In Catholic tradition, each day of the week has some particular devotional subject. These entered popular piety over time with the rise of votive Masses in the early Church. Votive Masses, offered for a special intention rather than a fixed feast, eventually led to texts being assigned to different days of the week in order to commemorate certain mysteries and persons.

Some of these took shape through Alcuin’s Liber Sacramentorum, proliferating over the centuries until various popes and councils reined them in, leaving the days with different liturgical characters. The Missal of Paul V (1570) organized the votives this way:

• Monday: Trinity
• Tuesday: Angels
• Wednesday: Apostles (also St. Joseph, after 1920)
• Thursday: Holy Spirit (also the Eucharist was added in 1604)
• Friday: The Cross and the Passion
• Saturday: Mary

Since the revision of the liturgy, the votives are left up to the priest and not associated with particular days.

The association, however, remains an aspect of popular piety. This traditional assignment of certain aspects of the faith to each day of the week can give focus and structure to the week, similar to the way the Liturgy of the Hours gives structure to the day. Likewise, each month is dedicated to something particular, such as May for Mary and June for the Sacred Heart. When we combine all of this with the liturgical calendar (either traditional or revised), we encounter an elaborate web of sanctification through the medium of time.

Let’s begin by looking at the days of the week.

Sunday: The Resurrection and the Trinity

Sunday is always fixed as the day of the Resurrection, but by the second millennium, it was becoming associated more particularly with the Trinity due to the preface of the Trinity and the daily Office. The faithful began to separate this devotion, with the Father remembered on Sunday, the Son on Monday, and the Holy Spirit on Tuesday, leading to various distinct votive Masses. Eventually, the practice was suppressed because it was seen as detaching the Persons from each other in a way that could cause confusion. In some places, the Trinity was separated from the Resurrection and remembered on Monday, while the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church was remembered on Thursday. Eventually, this commemoration became focused on Sunday.

Monday: Souls in Purgatory

In the early Middle Ages, there was a popular belief that the souls in Purgatory received relief from their trials from sundown Saturday night until sunrise on Monday morning in anticipation of their redemption. Since the souls were thought to return to their suffering on Monday morning, it became traditional to ease their transition with special prayers and commemorations. For many centuries, this meant priests could add prayers for the souls on any Monday not assigned to another purpose, and the faithful took up this practice. The Holy Spirit is commemorated on this day in some traditions.

Tuesday: The Angels

Likewise, votive Masses were added for the Angels on Mondays, perhaps with the idea that they were the first of God’s creation and thus should stand at the head of the week. They were also considered guides and shepherds of the souls in purgatory, linking the dead and the angels in a particular way. Pius V moved the votive for the angels to Tuesday, but in popular piety, they sometimes remain on Monday, along with the souls in their care.

Wednesday: The Apostles and St. Joseph

Once again, here we see popular piety following liturgical practice as first the apostles and then St. Joseph are assigned to Wednesday. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday are days of a more solemn order, as we see in the Ember Day fasts on these days. With Mary assigned to Saturday and the Cross on Friday, that left Wednesday as the only remaining “high” weekday, which is why it was assigned to St. Joseph, where he was eventually joined in honor by the apostles.

Thursday: The Holy Eucharist

This one should be obvious: the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper occurred on a Thursday, so we recall the sacrament on this day. It is often accompanied by a Holy Hour in adoration before the exposed Eucharist. It’s also a good opportunity to meditate on Jesus’ agony in the garden, a very fruitful devotional practice.

Friday: The Cross and the Sacred Heart

Fridays obviously have a distinct character because of the crucifixion. These are days of penance and sacrifice in which we give up eating meat, although, since the Council, we may replace that with some other penitential practice. On Fridays, we remember the passion and death of Jesus all year, not just on Good Friday.

The first Friday of the month is also devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In a revelation to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, grace and final repentance were promised to those who took communion on the first Friday for nine consecutive months. From this promise grew a special devotion to the Sacred Heart on Fridays.

Saturday: The Virgin Mary

From at least the ninth century, people have been observing special devotions to the Blessed Mother on Saturdays, and that continues to the present time in the liturgy. There are various reasons suggested for this — Mary was the only person who did not abandon Jesus and kept vigil on Saturday, the day is close to Sunday — but it’s a long-standing tradition that’s integrated into the life of the Church.

Alternative

The excellent St. Gregory’s Prayer Book (Ignatius Press), produced for the use of the ordinariates for former Anglicans, offers a slightly different arrangement for these devotions, along with a beautiful set of prayers.

• Sunday: Resurrection 
• Monday: The Holy Spirit 
• Tuesday: The Angels 
• Wednesday: The Saints 
• Thursday: The Blessed Sacrament 
• Friday: The Holy Cross 
• Saturday: Our Lady