Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Christmastide

Week

Week 1 of Christmastide

Rank

Feast

St. Sylvester, Pope and Confessor, is celebrated on December 31 in the season called Christmastide, the liturgical time that centers on the birth of Christ and continues the Church’s joyful reflection on the Incarnation. There is no octave or vigil specified here, so the celebration falls on the day itself without an extended eight‑day observance or special eve liturgy required.

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. Silvester
Being appeased, O Lord, guide thy Church, which has been nourished by holy refreshment, that under thy direction and powerful rule it may receive increase of liberty and may continue in religious integrity.
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

Sylvester I

St. Sylvester, Pope and Confessor

33rd pope and saint (reigned 314-335)

Born: 0300-01-01 · Rome
Died: 0335-12-31 · Rome

Pope Sylvester I was the bishop of Rome from 31 January 314 until his death on 31 December 335. He filled the See of Rome at an important era in the history of the Western Church, though very little is known of his life.

Learn more about Sylvester I

CommemorationCalendar title

Day 7 within the Octave of the Nativity

Today in Church History

Death of Pope Sylvester I
335Papal
Pope Sylvester I, who served as pope during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great, died on December 31, 335. Although he was pope during the time of the First Council of Nicaea, he did not personally oversee it. He is traditionally associated with the construction of major basilicas in Rome.
Pope Sylvester I's leadership during a formative time for the Church reminds us of the importance of steadfast faith and guidance.

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.

The Our Father beautifully gathers our relationship with God, first directing us to the Father’s glory: the sanctification of his name, the coming of his Kingdom, and the fulfillment of his will. As we bring him our needs, both earthly and spiritual, we express filial trust in our heavenly Father, asking to be nourished, healed of sin, and strengthened in the struggle of good over evil. Each petition invites us to seek unity with the will of God’s Son, to receive God’s mercy by learning to forgive our enemies, and to remain watchful and persevering against temptation. Prayed in communion with our brethren, the Our Father roots us in Christ’s victory over evil and leads us to answer its petitions with a wholehearted “Amen”: “So be it.”

¶ 482

Christ, being true God and true man, has a human intellect and will, perfectly attuned and subject to his divine intellect and divine will, which he has in common with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Today's Mass Readings

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