Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Pentecost

Week

Week 23 of Time After Pentecost

Rank

Feast

All Souls (In Commemoratione Omnium Fidelium Defunctorum) is observed in the Time After Pentecost as a day set aside to pray for the faithful departed. The rank “Double” is an older liturgical designation meaning the celebration has liturgical priority: it is celebrated with its proper prayers and readings and should be observed specially in parish and family worship. There is no octave or vigil specifically attached here beyond the usual preparation and remembrance; the focus is concentrated on prayer, Mass, and acts of charity on this day.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

4 Esd. 2:34-35
Eternal rest give to them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Ps 64:2-3
To You we owe our hymn of praise, O God, in Sion; to You must vows be fulfilled in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer; to You all flesh must come.
Eternal rest give to them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.

O God, Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of Your servants and handmaids the remission of all their sins, that they may obtain by our loving prayers the forgiveness which they have always desired.
Who livest…

Weekly Prayer

Weekly prayer content will appear here once it is scheduled.

Weekly Formation

Envy and Brotherly Love

The Way of Darkness

Envy
Envy is sorrow at another person’s good because that good is viewed as diminishing one’s own excellence or advantage. It opposes charity by resenting what should be welcomed and can lead to detraction, hostility, or pleasure at another’s misfortune.

The Way of Light

Brotherly Love
Brotherly love rejoices in another person’s true good and acts to promote it. It opposes envy by seeing another’s gifts, success, and holiness not as a personal loss but as goods that can serve God and the whole community.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

All Souls

feast day in some Christian denominations

All Souls' Day, also called The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by Christians on 2 November. In Western Christianity, including Roman Catholicism and certain parts of Lutheranism and Anglicanism, All Souls' Day is the third day of Allhallowtide, after All Saints' Day and All Hallows' Eve. Before the standardization of Western Christian observance on 2 November by St. Odilo of Cluny in the 10th century, many Roman Catholic congregations celebrated All Souls' Day on various dates during the Easter season as it is still observed in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Eastern Catholic churches and the Eastern Lutheran churches. Churches of the East Syriac Rite, . commemorate all the faithful departed on the Friday before Lent. As with other days of the Allhallowtide season, popular practices for All Souls Day include attending Mass offered for the souls of the faithful departed, as well as Christian families visiting graveyards in order to pray and decorate their family graves with garlands, flowers, candles and incense. Given that many Christian cemeteries are interdenominational in nature, All Souls Day observances often have an ecumenical dimension, with believers from various Christian denominations praying together and cooperating to adorn graves.

Learn more about All Souls

Today in Church History

Establishment of All Souls' Day
998Doctrine
All Souls' Day was established by St. Odilo of Cluny in 998 as a day to pray for the souls of all the faithful departed, reflecting the Church's belief in purgatory and the communion of saints.
Praying for the dead reminds us of the hope of eternal life and the power of intercessory prayer.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Catechism teaches that respect for creation is rooted in the Seventh Commandment, emphasizing that all creatures, including animals, are part of God's providential plan and deserve our kindness and stewardship. While it is permissible to use animals for food, work, and research, we must avoid causing them unnecessary suffering and prioritize human dignity and welfare. The Church's social teaching promotes justice and peace, advocating an economy that serves the common good rather than mere profit, and calls for a moral approach to social and economic issues that respects both human rights and the environment. For Catholic families, this means nurturing a spirit of compassion towards all creation and engaging thoughtfully in economic and social relationships that reflect Christ's love and justice.

The Catholic Church teaches that economic activity should primarily serve human needs, promoting the well-being of individuals and communities rather than merely seeking profit. Work is a divine calling, allowing individuals to participate in God’s creative mission and to sanctify their daily lives through labor. Families are encouraged to view work as a means of providing for each other and contributing to society while ensuring that everyone has access to fair employment and just wages, which respect the dignity of all workers. In a world where economic conflicts can arise, the Church calls for mutual respect and negotiation to uphold the common good, reminding families that they are part of a larger community where cooperation and justice are essential for a thriving society.

¶ 2421

The social doctrine of the Church developed in the nineteenth century when the Gospel encountered modern industrial society with its new structures for the production of consumer goods, its new concept of society, the state and authority, and its new forms of labor and ownership. the development of the doctrine of the Church on economic and social matters attests the permanent value of the Church's teaching at the same time as it attests the true meaning of her Tradition, always living and active.

Today's Mass Readings

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

All Souls

Understanding the Day

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Collect

Weekly Prayer

Weekly Formation

Envy and Brotherly Love

The Way of Darkness

The Way of Light

Saint & Feast

All Souls

Today in Church History

Establishment of All Souls' Day

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Today's Mass Readings

Baltimore Catechism No. 3