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Devotions to Jesus in the Catholic Church |
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The Roman Catholic tradition includes a number of devotions to Jesus Christ. Like all Catholic devotions, these prayer forms are not part of the official public liturgy of the church but are based on the popular spiritual practices of Roman Catholics. Many are officially approved by the Holy See as suitable for spiritual growth but not necessary for salvation.
Some devotions arise from private revelations, or personal religious experiences of saints. The church has a tradition of thorough investigation of such private revelations and the lives of candidates for sainthood to assure that no natural or scientific explanation can, at the time of investigation, account for any miracles involved. Often an approved devotion of the church relates to a particular prayer form, or an image.
Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus exists both in Eastern and Western Christianity. [1] The reverence and affection with which Christians have regarded the Holy Name of Jesus goes back to the earliest days of Christianity. [2]
For centuries, Christians have invoked the Holy Name, and some have believed that there is intrinsic power in the name of Jesus. [3] [4] The feast day is celebrated in various Christian churches either as the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus or as that of Circumcision of Jesus. The month of January is dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. [5] The Litany of the Holy Name is an old and popular form of prayer in honor of the Name of Jesus. The author is not known. It probably dates back to the beginning of the 15th century as a private devotion, and was formally approved for public recitation in 1862 by Pope Pius IX. [6]
The Infant Jesus of Prague is a famous statue of infant Jesus in the Church of Our Lady Victorious in Malá Strana, Prague. In 1639, the residents of Prague credited the Infant Jesus for protecting the city during a siege by Swedish troops. The tradition of the Infant Jesus procession and coronation continues to this day. Devotion to Jesus under the title Infant of Prague spread. It is popular in Ireland under the name "Child of Prague".
A customary practice is to make a Christmas novena to the Infant of Prague from December 16–24. [7] The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is the principal feast of the miraculous Infant. Similarly, the Santo Bambino of Aracoeli is venerated in Rome.
One of the first possible references to reserving the Blessed Sacrament for adoration is found in a life of St. Basil (d. 379). The Franciscan archives credit Saint Francis of Assisi (d. 1226) with starting Eucharistic Adoration in Italy. The lay practice of adoration formally began in Avignon, France on 11 September 1226. The Venerable Leo Dupont initiated the nightly adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Tours in 1849, from where it spread within France. [8]
Eucharistic adoration may take place in the context of the liturgical rite of Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament or an informal "visit" to pray before the tabernacle. While psalms, readings and music may be part of the liturgical service, in common practice silent contemplation and reflection tend to predominate. [9] Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament generally concludes with Benediction.
The Holy Hour devotion consists of an hour spent in Eucharistic adoration or in prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. [10] The inspiration for the Holy Hour is Matthew 26:40, [11] when, in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus asks Peter, "So, could you men not keep watch with me for an hour?" [12]
In 1264 Pope Urban IV instituted the Feast of Corpus Christi ("the Body of Christ"), which celebrates the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and is liturgically celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday (or the following Sunday). It is customary to hold a procession of the Blessed Sacrament. The procession is followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. During the procession, the consecrated host is displayed in a monstrance held aloft by a member of the clergy. The procession then concludes with Benediction. [13]
The Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours (or Passion) of Jesus. The tradition as a chapel devotion began with St. Francis of Assisi and extended throughout the Roman Catholic Church in the medieval period. It became popular in the eleventh century, at a time when much Christian attention was focused on the Holy Land but few were able to actually visit. [14] Great numbers of Europeans found an equivalent to walking the Via Dolorosa in following Christ's footsteps in spirit. This devotion is traditionally observed on Fridays during Lent, as well as, on Good Friday, but may be prayed at any time. Many will use meditations composed by St. Alphonsus Ligouri, or the scriptural references or other texts, or simply contemplate the depicted event in the life of Jesus.
Belief in the existence of authentic images of Christ is connected with the old legend of Abgar of Edessa and the apocryphal writing known as the "Mors Pilati". The oldest and best known of these images, it was called vera icon ('true image'), which ordinary language soon made Veronica. [15]
In 1843, Sister Marie of St Peter, a Carmelite nun in Tours, France, reported visions of Jesus and Mary in which she was urged to spread the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus, in reparation for the many insults Jesus suffered in his Passion. The devotion was further spread by the efforts of the Venerable Leo Dupont (known as the Apostle of the Holy Face). The devotion was initiated shortly before Dupont's death and later influenced Saint Therese of Lisieux. [16] Pope Leo XIII approved of the devotion in 1885.
