Popular Devotions and the Mass

Popular Devotions

Growing up in a small town inhabited by European immigrants, I was immersed in the rituals of popular devotions. As a young child, I participated in Stations of the Cross, Forty Hour Devotions and  “never-fail-novena” prayers, where (I thought) I was promised whatever I wanted just for showing up nine Tuesdays in a row. So I asked for a horse! I loved horses and thought this was the way to get one. After all, there was a contract involved, and I held up my end of the bargain. I never did get a horse, but, what I did get was a sense for different forms of worship outside Mass.

What are popular devotions?

Unlike Sacraments, popular devotions can’t be traced back to the Scriptures. Most developed gradually over centuries as people in different cultures looked for different ways to pray their faith. Some examples are: pilgrimages, novenas, processions, the veneration of relics, the Stations of the Cross, the rosary and celebrations in honor of Mary, the blessing of medals, scapulars, statues, sacred pictures and Advent wreaths.

There are as many reasons why devotions came to be as there are devotions themselves. Some have their roots in the Middle Ages and the Baroque period. Others came to be as a result of changes that took place within the culture and within the church.

Eucharistic devotions, such as the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, for example, are rooted in the Middle Ages. By the 9th Century, people were speaking their native languages, and it became less common for them to speak or understand Latin, but the Mass was still prayed in Latin. As a result, communal participation in the Mass declined. People stopped going to communion because they believed the priest received for them. At the same time, it became popular to elevate the host during Mass, both just before communion and after the words of consecration. Looking at the host gave people a moment to adore and acknowledge the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. And because many were no longer going to communion, looking replaced eating and drinking. This led to a change in the way people understood Eucharist. Without sharing in the meal, more and more people began to see the Eucharist as a devotional object, something to be looked at and adored. Because people were encouraged to look and adore during the Mass, they started to do the same thing outside of Mass. 

Pilgrimages were another way our Christian ancestors expressed their faith. They traveled to holy places for a variety of reasons, to seek a cure from an illness or simply to get closer to God. Early pilgrims sought to see the places where Jesus and the apostles lived, which meant journeys to the Holy Land and retracting the final steps of Jesus toward Calvary. These pilgrims often came home wanting to recreate their experience for those unable to travel to the Holy Land. This practice eventually took the form of the fourteen stations that are found today in nearly every Catholic church.

What is the relationship between popular devotions and the liturgy?

Devotions are still a part of the faith life of many Catholics, but they aren’t as popular as they were before the Second Vatican Council. The Second Vatican Council reminded us of the central  role of the liturgy.

Every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the Priest and of his Body, the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its effectiveness by the same title and to the same degree. Sacrosanctum Concilium 7.

Devotions should “harmonize with the liturgical seasons.”  They should flow from and lead back to a fuller participation in the liturgy.

Devotions, like the liturgy, are seen not as the end, but as the means to an end--a means to conversion of heart and a greater practice of charity.  When devotions truly flow from the liturgy, they prevent us from turning in on ourselves in an exclusive private way, but, rather move us outside of ourselves to be in a new and deeper relation with Christ and others.

Then, they will lead us back to the liturgy--especially in the Eucharist--back to an intimate union with God, with our brothers and sisters and the new life which that union brings.

Praying for Our Dead

In the film Coco, 12-year old Miguel Rivera’s dream of becoming a musician transports him to the land of the dead. The concept for the movie is based on the Mexican holiday known as the Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos. The movie offers a powerful testimony to the practice of remembering our dead.

One of the ways we as Catholics remember our dead is to pray for them. The Bible offers several accounts of prayer for the dead, the earliest of which is seen in the second book of Maccabees. Other early evidence of the Christian practice of praying for the dead can be found in the Roman catacombs, where inscriptions include both prayers for the dead and requests for prayers. Early Church Fathers, such as Tertullian and Augustine also witness to the tradition of praying for departed family and friends.

Prayers for the dead begin as soon as the person dies. Among its various rites, The Order of Christian Funerals includes “Prayers after Death” and “Gathering in the Presence of the Body.” Both of these rites are designed to bring comfort to the mourners at the time of death or shortly thereafter.

As the Order of Christian Funerals states,

“At the death of a Christian, whose life of faith was begun in the waters of baptism and strengthened at the Eucharistic table, the Church intercedes on behalf of the deceased because of its confident belief that death is not the end nor does it break the bonds forged in life.” 4

The funeral liturgy, especially the celebration of the Mass, is the primary way the community offers prayers for their dead:

“At the funeral rites, especially at the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice, the Christian community affirms and expresses the union of the Church on earth with the Church in heaven in the one great communion of saints.” 6

After the funeral liturgy, the community continues to remember and pray for the dead at “Masses for the Dead,” on special anniversaries and occasions, on Solemnities such as All Saints and All Souls’ Day, and during the Eucharistic Prayer:

“Remember also, Lord, your servants N. and N., who have gone before us with the sign of faith and rest in the sleep of peace.” Eucharistic Prayer I

“Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope

of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy: welcome them into the light of your face.” Eucharistic Prayer II

“To our departed brothers and sisters and to all who were pleasing to you

at their passing from this life, give kind admittance to your kingdom.”

Eucharistic Prayer III

“Remember also those who have died in the peace of your Christ and all the dead, whose faith you alone have known.” Eucharistic Prayer IV

We offer our prayers for the dead to commend them to God’s merciful love, to ease their transition from this life to the next, and to keep them close at heart, as the Order of Christian Funerals sates,

“Though separated from the living, the dead are still at one with the community of believers on earth and benefit from their prayers and intercession.” 6

Eulogies

In the month of November, we celebrate the solemnities of All Saints and All souls, remembering our dead. Eulogies are one way we remember and honor the deceased. While optional, the eulogy offers the family the opportunity to share something about their departed loved one. The word eulogy comes from the Greek word eulogia, meaning praise. The eulogy is a way to praise God for the life of the departed.

