Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Pentecost

Week

Week 8 of Time After Pentecost

Rank

Feast

This feast falls in the Time after Pentecost, the long portion of the Church year when we follow the life of the Church and the growth of faith after the coming of the Holy Spirit. No octave or vigil is specified here, so the observance is on the single day itself. The celebration honors Mary Magdalene as a penitent disciple whose conversion and devotion point us to God’s mercy and the possibility of transformed life.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Ps 118:95-96.
Sinners wait to destroy me, but I pay heed to Your decrees, O Lord. I see that all fulfillment has its limits; broad indeed is Your command. (Alleluja, alleluja.)
Ps 118:1
Happy are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.
Glory Be to the Father…

May the prayers of blessed Mary Magdalen help us, O Lord, Who were moved by her prayers and brought back alive from the grave her brother Lazarus, dead for four days.
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

Mary Magdalene

St. Mary Magdalene, Penitent

follower of Jesus

Born: Magdala
Died: 0100-00-00 · Ephesus

Mary Magdalene was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurrection. In Gnostic writings, Mary Magdalene is depicted as Jesus's closest disciple who uniquely understood his teachings, causing tension with Peter, and is honored as the "apostle to the apostles".

Learn more about Mary Magdalene

Today in Church History

Election of Godfrey of Bouillon as Defender of the Holy Sepulchre
1099Event
In 1099, during the First Crusade, Godfrey of Bouillon was elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre, symbolizing the Catholic Church's commitment to reclaiming the Holy Land. This event marked a significant moment in the Church's history, as it underscored the intertwining of faith and military action in the pursuit of religious goals.
The commitment to faith can inspire us to defend our beliefs with courage and conviction.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

In marriages between a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic, and in marriages involving disparity of cult between a Catholic and a non-baptized person, couples need careful attention and pastoral guidance. Differences in confession need not prevent a strong marriage when spouses share what they have received from their communities and learn from one another’s fidelity to Christ. Still, these differences can bring real tensions, especially concerning faith, the meaning of marriage, and the education of children, and can tempt a family toward religious indifference. In the Latin Church, a mixed marriage requires ecclesiastical permission, while a marriage involving disparity of cult requires a dispensation for validity; these presume that both spouses understand marriage’s essential ends and properties, as well as the Catholic party’s obligations regarding the children’s baptism and education in the Catholic Church. Through pastoral care, couples can be helped to live their situation in faith, honor what they share, and respect what separates them. In a marriage involving an unbelieving spouse, sincere love, patient family virtues, and perseverance in prayer can prepare that spouse to receive the grace of conversion freely.

In the sacrament of Matrimony, a profound and lasting bond is established between spouses, rooted in God’s design and strengthened by sacramental grace. This irrevocable covenant perfects their love and strengthens their unity, helping them grow in holiness in married life and in welcoming and educating their children. As they live their commitment day by day, Christ dwells with them, giving them strength to forgive, bear one another’s burdens, and love one another with tender and fruitful love. Their communion is deepened through shared faith and the Eucharist, reflecting divine love through their mutual self-giving, equal personal dignity, and faithful, exclusive union.

¶ 1633

Today's Mass Readings

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