Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Advent

Week

Week 2 of Advent

Rank

Sunday or semidouble observance

This day falls in Advent, the season of expectant waiting and preparation for the coming of Christ. In the older (Divino Afflatu) calendar the feast is observed as a day within the octave of the Immaculate Conception, so it is one of the eight consecutive days that continue the solemn celebration begun on the principal feast (Immaculate Conception, 8 December).

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Isa 30:30
People of Sion, behold the Lord shall come to save the nations; and the Lord shall make the glory of His voice to be heard, in the joy of your heart.
Ps 79:2
O Shepherd of Israel, hearken, O Guide of the flock of Joseph!
Glory Be to the Father…

Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the ways of Your only-begotten Son, so that through His coming we may be able to serve You with purified minds.
Who livest…

Weekly Prayer

Weekly prayer content will appear here once it is scheduled.

Weekly Formation

Willful Murder

Sins Crying to Heaven

Willful murder
Willful murder is the deliberate and unjust taking of innocent human life. Scripture describes innocent blood as crying to God because the act attacks a person made in His image and commits an injustice that the victim can no longer answer on earth.

The Ten Commandments

Thou shalt not kill.
The Fifth Commandment protects human life because every person is made by God and belongs ultimately to Him. It forbids unjust killing and deliberate injury, and it also condemns hatred, revenge, and conduct that recklessly endangers oneself or another.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Immaculate Conception

Fifth Day Within the Octave of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Immaculate Conception is the Catholic teaching that Mary was preserved from original sin from the first moment of her conception.

The Immaculate Conception is the Catholic teaching that Mary was preserved from original sin from the first moment of her conception. Pope Pius IX defined the dogma in 1854, and its feast is celebrated on December 8.

Learn more about Immaculate Conception

CommemorationCalendar title

Saturday of Week 2 of Advent

Today in Church History

Founding of Cîteaux Abbey
1098Founding
Cîteaux Abbey was founded in 1098 by a group of monks led by Robert of Molesme, marking the beginning of the Cistercian Order, which emphasized strict adherence to the Rule of St. Benedict. The exact founding date is not traditionally associated with December 12.
The founding of Cîteaux Abbey calls us to a life of simplicity and devotion to God's will.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Catechism highlights the Blessed Virgin Mary’s profound place in the life of the Church. Honored with special devotion as the Mother of God, Mary is not adored; rather, devotion to her differs essentially from the adoration given to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and fosters that adoration. Her “fiat” at the Annunciation showed her consent to the Incarnation and her collaboration in her Son’s saving work. For family prayer, Marian prayers such as the rosary, described as an epitome of the whole Gospel, express this devotion. Mary was taken body and soul into heavenly glory and already shares in her Son’s Resurrection. As the Church journeys in faith toward the communion of saints, she looks to Mary as Mother of the Lord and her own mother, who continues in heaven to exercise her maternal role for Christ’s members.

In prayer, the Holy Spirit unites us to Jesus, and Mary shows us the way to her Son. Mary gave her faithful consent to God at the Annunciation and remained steadfast at the Cross, offering us an example of trusting God amid dangers and difficulties. As we pray the Hail Mary and other prayers to the Mother of God, we praise the great things the Lord has done and entrust our supplications to Mary, who gives us Jesus. We can bring her our cares and petitions, asking her to pray for us now and at the hour of our death. In this way, we pray with Mary, unite ourselves with the Father’s plan, and share in the hope of the Church.

In these paragraphs from the Catechism, we are reminded that a lack of faith can appear in our prayer, revealing what we truly place first. Temptations such as presumption and acedia can weaken our trust, especially in times of distress or when our petitions seem unanswered. Yet we are called to come before God with humble hearts, trusting more and holding fast with constancy. In our daily prayer, we can ask whether we seek God merely for results or turn to him as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God knows what we need, yet he welcomes our petitions in the freedom of his children and draws us toward what is truly good for us.

Today's Mass Readings

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