 At a Catholic Funeral, the eulogy usually takes place at the end of the liturgy. The Order of Christian Funerals says, “A member or a friend of the family may speak in remembrance of the deceased before the final commendation begins.” As this text implies, a eulogy is typically done by one person. If multiple persons wish to speak, they can be given that opportunity either at a vigil or perhaps at a reception following the liturgy.

It is helpful to write and practice a eulogy prior to the liturgy. Delivering the eulogy to another family member or a friend beforehand can help ease nerves during the funeral, even when overcome with emotion.

A common belief is that the eulogy should focus on the departed, but at a Catholic funeral, the content of a eulogy should focus on how God was active in the life of the deceased. How was God present in his/her life? In what ways was the Holy Spirit evident? How did he/she resemble Christ? How did his/her faith inspire others? Telling stories that illustrate answers to these types of questions not only witness  the faith of the departed but also evangelize  the gathered community. This kind of eulogy renews the faith of those present, brings comfort and consolation to those who grieve, and affirms our unity in Christ. Eulogies that carefully consider the spiritual life of the individual add beauty and dignity to a Catholic funeral. 

The Communion of Saints

Whenever we say the Apostles’ Creed we profess our faith in the communion of saints,

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

It’s easy to dismiss this great cloud of witnesses, or to remember that we, by virtue of our baptism, are counted among them. Saints aren’t persons with whom we readily identify. They lived long ago, often far away and seem too holy for us to feel as if we could have anything in common. The way they have been portrayed hasn’t helped. They’re often put on a pedestal high above us with faces that seem to radiate a holy glow.

A visit to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles helped me to see this holy body of believers with new eyes. More than 100 saints are depicted in tapestries that line the walls of the sanctuary. The saints represent all races, occupations and vocations the world over. Saints from the Renaissance are intermingled with people from the 1st century and the 20th century. Among the named saints are untitled characters that include children of all ages. They stand for the anonymous saints in our midst. What struck me the most about these fresco-like tapestries was not merely their beauty, but the fact that the saints looked like me. The artist, John Nava, wanted the figures to look like people we know, so he used local models to illustrate them. Nava’s hope was that the real-life images would help people to identify with the human nature of the saints.

The saints were human after all. Like us, they lived and worked and had their share of happiness and hardships. What sets them apart is that they remained faithful to participating in God’s grace no matter the cost, and as a result, they were able to do extraordinary things.

This Sunday, Pope Francis will canonize seven persons, including Pope Paul VI and Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador. Both of these men witnessed to the faith during turbulent times. Archbishop Romero’s tenure was marked by civil strife and violence that killed many innocent people, including those who worked on behalf of the Church. Romero spoke out against such oppression and was fatally shot as he was delivering a homily during Mass.

Succeeding Pope John XXIII, Pope Paul VI continued the Second Vatican Council and led the church through the challenge of implementing the many reforms called for by the Council.

One of the Council documents, Lumen Gentium, or The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,

tells us that all the baptized are called to holiness:

“Therefore in the Church, everyone whether belonging to the hierarchy, or being cared for by it, is called to holiness . . . it is expressed in many ways in individuals, who in their walk of life, tend toward the perfection of charity.” Lumen Gentium, #39

This universal call to holiness was something Pope Paul VI said was “The most characteristic and ultimate purpose of the teachings of the Council.”

May we, like those being canonized this day, witness God’s extraordinary grace by the way we live our everyday lives.

The Altar and the Ambo

Whenever I am invited to an event in someone’s home it seems everyone always gathers in the kitchen, no matter how big the house! The kitchen seems to be the heart of the home. The kitchen prompts us to anticipate the feast and the intimacy of sharing a meal.

The early Church gathered in homes to remember the person of Jesus by telling stories about his life and by sharing a communal meal. When we assemble each week for Eucharist, we too find ourselves gathered around two tables, the table of the Word, the ambo, and the table of the Eucharist, the altar. From time immemorial, the Church has gathered around these two tables.

Today’s churches are to be designed so that the altar and ambo bear a “harmonious and close relationship” in order to emphasize the close relationship between Word and Eucharist. 

“The Church is nourished spiritually at the table of God’s word and at the table of the eucharist: from the one it grows in wisdom and from the other in holiness. In the word of God the divine covenant is announced; in the eucharist the new and everlasting covenant is renewed.” Lectionary for Mass Introduction 10

Because the altar is the table on which the ritual meal is prepared and offered, it is considered the centerpiece of the sanctuary and of the celebration of the Mass. The Church requires the altar to “occupy a place where it is truly the center toward which the attention of the whole congregation of the faithful naturally turns.” General Instruction of the Roman Missal 299

Likewise, the ambo is to be in “a suitable place from which it may be proclaimed and toward which the attention of the faithful naturally turns during the Liturgy of the Word.” General Instruction of the Roman Missal 309

The ambo is to be reserved for specific proclamations.

“From the ambo only the readings, the Responsorial Psalm, and the Easter Proclamation (Exsultet) are to be proclaimed; likewise it may be used for giving the Homily and for announcing the intentions of the Universal Prayer. The dignity of the ambo requires that only a minister of the word should stand at it.” General Instruction of the Roman Missal 309

As we gather around the table of God’s Word and Eucharist, may we be nourished and strengthened that we might feed others with the Good News.