Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Christmastide

Week

Week 1 of Christmastide

Rank

Feast

Christmastide is the liturgical season that celebrates the mystery of the Incarnation, continuing the joy of Christmas. The rank “Double” is an older liturgical classification indicating this feast is observed with particular solemnity in the Divine Office and Mass: prayers, antiphons, and readings specific to the saint are used, and certain liturgical elements take precedence over ordinary weekday observances.

Introit (Daily Prayer)

Isa 9:6
A Child is born to us, a Son is given to us; upon His shoulder dominion rests; and His name shall be called the Angel of great counsel.
Ps 97:1
Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wondrous deeds.
Glory Be to the Father…

Commemoration St. Thomas Becket
May this Communion, O Lord, cleanse us of sin, and through the intercession of blessed Thoma, Your Martyr and Bishop, may it make us sharers of heavenly healing.
Through our Lord…

Weekly Prayer

Weekly prayer content will appear here once it is scheduled.

Weekly Formation

Defrauding Laborers of Their Wages

Sins Crying to Heaven

Defrauding laborers of their wages
Defrauding laborers means withholding, delaying, or diminishing the just wages owed for their work. Scripture treats this as a sin crying to heaven because a worker’s livelihood may depend on that pay and the stronger party exploits an unequal position.

The Cardinal Virtues

Justice
Justice is the steady will to give God and each person what is due. It governs worship, rights, promises, property, work, authority, and social duties by measuring conduct according to objective obligation rather than convenience or favoritism.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Thomas Becket

St. Thomas of Canterbury, Bishop and Martyr

English archbishop and martyr, 1119/1120–1170

Born: 1119-12-21 · Cheapside
Died: 1170-12-29 · Canterbury Cathedral

Thomas Becket, also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket, served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his death in 1170. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the King in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

Learn more about Thomas Becket

Commemoration

Today in Church History

Assassination of Thomas Becket
1170Martyrdom
The assassination of Thomas Becket in 1170 marked a significant conflict between church and state, highlighting the struggle for ecclesiastical independence. His martyrdom led to his canonization and established him as a symbol of resistance against tyranny, revered in both the Catholic Church and Anglican Communion.
The story of Thomas Becket inspires us to stand firm in our faith amidst persecution.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Church teaches that Jesus Christ, true God and true man, possesses two distinct wills—one divine and one human—cooperating in the work of our salvation. This mystery of the Incarnation reveals the wonderful union of divine and human natures in the one person of the Word. In Jesus’ human body, we see our God made visible, and holy images of Christ may rightly be honored because the believer venerates the person depicted. Families can find comfort in knowing that Christ’s Sacred Heart loves each of us personally and is a chief sign of the love with which the divine Redeemer loves the Father and every human being. Jesus, the one and only mediator between God and men, remains the perfect union of the divine and human in one divine person.

In the Catechism, the petition "Lead us not into temptation" emphasizes our need for God's guidance to resist the allure of sin and the importance of discernment in our spiritual battles. It teaches that while God does not tempt us, we must be vigilant against the Evil One, who seeks to lead us astray. This prayer not only requests protection from temptation but also reinforces our communal bond as the Church, as we seek deliverance from evil together. As families, we can apply this by fostering a spirit of vigilance and prayer, supporting one another in the face of temptation, and recognizing the strength found in our faith and the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

¶ 477

At the same time the Church has always acknowledged that in the body of Jesus "we see our God made visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see." The individual characteristics of Christ's body express the divine person of God's Son. He has made the features of his human body his own, to the point that they can be venerated when portrayed in a holy image, for the believer "who venerates the icon is venerating in it the person of the one depicted".

Today's Mass Readings

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