Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Passiontide

Week

Week 1 of Passiontide

Rank

First-class feast

Passion Sunday begins Passiontide, the final two weeks of Lent focused on Christ’s suffering and love. In the older divino_afflatu calendar system it is called Dominica de Passione and is celebrated as a Greater Sunday of the I Class, which means it has the highest liturgical importance for the day: Sunday worship and the special prayers, readings, and rites for this observance take precedence over lesser memorials or celebrations. This first Sunday of Passiontide leads the Church deeper into reflection on Jesus’ Passion, preparing hearts for Holy Week and Easter. There is no separate octave or vigil attached to this day beyond the normal Sunday observance, but its placement starts a concentrated liturgical movement toward Good Friday.

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

Beatitude 7

The Beatitudes

Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.
Peacemakers establish the tranquility of right order by reconciling persons to God, to truth, and to one another. Christian peace is therefore more than avoiding conflict; it rests on justice and charity and does not purchase quiet by cooperation with evil.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebrationCalendar title

Passion Sunday

A biography or feast reflection has not yet been prepared.

Commemoration

Francis of Paola

St. Francis of Paula, Confessor

Italian mendicant friar, founder of the Order of Minims

Born: 1416-03-27 · Paola
Died: 1507-04-02 · Church of the Minims

Francis of Paola, O.M., was a Roman Catholic friar from the town of Paola in Calabria who founded the Order of Minims. Like his patron saint, but unlike the majority of founders of men's religious orders, Francis of Paola was never ordained a priest.

Learn more about Francis of Paola

Today in Church History

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

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Paschal mystery of Christ’s cross and Resurrection stands at the heart of the Gospel. Through the redemptive death of Jesus, God’s saving plan was accomplished once for all. As families pray and reflect together, they can turn to the Scriptures, which show that Christ’s suffering, rejection, and entrance into glory were necessary. The Gospels and other historical sources help faith consider the circumstances of Jesus’ death and the meaning of redemption. Jesus’ words and deeds were a sign of contradiction, especially for some religious authorities, yet his relationships with the Pharisees were not only marked by conflict. He affirmed teachings such as the resurrection of the dead, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, calling God Father, and the central commandment to love God and neighbour.

In the Church, Christ fulfills his prophetic office not only through the hierarchy but also through the laity, whom he establishes as witnesses and equips with the sense of faith and the grace of the word. Lay people share in evangelization by proclaiming Christ in word and by the testimony of their lives, especially in the ordinary circumstances of the world. Those who are capable and trained may collaborate in catechetical formation, teaching, and the use of communications media. According to their knowledge, competence, and standing, lay people have the right—and at times the duty—to share with pastors their views on matters concerning the good of the Church, with respect for faith, morals, pastors, the common good, and the dignity of persons. Through holy living and self-denial, they are called to overcome sin, and by working together they can help shape social conditions and human culture according to justice and virtue. In every temporal responsibility, the faithful are to be guided by a Christian conscience, remembering that all human activity belongs under God’s dominion.

¶ 571

Today's Mass Readings

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