Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Advent

Week

Week 4 of Advent

Rank

Weekday

Today is Tuesday of the fourth week of Advent, the final full week of preparation before Christmas. Advent is a season of expectant waiting and hope as families remember the coming of Christ — his first coming at Bethlehem and his promised coming at the end of time. A “Greater Non-Privileged Feria” is a weekday in Ordinary liturgical ranking: it is a simple weekday celebration without a special feast that displaces the daily office, so the regular Advent prayers, readings, and antiphons for this week remain central. There is no octave or special vigil attached to this day beyond the ordinary Advent observance; its focus is continuity in prayer and preparation.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Isa 45:8
Let the Just One descend, O heavens, like dew from above, like gentle rain let the skies drop Him down. Let the earth open and a Saviour bud forth.
Ps 18:2
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.
Glory Be to the Father…

Put forth Your power, O Lord, we beseech You, and delay not: and with Your great might come to our aid, so that what is hindered by our sins may be hastened by Your merciful goodness.
Who livest…

Weekly Prayer

Weekly prayer content will appear here once it is scheduled.

Weekly Formation

Oppression of the Poor

Sins Crying to Heaven

Oppression of the poor
Oppression of the poor uses power, wealth, or social advantage to burden people who are already vulnerable or unable to defend their rights. Their cry reaches God because He is their protector and judges the powerful for injustice toward the weak, the stranger, the widow, and the orphan.

The Corporal Works of Mercy

Feed the hungry
Feeding the hungry supplies necessary nourishment to those who lack it. It is a corporal work because it serves a bodily need, and an act of mercy because charity responds to another’s misery rather than ignoring preventable want.
Give drink to the thirsty
Giving drink to the thirsty provides the water or other wholesome refreshment needed for life and health. The work includes direct aid and reasonable support for efforts that make safe water available to people in need.
Shelter the homeless
Sheltering the homeless provides safe lodging or helps secure it for those without a stable place to live. Traditional language calls this harboring the harborless, extending hospitality and protection to the stranger and displaced person.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebrationCalendar title

Tuesday of Week 4 of Advent

A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.

Today in Church History

Election of Pope Innocent I (401)
401Papal
Pope Innocent I was elected in 401, but the exact date of his election is not definitively recorded. He is notable for being the son of a previous pope, Anastasius I, which is a unique occurrence in papal history. His papacy was marked by significant theological developments and the strengthening of papal authority during a time of doctrinal disputes.
The election of Pope Innocent I reminds us of the importance of family legacy in faith leadership.
Conquest of Almería by Catholic Monarchs
1489Event
In 1489, the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella captured Almería from the Nasrid ruler Muhammad XIII, marking a significant step in the Reconquista. This event not only solidified Catholic rule in Spain but also paved the way for the eventual unification of Spain under Catholicism, influencing the Church's role in Spanish society.
The conquest serves as a reminder of the Church's historical influence in shaping nations and the importance of faith in governance.
Approval of the Dominican Order by Pope Honorius III
1216

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

In the Lord’s Prayer, we first turn toward God our Father in adoration, love, and blessing, asking that his name be hallowed, his kingdom come, and his will be done. These first three petitions seek the Father’s glory and draw us in hope toward their final fulfillment. The later petitions bring our present needs before the Father of mercies: that we may be fed, forgiven and healed of sin, and sustained in the battle of prayer. As we pray these petitions, we are strengthened in faith, filled with hope, and set aflame by charity, entrusting ourselves, the world, and history to God’s boundless love.

In the Catechism, the petition to “hallow” God’s name calls us to recognize and treat his name as holy, in adoration, praise, thanksgiving, and prayer. It draws us into God’s loving plan, in which we are called to be holy and blameless before him in love. God’s holiness is revealed fully in Jesus, who makes known the Father’s name through his words and sacrifice. In Baptism, we are washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus and in the Spirit of God, and our Father calls us to holiness throughout our whole life. As we pray and seek to hallow God’s name in us and by us, our lives and prayers are joined to the sanctification of his name among the nations.

¶ 2804

The first series of petitions carries us toward him, for his own sake: thy name, thy kingdom, thy will! It is characteristic of love to think first of the one whom we love. In none of the three petitions do we mention ourselves; the burning desire, even anguish, of the beloved Son for his Father's glory seizes us: "hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done...." These three supplications were already answered in the saving sacrifice of Christ, but they are henceforth directed in hope toward their final fulfillment, for God is not yet all in all.

Today's Mass Readings

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

Tuesday of Week 4 of Advent

Understanding the Day

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Collect

Weekly Prayer

Weekly Formation

Oppression of the Poor

Sins Crying to Heaven

The Corporal Works of Mercy

Saint & Feast

Tuesday of Week 4 of Advent

Today in Church History

Election of Pope Innocent I (401)

Conquest of Almería by Catholic Monarchs

Approval of the Dominican Order by Pope Honorius III

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Today's Mass Readings

Baltimore Catechism No. 3