Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Advent

Week

Week 4 of Advent

Rank

Weekday

Advent is a short liturgical season of preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas. Its mood is watchful and expectant: families remember both the first coming of Jesus in history and the promise of his coming again. A weekday in the fourth week of Advent, like this Wednesday, falls very close to Christmas and often has a more intense sense of waiting and readiness. The rank “Greater Non-Privileged Feria” means this is an ordinary weekday celebration (a feria) that is more important than a simple weekday but does not have the special privileges of a major feast or solemnity. In plain terms, the usual Advent prayers, readings, and themes remain in force, and the day’s liturgy keeps the focus on preparation for the Nativity. There is no octave or special vigil attached to this entry itself; its importance lies in its place within the final days of Advent, helping families to deepen prayer, penance, and anticipation as Christmas approaches.

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

Wednesday of Week 4 of Advent

A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.

Today in Church History

Martyrdom of Saint Victoria
303Martyrdom
Saint Victoria was martyred during the Diocletianic Persecution for refusing to marry a pagan and maintaining her Christian faith.
Saint Victoria's steadfast faith in the face of persecution inspires courage and fidelity to Christ.
Publication of 'Testem Benevolentiae Nostrae'
1899Doctrine
Pope Leo XIII issued 'Testem Benevolentiae Nostrae', addressing the heresy of Americanism and emphasizing the importance of maintaining traditional Catholic teachings.
The encyclical calls us to remain faithful to the core tenets of our faith amidst cultural changes.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

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.

In these passages, the Catechism reflects on the Kingdom of God, which was brought near in the Word incarnate, has come through Christ’s death and Resurrection, and is present in the Eucharist. When we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we look toward Christ’s return while also being committed to God’s work in the world today. With the help of the Holy Spirit, Christians are called to seek the Kingdom’s growth through righteousness, peace, and joy, and to use their God-given gifts to serve justice and peace. Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Father’s will, and in prayer we ask to be united to him so that we may discern and do God’s will. As we pray together, we can ask for the grace to love one another as Christ loves us and for God’s saving plan to be fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven.

¶ 2811

In spite of the holy Law that again and again their Holy God gives them - "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy" - and although the Lord shows patience for the sake of his name, the people turn away from the Holy One of Israel and profane his name among the nations. For this reason the just ones of the old covenant, the poor survivors returned from exile, and the prophets burned with passion for the name.

Today's Mass Readings

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

Wednesday 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

Wednesday of Week 4 of Advent

Today in Church History

Martyrdom of Saint Victoria

Publication of 'Testem Benevolentiae Nostrae'

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Today's Mass Readings

Baltimore Catechism No. 3