Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Pentecost

Week

Week 9 of Time After Pentecost

Rank

Sunday or semidouble observance

St. Martha’s feast falls in the Time After Pentecost, the long season of the Church year between Pentecost and Advent that focuses on Christian life and growth in virtue. As a Semidouble feast, this celebration has a modest but distinct liturgical character: prayers and readings for St. Martha take precedence over ordinary weekday texts, but the observance does not replace major solemnities. There is no octave or vigil attached in this calendar entry, so the liturgy is celebrated on the single day assigned.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Ps 44:8
Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (Alleluja, alleluja.)
Ps 44:2
My heart hath uttered a good word I speak my works to the king.
Glory Be to the Father…

Commemoration Ss. Felicis, Simplicii, Faustini et Beatricis
We beseech You, almighty God, that the feast of Your holy Martyrs, Felix, Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrice, celebrated with heavenly rites, may gain for us the mercy of Your forgiveness.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Confiteor

I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,

through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault;

therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

Weekly Formation

The Needs of the Church

The Precepts of the Church

You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.
This precept requires the faithful to contribute, according to their means, to the material needs of the Church. Such support provides for divine worship, apostolic work, clergy and ministers, and assistance to those in need.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Martha

St. Martha, Virgin

biblical figure

Born: 0100-00-00 · Bethany
Died: 0100-01-01 · Larnaca

Martha is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem and witnessing Jesus resurrecting her brother, Lazarus.

Learn more about Martha

Commemoration

Felix II

Today in Church History

Marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley
1565Event
The marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, in a Catholic ceremony at Holyrood Palace highlights the intertwining of monarchy and faith during a tumultuous period in Scotland's history. This event is significant as it reflects the Catholic identity of Scotland amidst Protestant Reformation pressures.
The union exemplifies the importance of faith in guiding personal and political decisions.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Catechism teaches that the sacraments, particularly those of Christian initiation, lead us toward the ultimate fulfillment of life in God's Kingdom, where we anticipate the resurrection and eternal life. In the light of Christ’s Paschal mystery, death for a Christian is transformed into a passage to be "at home with the Lord," marking the completion of the new life begun at Baptism. The Church, as a nurturing mother, accompanies the deceased through the funeral rites, which express hope in eternal life and the community's bond with the departed. Families are encouraged to participate in these rites, reflecting on their loved one's journey and the promise of resurrection, thus fostering a deeper understanding of faith and communion in the Body of Christ during times of loss.

The Catechism invites us to recognize the great dignity God has given us. Through Baptism, Christians are incorporated into Christ, become children of God, and are called to live a new life worthy of the Gospel. Christ himself shows us this way by living in perfect communion with the Father, and his disciples are invited to follow his example in love.

We do not walk this path by our own strength. Through the sacraments and prayer, Christ gives us grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit teaches us to pray, heals the wounds of sin, renews us within, and strengthens us to live as children of light through what is good, right, and true.

As we make daily choices, we are reminded that the way of Christ leads to life. Christian teaching helps us grow through the Holy Spirit, grace, the Beatitudes, forgiveness, the virtues, faith, hope, charity, and love of God and neighbor. Above all, we keep our eyes on Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life, trusting him to fulfill his promises in us as we seek to live in a manner worthy of our calling.

¶ 1687

Today's Mass Readings

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