WHATEVER BECAME OF POPULAR DEVOTIONS?
Bishop Paul S. Coakley
The clear emphasis on liturgical renewal during the last half of the Twentieth Century seemed to eclipse concern for the rich devotional life that had nourished the faith of many generations of Catholics. Almost overnight many of the traditional practices of piety, both personal and communal, were jettisoned as hopelessly old-fashioned, or worse, “pre-Vatican II”.
Without question, the renewed emphasis on active participation in the liturgy has born good fruit. No doubt too, some of the devotional excesses of the past were in need of purification from some superstitious elements and the lack of a clear connection to Christ and the Paschal Mystery.
Today, however, we are witnessing something new. We are less inclined to settle for a simplistic either/or approach: liturgy vs. popular piety. Both are important if our Christian communities are going to be authentic schools of prayer. Liturgical prayer and devotional prayer mutually strengthen and enrich each other. Pope John Paul II encouraged this renewal of popular devotions. “If properly guided, popular piety also leads the faithful to a deeper sense of their membership of the Church, increasing the fervor of their attachment and thus offering an effective response to the challenges of today’s secularization.” (The Church in America)
WE ARE WITNESSING a renewal and rediscovery of many traditional religious practices including the use of sacramentals, novenas and pilgrimages. These devotional exercises, such as the Rosary, have a way of engaging the heart and emotions while appealing to our need to give outward expression to our faith.
Youth seem to be leading the way. Every few years, for example, young people from many nations go on pilgrimage to rendezvous with the Holy Father at World Youth Day celebrations all over the world. They also travel as pilgrims to national and diocesan gatherings to celebrate and renew their faith together.
Another way the Holy Spirit is working to renew the Church is by drawing Catholics, young and old, to Eucharistic adoration. This and other forms of Eucharistic devotion, which are closely connected with the celebration of the Mass, are fostering a greater spirit of solidarity and service to others.
We also find a growing appreciation for the place of properly authorized indulgences in the life of the Church. The faith-inspired use of indulgenced prayers and works can be a great stimulus to spiritual growth and have a significant influence on the renewal of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
ONE OF THE HIGH PROFILE examples of support for authentic popular devotion was given by Pope John Paul II when he authorized devotion to Divine Mercy. Based on private revelations given by Christ to St. Faustina, the first canonized saint of the new millennium, Pope John Paul recognized its importance for our day. He said, “Indeed the message she brought is the appropriate and incisive answer that God wanted to offer to the questions and expectations of human beings in our time, marked by terrible tragedies. Jesus said to Sr. Faustina one day: ‘Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My Mercy.’”
“Jesus, I trust in You!” This is the simple prayer that captures the essence of this devotion, so beloved to many of the faithful, including the late Pope John Paul II. It is a simple prayer of trust and abandonment into the hands of Jesus. (Divine Mercy Sunday is observed each year on the Second Sunday of Easter.)
Throughout history the Holy Spirit has enriched the Church with a variety of popular devotions and expressions of faith. As in Jesus’ parable of the head of the household who brings forth from the storeroom both the old and the new, the Holy Spirit continues to renew the Church today, as a mystery ever ancient and ever new.
Published April 13, 2007
The Register – Diocese of Salina