Catholic devotions
Catholic devotions are particular customs, rituals, and practices of worship of God or honour of the saints which are in addition to the liturgy of the Catholic Church, described as "expressions of love and fidelity that arise from the intersection of one's own faith, culture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ". Devotions are not considered part of liturgical worship, even if they are performed in a church or led by a priest, but rather they are paraliturgical. The Congregation for Divine Worship at the Vatican publishes a Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy.
Catholic devotions have various forms, ranging from formalized, multi-day prayers such as novenas to activities, such as processions or the Eucharistic adoration, the wearing of scapulars, the veneration of the saints, the Canonical coronations of sacred Marian or Christological images and even horticultural practices such as maintaining a Mary garden.
Common examples of Catholic devotions are the Way of the Cross, the Rosary, the Angelus and various litanies, devotions to the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacred Heart, the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Holy Face of Jesus, pilgrimages, observing the month of the Rosary in October and the month of Mary in May.
Background
In Catholic tradition, a wide range of practices have developed, ranging from devotions to the Holy Trinity to specific saints. The three-level hierarchy of latria, hyperdulia and dulia determines the appropriate type of worship or veneration for different situations. Latria is used for worship, adoration and reverence directed only to the Holy Trinity. Dulia is the kind of honor given to the communion of saints, while the Blessed Virgin Mary is honored with hyperdulia, a higher form of dulia but lower than latria.Since the Middle Ages, popes have encouraged devotions such as Eucharistic adoration, the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross, while maintaining the primacy of liturgy over private devotions. Pious devotions have influenced some important parts of the Catholic calendar such as the feast of Corpus Christi or various Marian feasts that gradually appeared with the growth of devotions. Catholic devotions can form the basis of major community events, such as the statue of Our Lady of Zapopan, which attracts over one million pilgrims on October 12 each year as the statue travels through the streets moving from one cathedral to another.
While the Catholic Church considers its formal liturgy to be central to the life and mission of the church, it acknowledges the role of popular devotions, stating in the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy that the church's spiritual life "is not limited solely to participation in the liturgy":
Several factors shape the efficacy of devotional practices in eliciting feelings of devotion: a strong emotional appeal, a simplicity of form which puts them within the reach of all, the association with many others engaged in the same practices, and their derivation from the example of others considered to lead a holy life.
Various unapproved acts such as the promotion of chain letters that contain prayers or the belief that the use of a statue of Saint Joseph can speed up the sale of a house have been discouraged as non-pious, superstitious and against Catholic values. In general, acts and beliefs that aim at the manipulation of divine power for specific gainful purposes are always condemned as contrary to Catholic devotional practices.
Novenas
A novena is a nine-day period of private or public prayer to obtain a special grace, for a specific intention, or in preparation for a feast. It is often prayed to ask for God's help through the intercession of a saint.The practice of novenas traditionally derives from the nine days spent in prayer by the Apostles and Disciples together with Mary from the Ascension until the Descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. This is considered to have been the first novena. Early Christians observed a nine-day mourning period following the death of a loved one. Later, that tradition would be followed by a Mass offered for the repose of the soul. This practice continues today, as an example in the form of the novemdiales, observed upon the death of a Pope. In the Middle Ages, especially in Spain and France, novenas were prayed before Christmas to symbolize Christ’s nine months in the womb, later evolving into devotions for feast preparation or seeking a saint’s intercession.
The Pentecost Novena to the Holy Spirit is traditionally prayed especially during the nine days between the Ascension Thursday and Pentecost. It is generally prayed for an increase of the Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The Novena to the Holy Trinity generally includes the Gloria Patri, although the other prayers may be used.
Another pious practice is St. Andrew's Christmas Novena. It is not prayed to Saint Andrew, but commences on his feast day, November 30 and continues until Christmas.
Devotions to Jesus Christ
Eucharistic adoration
Several widespread devotions in the Catholic tradition relate to Jesus Christ. Catholic teaching considers the Eucharistic adoration an important practice which "stimulates the faithful to an awareness of the marvelous presence of Christ and is an invitation to spiritual communion with Him." Often the Eucharistic adoration is performed for at least a full hour known as the Holy Hour by some groups or individuals even daily. The inspiration for the Holy Hour is when in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion, Jesus asks Peter: "So, could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?".Sacred Heart of Jesus
Some devotions have the form of Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ. Devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus first appeared in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, but most current devotions are attributed to Margaret Mary Alacoque and were later encouraged by Pope Pius XI in his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor. These current devotions include the Feast of the Sacred Heart, the First Fridays devotion, the Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart, the image of the Sacred Heart and the Holy Hour, which also originated from Alacoque's revelations.Holy Face of Jesus
The devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus dates back to Mary of Saint Peter in 1843 who reported visions of Jesus and Mary in which she was urged to spread both the devotion to the Holy Face and that of the Holy Name of Jesus in reparation for the many insults Jesus suffered in his Passion, resulting in The Golden Arrow prayer. The devotion was first approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1885, and further promoted by Maria Pierina de Micheli based on the image from Secondo Pia's photograph of the Shroud of Turin. In 1958, Pope Pius XII approved of the devotion and the Holy Face medal and granted that the Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus may be celebrated on Shrove Tuesday throughout the Catholic Church.Divine Mercy
The Divine Mercy devotion is based on the visions and revelations of Jesus Christ received by Saint Faustina Kowalska, which she recorded in her personal Diary. She said she was given the mission to spread this devotion throughout the world. It seeks to proclaim and implore God’s mercy for all humanity through the merits of Christ’s Passion and the piercing of his Sacred Heart. Her writings led to the establishment of several forms of devotion to Divine Mercy, including the Divine Mercy Sunday, the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy and the Divine Mercy image, the Divine Mercy Novena, and the Hour of Mercy.Other devotions
The First Thursdays Devotion based on the visions of Alexandrina of Balazar, and the Chaplet of the Holy Wounds revealed to Marie Martha Chambon.Prayers
The Angelus is a traditional prayer used to commemorate the Incarnation. It consists essentially in the triple repetition of the Hail Mary, to which in later times have been added three introductory versicles and a concluding versicle and prayer. The prayer is that which belongs to the antiphon of Our Lady, "Alma Redemptoris". It is prayed three times daily: at dawn, mid-day and at dusk. The manner of ringing the Angelus—the triple stroke repeated three times, with a pause between each set of three, sometimes followed by a longer peal as at curfew—seems to have been long established. During Eastertide, the Angelus is replaced with the Regina Coeli an antiphon, dating from the tenth or eleventh century.The Rosary, or Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is essentially a contemplative prayer. Family recitation of the rosary is encouraged. In the encyclical Ingruentium malorum, Pope Pius XII said regarding the custom of the family recitation of the Holy Rosary:
"...when, at eventide, the Christian home resounds with the frequent repetition of praises in honor of the High Queen of Heaven...Then the Rosary, recited in the family,...unites them piously with those absent and those dead. It links all more tightly in a sweet bond of love, with the most Holy Virgin, who, like a loving mother, in the circle of her children, will be there bestowing upon them an abundance of the gifts of concord and family peace."
The Litany of Loreto is the most well-known Marian litany.
Devotions to saints
Through their prayers of intercession, the saints in heaven play an integral role in the life of the church on earth. "To honor the Saints is automatically to honor God, the Author of their sanctity."The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: