Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Pentecost

Week

Week 11 of Time After Pentecost

Rank

Feast

St. Clare’s feast falls in the Time after Pentecost, the long season in which the Church reflects on the life of the Church, the growth of Christian virtue, and how the Holy Spirit guides daily discipleship. There is no octave or vigil noted for this entry, so the observance is for the day itself. Celebrating St. Clare matters because it highlights a Christian model of committed virginity, prayerful dependence on God, and service within community.

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…

Graciously hear us, O God of our salvation; that as we rejoice in the festivity of blessed Clara, we may be instructed in the affections of a loving devotion.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Morning Offering

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart,

in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in thanksgiving for Your favors, in reparation for my sins,

for the intentions of all my associates, and in particular for the intention recommended by the Holy Father this month.

Weekly Formation

The Theological Virtues

Faith
Faith is the infused virtue by which the mind firmly assents to the truths God has revealed because He can neither deceive nor be deceived. It rests on God’s authority and gives the foundation by which the believer knows Him and orders life toward Him.
Hope
Hope is the infused virtue by which a person confidently expects eternal life and the graces needed to reach it, relying on God’s goodness, promises, and power. It stands between despair, which distrusts mercy, and presumption, which expects heaven without conversion and grace.
Charity
Charity is the infused virtue by which God is loved above all things for His own sake and one’s neighbor is loved for God. It gives supernatural life to the other virtues by directing the whole person toward friendship with God and eternal union with Him.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Clare

St. Clare, Virgin

Italian saint

Born: 1194-07-16 · Assisi
Died: 1253-08-11 · Assisi

Chiara Offreduccio, known as Clare of Assisi, is an Italian saint who was one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi.

Learn more about Clare

Today in Church History

Death of Pope Sixtus IV
1484Papal
Pope Sixtus IV, known for commissioning the Sistine Chapel and his involvement in Italian politics, died on August 12, 1484. His papacy was marked by nepotism and the expansion of the Papal States.
Leadership in the Church requires balancing spiritual duties with temporal responsibilities.
Election of Pope Innocent XI
1676Papal
Pope Innocent XI was elected on August 12, 1676. His papacy is noted for efforts to reform the Church, combat nepotism, and oppose the expansion of Ottoman influence in Europe.
Reform within the Church often requires courage and steadfastness in the face of opposition.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Catechism reminds us that conscience is a judgment of reason by which we recognize the moral quality of our concrete actions. We must always obey its certain judgment, while also remembering that conscience can remain in ignorance or make errors. Such errors may arise through neglect of what is true and good, bad example, enslavement to passions, rejection of the Church’s teaching, or a lack of conversion and charity. For our daily devotion, we can ask God to form our consciences through his Word, received in faith and prayer and put into practice. A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful, enlightened by true faith, with a pure heart and sincere faith. Even when we have done evil, the verdict of conscience can remain a pledge of conversion and hope.

The Catechism teaches that virtues are firm, habitual dispositions that guide us toward the good, helping us choose good actions in daily life. Among them, the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance have a pivotal role in shaping moral conduct. Prudence helps us discern our true good and choose the right means; justice forms a steady will to give God and neighbor their due; fortitude gives firmness in difficulties and constancy in pursuing the good; and temperance brings balance to our desires and use of created goods. Through education, deliberate acts, repeated effort, and God’s grace, we can grow in these virtues. Christ’s gift of salvation gives us the grace needed to persevere, as we ask for light and strength, receive the sacraments, and cooperate with the Holy Spirit.

¶ 1796

Conscience is a judgment of reason by which the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act.

Today's Mass Readings

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

St. Clare, Virgin

Understanding the Day

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Collect

Weekly Prayer

Morning Offering

Weekly Formation

The Theological Virtues

The Theological Virtues

Saint & Feast

Clare

Today in Church History

Death of Pope Sixtus IV

Election of Pope Innocent XI

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Today's Mass Readings

Baltimore Catechism No. 3