Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Pentecost

Week

Week 20 of Time After Pentecost

Rank

Second-class feast

The Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated in Ordinary Time after Pentecost as a joyful family feast honoring Mary’s role as mother of Jesus. In the older divino_afflatu calendar this is a “Double of the II Class,” which in plain language means it is an important liturgical celebration with its own proper prayers and readings that take precedence over many regular weekday observances, though not above the highest solemnities.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Dan 3:31; 3:29; 3:35
All that You have done to us, O Lord, You have done in true judgment; because we have sinned against You, and we have not obeyed your commandments; but give glory to Your name, and deal with us according to the multitude of Your mercy.
Ps 118:1
Happy are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.
Glory Be to the Father…

Commemoration Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
May this Communion, O Lord, cleanse us from sin and, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, make us sharers of Your heavenly healing.
Through the same Christ our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Weekly prayer content will appear here once it is scheduled.

Weekly Formation

Disordered Desire and Chastity

The Way of Darkness

Disordered Desire
This capital vice is disordered desire for bodily intimacy outside faithful marriage or apart from the duties of one’s state in life. It treats persons or the body as objects of appetite rather than gifts entrusted to faithful love, purity, and responsibility.

The Way of Light

Chastity
Chastity is the virtue that orders the gift of the body and its powers according to God’s design and one’s state in life. It preserves personal dignity, faithful love, and rightful boundaries by bringing desire under reason, grace, and charity.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The celebration honors Mary under the title Mother of God, a title affirmed at the Council of Ephesus in 431.

The celebration honors Mary under the title Mother of God, a title affirmed at the Council of Ephesus in 431. The traditional Roman calendar kept the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on October 11; the revised calendar celebrates the same mystery on January 1.

Learn more about Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

CommemorationCalendar title

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Today in Church History

Second Vatican Council (1962)
1962Council
The Second Vatican Council, convened by Pope John XXIII, began on October 11, 1962, and marked a significant turning point in the Catholic Church's engagement with the modern world. It aimed to address relations with other religions, promote ecumenism, and renew the Church's liturgy and practices, impacting millions of Catholics globally.
The Council reminds us of the Church's commitment to renewal and dialogue in the light of faith.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Catechism highlights the profound role of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God and the Mother of the Church, emphasizing her union with Christ and her participation in his saving work. From her consent at the Annunciation through her steadfast presence beneath the cross, she cooperated by obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior’s work. Taken body and soul into heavenly glory and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity. Her motherhood in the order of grace continues through her intercession, and the Church invokes her as Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix. As we reflect together, we can look to Mary’s complete adherence to God’s will and remember that her maternal care depends entirely on and draws all its power from Christ’s unique mediation.

The Catechism emphasizes the deep interconnection between faith, family, and society, highlighting that every institution is shaped by its understanding of humanity's purpose and destiny. While the Church does not align itself with political authority, it serves as a vital reminder of the dignity of the human person, urging political leaders to reflect on divine truth in their decisions. Within families, parents hold the sacred duty to educate their children in faith, fostering respect and obedience that cultivate harmony, while children are called to honor their parents in gratitude and support. Ultimately, both families and citizens are encouraged to advocate for justice and truth, recognizing that a society's health depends on its moral foundation rooted in respect for God and one another.

¶ 964

Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death"; it is made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion:

Today's Mass Readings

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