Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Pentecost

Week

Week 24 of Time After Pentecost

Rank

Feast

St. Josaphat’s feast falls in the Time After Pentecost, the liturgical season when the Church reflects on the work of the Holy Spirit in the growth and mission of the Church after Christ’s Ascension. This season focuses on the life of the Church, the spread of the Gospel, and the witness of the saints. The celebration is ranked as a “Double” in the traditional divino_afflatu calendar: in plain terms, that means it is an important feast with its own prayers and readings, given precedence over ordinary weekday offices but below the highest solemnities. No octave or vigil is indicated here, so the observance is for the single day itself.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Let us all rejoice in the Lord, celebrating a feast-day in honor of the Blessed Martyr Josaphat, at whose martyrdom the angels rejoice, and give praise to the Son of God.
Ps 32:1
Exult, you just, in the Lord; praise from the upright is fitting.
Glory Be to the Father…

Arouse in Your Church, O Lord, the spirit with which blessed Josaphat, Your Martyr and Bishop, was filled when he laid down his life for his flock; so that, by his intercession, we, also moved and strengthened by the same spirit, may not fear to lay down our lives for our brethren.
Through our Lord… eiusdem

Weekly Prayer

Weekly prayer content will appear here once it is scheduled.

Weekly Formation

Sloth and Diligence

The Way of Darkness

Sloth
Sloth is sorrow, weariness, or neglect in the face of the spiritual good and the duties required by one’s vocation. It is more than physical tiredness: it resists the effort of loving God well and often escapes into idleness, distraction, or unfinished obligations.

The Way of Light

Diligence
Diligence is steady care in carrying out the good required by one’s duties and state in life. It opposes sloth by persevering through difficulty, weariness, or lack of attraction instead of neglecting what love of God and neighbor requires.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Josaphat

St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr

Ruthenian Catholic archbishop, martyr and saint

Born: 1580-00-00 · Volodymyr
Died: 1623-11-12 · Vitebsk

Josaphat Kuntsevych, OSBM was a Basilian hieromonk and archeparch of the Ruthenian Uniate Church who served as Archbishop of Polotsk from 1618 to 1623. On 12 November 1623, he was beaten to death with an axe during an anti-Catholic riot by Eastern Orthodox Belarusians in Vitebsk, in the eastern peripheries of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Learn more about Josaphat

Today in Church History

Death of Emperor Justinian I
565Event
Emperor Justinian I, known for his efforts to restore the Roman Empire and his influence on the Church through the construction of the Hagia Sophia, died on November 14, 565.
Justinian's reign reminds us of the enduring impact of faith-inspired leadership on both Church and society.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

In the Church’s teaching, St. John identifies three forms of concupiscence: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life. The ninth commandment forbids carnal concupiscence, while the tenth forbids coveting another’s goods. Though concupiscence is not itself an offense, it stems from the disobedience of the first sin, unsettles our moral faculties, and inclines us toward sin. We experience this as a daily struggle between spirit and flesh. This spiritual battle calls us to purify our hearts and practice temperance, attuning our intellects and wills to God’s holiness through charity, chastity, and love of truth. The pure in heart are promised that they will see God; even now, purity helps us see according to God, receive others as neighbors, and recognize the human body as a temple of the Holy Spirit and a manifestation of divine beauty.

Baptism gives us the grace of purification from all sins, yet the baptized continue to struggle against disordered desires. With God’s grace, we can grow in chastity, purity of intention and vision, discipline of our feelings and imagination, and prayer. Modesty is an important part of this path: it protects the intimate center and mystery of each person, guides how we look at and treat one another, and encourages patience, decency, and discretion in loving relationships. Teaching modesty to children and adolescents helps awaken respect for the human person. In a culture shaped by unhealthy curiosity and excessive displays of intimate matters, Christians are called to purity of heart, respect, and restraint. Through prayer, temperance, chastity, and purity of intention and vision, we can learn to see all things according to God.

¶ 2516

Because man is a composite being, spirit and body, there already exists a certain tension in him; a certain struggle of tendencies between "spirit" and "flesh" develops. But in fact this struggle belongs to the heritage of sin. It is a consequence of sin and at the same time a confirmation of it. It is part of the daily experience of the spiritual battle:

Today's Mass Readings

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