come from the Lord, and each helps us appreciate the other. In the Latin Rite, marriage between two Catholic faithful normally takes place during Holy Mass, where spouses unite their self-giving consent with Christ’s offering in the Eucharist and receive his Body and Blood, becoming one body in him. As they prepare, couples are appropriately encouraged to receive the sacrament of penance and to welcome the Holy Spirit, the source of their love and strength to renew their fidelity.

Today's Mass Readings

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