Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Advent

Week

Week 3 of Advent

Rank

Major feast

The Octave of the Immaculate Conception falls within Advent, the Church’s season of watchful preparation for the coming of Christ. This celebration is ranked a “Greater Double,” an older canonical term meaning it is an important liturgical feast with solemn observances; in practical family terms, it deserves special attention in prayer and may influence which prayers, readings, or hymns are used in the home.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Phil. 4:4-6
Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known to all men: for the Lord is near. Have no anxiety, but in everything, by prayer let your petitions be made known to God.
Ps 84:2
You have favored, O Lord, Your land; You have restored the well-being of Jacob.
Glory Be to the Father…

Lend Your ear to our prayers, O Lord, we beseech You; and brighten the darkness of our minds by the grace of Your coming.
Who livest…

Weekly Prayer

Weekly prayer content will appear here once it is scheduled.

Weekly Formation

God’s Design for the Body and Marriage

Sins Crying to Heaven

Grave rejection of God’s design for the body and marriage
The traditional referent is a deliberate bodily union between persons of the same sex. Traditional teaching calls it a sin that cries to heaven because such an act rejects the generative order God placed in bodily union and marriage.

The Seven Capital Virtues

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

Immaculate Conception

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

Tuesday of Week 3 of Advent

Today in Church History

Election of Pope Sergius I
687Papal
In 687, Pope Sergius I was elected as a compromise candidate amidst the conflict between antipopes Paschal and Theodore. His election helped to restore stability to the papacy during a tumultuous period, reinforcing the authority of the legitimate pope.
The election of leaders in the Church can reflect God's guidance in times of division.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

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, the Catechism draws us into the profound prayer of Jesus at his Hour, a prayer inseparable from his sacrifice, death, and Resurrection. Called his “priestly” prayer, it embraces the whole work of creation and salvation and gathers all things in Christ: God and the world, eternal life and time, the disciples present and those who will believe through their word, humiliation and glory. It is especially a prayer of unity. Jesus’ prayer continues to extend to the end of time; he prays for us, prays in us, and hears our prayer. As we enter into the holy name of Jesus and pray, “Our Father,” we receive the prayer he teaches, with its concern for the Father’s name, kingdom, will, and deliverance from evil. In this prayer, Jesus reveals and gives us the knowledge of the Father and the Son, the mystery at the heart of the life of prayer.

Prayer is a vital and challenging part of Christian life. It calls for effort, vigilance, and a spiritual battle against ourselves and the wiles of the Tempter, since we pray as we live and live as we pray. We may encounter distractions, dryness, doubts, mistaken ideas about prayer, lack of faith, or discouragement, especially when it seems that our prayers are not heard. In these moments, we are invited to respond with humility, trust, perseverance, faith, conversion, and vigilance of heart, while asking whether our prayer conforms to the desire of the Spirit. Prayer is always possible and a vital necessity: “Pray constantly.” Jesus’ prayer at his hour, rightly called his “priestly prayer,” sums up the economy of creation and salvation and fulfills the great petitions of the Our Father.

Today's Mass Readings

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