Understanding the Day
Season
Time After Pentecost
Week
Week 4 of Time After Pentecost
Rank
Weekday
Time after Pentecost (Ordinary Time in many calendars) is the long season of the Church’s year when we follow the daily life and teachings of Jesus. It stretches between the great feasts and focuses on growth in discipleship, prayer, and service. A “feria” is a weekday without a special feast; it’s an ordinary day set aside for the usual daily prayers, Scripture readings, and pastoral or family devotions. Thursday of Week 4 of Time after Pentecost is one of these ordinary weekdays: it has no octave or vigil attached and does not celebrate a particular saint or solemnity. That simplicity is itself important.
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 8
The Ten Commandments
Thou shalt not bear false witness.
The Eighth Commandment requires truthfulness and respect for another person’s good name. It forbids lies, false testimony, rash judgment, slander, detraction, and the needless disclosure of faults, because justice and charity both govern speech.
Featured Saint
Modern saintFeatured saintCalendar title
Thursday of Week 4 of Time after Pentecost
Saint Rafael Arnáiz Barón
A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.
Today in Church History
No Church history reflection has been prepared for this date yet.
Catechism
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Baptism is a profound sacrament that symbolizes both death and purification, as well as regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit. Through Baptism, original sin, personal sins, and all punishment for sin are forgiven, so that nothing remains to impede entry into the Kingdom of God. The baptized become new creatures: adopted children of God, members of Christ, coheirs with him, and temples of the Holy Spirit. Yet suffering, illness, death, human weakness, and the inclination to sin remain, calling us to resist sin courageously through the grace of Jesus Christ. For families reflecting on Baptism, this is a hopeful reminder that Christian life is rooted in the grace received there: faith, hope, love, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and growth in goodness through the moral virtues.
Baptism incorporates believers into the Body of Christ and the Church, making them members of the one People of God. The baptized become “living stones” in a spiritual house, sharing in Christ’s priesthood and his prophetic and royal mission, and are called to proclaim the wonderful deeds of God. Baptism brings both gifts and responsibilities: the baptized may receive the sacraments, be nourished by God’s Word, and receive the Church’s spiritual helps; they are also called to serve others in the Church’s communion, profess their faith, and take part in the apostolic and missionary activity of God’s people. Baptism also unites all who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized in a real, though sometimes imperfect, communion. Sealed with an indelible mark of belonging to Christ, Christians are committed to worship, holy lives, and practical charity.
¶ 1265
Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte "a new creature," an adopted son of God, who has become a "partaker of the divine nature," member of Christ and coheir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.