Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Ascensiontide

Week

Week 2 of Ascensiontide

Rank

Major feast

Ascensiontide is the liturgical season surrounding the Lord’s Ascension into heaven. It focuses on Jesus’ final appearances to his disciples, his promise of the Holy Spirit, and the mission he gives the Church. The rank “Greater Double” indicates this is an important celebration in the liturgical rhythm: it has its own prayers and readings, and receives solemn observance in parish and family worship without overshadowing higher-ranking solemnities. For home devotion, this day invites prayerful thanksgiving for Christ’s risen presence and for the gift of the Spirit promised to his followers, and reminds families of their call to witness to the Gospel until he returns.

Daily Prayer

The Introit for this day has not yet been generated.

Weekly Prayer

Weekly prayer content will appear here once it is scheduled.

Weekly Formation

Commandment 3

The Ten Commandments

Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
The Third Commandment sets apart the Lord’s Day for divine worship and true rest from ordinary labor. For Catholics this is fulfilled especially by assisting at Mass on Sundays and holy days and by allowing the day to serve God, the soul, and the duties of charity.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebrationCalendar title

Octave Day of the Ascension

A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.

Commemoration

Robert Bellarmine

St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of the Church

Catholic cardinal, saint, and Doctor of the Church

Born: 1542-10-04 · Montepulciano
Died: 1621-09-17 · Rome

Robert Bellarmine was an Italian Jesuit and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was canonized a saint in 1930 and named Doctor of the Church, one of only 37. He was one of the most important figures in the Counter-Reformation.

Today in Church History

No Church history reflection has been prepared for this date yet.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Catechism teaches that sacramental celebrations are woven from signs and symbols rooted in creation, human culture, the Old Covenant, and fully revealed in Christ. Because we are body and spirit, we express and perceive spiritual realities through visible signs, including words, gestures, and actions. Creation itself—from light and water to trees and fruit—speaks of God’s greatness and nearness, while human actions such as washing, anointing, breaking bread, and sharing the cup can express God’s sanctifying action and our worship. The signs of the Old Covenant foreshadowed the sacraments, and Jesus gave these signs their fullest meaning. Since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit continues the work of sanctification through the sacramental signs of the Church, which make present Christ’s saving work and anticipate the glory of heaven.

A sacramental celebration is a meeting of God’s children with their Father, in Christ and the Holy Spirit, expressed through a dialogue of words and symbolic actions. The liturgy of the Word is an integral part of this celebration, nourishing faith through the proclamation of Scripture, the homily, and the responses of the assembly. Liturgical words and actions belong together: through the sacraments, the Holy Spirit makes present and communicates the Father’s work fulfilled by his beloved Son. Sacred song and music, when closely united to the liturgical action, express prayer, support the participation of the assembly, and serve the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful. In our shared worship, may our words, actions, and songs faithfully give voice to our response of faith.

¶ 1151

Signs taken up by Christ. In his preaching the Lord Jesus often makes use of the signs of creation to make known the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. He performs healings and illustrates his preaching with physical signs or symbolic gestures. He gives new meaning to the deeds and signs of the Old Covenant, above all to the Exodus and the Passover, for he himself is the meaning of all these signs.

Today's Mass Readings

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