Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Pentecost

Week

Week 18 of Time After Pentecost

Rank

Feast

The Season: This celebration falls in the Ordinary Time after Pentecost (Time after Pentecost), a season focused on the growth of the Church and the daily call to live the Gospel. It’s a time for steady spiritual growth rather than the special preparation of Advent or Lent.

The Rank: “Double” is an older liturgical rank that marks this day as a full feast of importance. In plain terms, it means the Church gives this celebration greater attention in the prayers and readings of the day than an ordinary weekday: special Mass propers and the Office are observed, helping families enter more deeply into the commemoration.

Octave or Vigil: No octave or vigil is indicated for this celebration in the supplied context, so the feast is observed on the day itself without an extended eight‑day observance or a distinct vigil liturgy.

Why it matters: Celebrating a saint who is a priest, confessor, and Doctor of the Church offers families a model of faithful service, learned teaching, and devotion to Scripture and the Church’s life.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Sir 15:5
In the midst of the assembly he opened his mouth; and the Lord filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding; He clothed him with a robe of glory. (Allelúja, allelúja.)
Ps 91:2
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to Your name, Most High.
Glory Be to the Father…

O God, Who graciously gave Your Church blessed Jerome, Your Confessor and peerless teacher, to explain the Holy Scriptures, grant, we beseech You, that, with the help of his merits and by Your assistance, we may be able to put into practice what he has taught us by his life and works.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Weekly prayer content will appear here once it is scheduled.

Weekly Formation

Pride and Humility

The Way of Darkness

Pride
Pride is an inordinate esteem of oneself or one’s own excellence that resists dependence on God and right order toward others. It may appear as vanity and superiority, but also as a self-absorbed preoccupation with one’s misery that refuses humble trust in God.

The Way of Light

Humility
Humility is the truthful recognition that every good comes from God and that personal gifts, limits, and duties must be seen as they really are. It avoids both self-exaltation and false self-contempt, placing confidence in God rather than in an invented image of oneself.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Jerome

St. Jerome, Priest, Confessor and Doctor of the Church

Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint and Doctor of the Church

Born: 0345-00-00 · Stridon
Died: 0420-09-30 · Bethlehem

Jerome, also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome.

Learn more about Jerome

Today in Church History

Lebanese Council of 1736: Reform of the Maronite Church
1736Council
The Lebanese Council of 1736 was a significant synod held in the Maronite Church, which took place from September 30 to October 2, 1736. It aimed to reform the Maronite Church's structure and practices, aligning them more closely with the Roman Catholic Church. The council established new rules and canons, emphasizing unity and reform within the faith.
The council reminds us of the importance of reform and unity within the Church.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

In Baptism, Christians receive a sacred name that reflects their identity in Christ and connects them to a patron saint, who serves as a model of virtue and intercessor. This name holds eternal significance, reminding us that each person is cherished by God and called to live out their unique dignity. Families can encourage a deep respect for names, both their own and others’, recognizing them as icons of the person’s value. By beginning each day and prayer with the Sign of the Cross, families can dedicate their actions to God, reminding themselves of the holiness of His name and the importance of living truthfully and reverently.

The third commandment recalls the holiness of the sabbath, a day set apart for the Lord, for rest, and for praise of God’s creation and saving work. It invites us to pause from everyday work so that people, especially the poor, may be refreshed. Jesus teaches that the sabbath is made for man and is a day for mercy, doing good, and honoring God. Through Christ’s Resurrection on the first day of the week, Sunday became the Lord’s Day for Christians, recalling both creation and the new creation. For Catholic families, Sunday worship is a regular, visible way to honor God as Creator and Redeemer and to celebrate his gifts of creation and salvation.

¶ 2167

God calls each one by name (cf Isa 43:1).

¶ 2168

Today's Mass Readings

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