In 1936, Sister Maria Pierina de Micheli, a nun from Milan in Italy, reported a vision in which Jesus told her: "I will that My Face, which reflects the intimate pains of My Spirit, the suffering and the love of My Heart, be more honored. He who meditates upon Me, consoles Me". Further visions reportedly urged her to make a medal with the Holy Face 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 allowed for the remembrance of the Holy Face of Jesus on Shrove Tuesday (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday) for all Roman Catholics. [17] [18]
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is based on the heart as a symbol of his love for humanity. In Roman Catholicism, the Sacred Heart has been closely associated with Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ. In his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor Pope Pius XI stated: "the spirit of expiation or reparation has always had the first and foremost place in the worship given to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus". [19]
Formal references to this devotion first appeared in the 11th and 12th centuries. [20] However, the most significant source for the devotion to the Sacred Heart in its present form was Visitandine Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690), who claimed to have received a series of private revelations from 1673 to 1675.
From this developed the First Friday Devotion. The devotion consists of several practices that are performed on the first Fridays of nine consecutive months. On these days, a person is to attend Mass and receive Communion. [21] If the need arises, in order to receive Communion in a state of grace, a person should also make use of the Sacrament of Penance before attending Mass. In many Catholic communities the practice of the Holy Hour of meditation during the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament during the First Fridays is encouraged. [22]
The Feast of the Sacred Heart is now a holy day in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, and is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. [5]
The devotion to the Precious Blood was a special phenomenon of Flemish piety in the 15th and 16th centuries, that gave rise to the iconic image of Grace as the "Fountain of Life," filled with blood, pouring from the wounded "Lamb of God" or the "Holy Wounds" of Christ. The image, which was the subject of numerous Flemish paintings, was in part spurred by the renowned relic of the Precious Blood, which had been noted in Bruges since the twelfth century [23] and which gave rise, from the late 13th century, to the observances, particular to Bruges, of the procession of the "Saint Sang" from its chapel. [24] It was also particularly propagated by Gaspar del Bufalo, founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.
The Feast of the Most Precious Blood, formerly celebrated on the first Sunday in July, was removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969, "because the Most Precious Blood of Christ the Redeemer is already venerated in the solemnities of the Passion, of Corpus Christi, of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and in the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. But the Mass of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ is placed among the votive Masses". [25] The month of July is traditionally dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. [5]
The Crusades brought a renewed enthusiasm for religious devotion, especially for the Passion of Christ. The five Holy Wounds of Christ were the five piercing wounds inflicted upon Jesus during his crucifixion.
Among specific devotions to the Holy Wounds are the Redemptorist's, Chaplet of the Five Wounds of Jesus , [26] the Passionist Chaplet of the Five Wounds, [27] and the Rosary of the Holy Wounds (also called the Chaplet of Holy Wounds), first introduced at the beginning of the 20th century by the Venerable Sister Marie Martha Chambon, a lay Roman Catholic Sister of the Monastery of the Visitation Order in Chambéry, France. [28]
There is a separate devotion regarding the shoulder wound of Jesus. The relevant prayer calls to mind the wound he is said to have received during the carrying of his cross. It is variously attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, [29] St. Gertrude, or St. Mechtilde. [30] The shoulder wound did not inspire as significant a devotional following as the wound in the side "...with its direct access to Christ's heart." [31]
The Divine Mercy is a devotion associated with reputed apparitions of Jesus revealed to Saint Faustina Kowalska. The Roman Catholic devotion and venerated image under this Christological title refers to the unlimited merciful love of God towards all people. [32] [33] There are a number of elements of this devotion, among which are: the devotional Divine Mercy image, the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy, and the observance of Divine Mercy Sunday. Pope John Paul II was instrumental in the formal establishment of the Divine Mercy devotion and acknowledged the efforts of the Marian Fathers in its promotion.
Reparation is a theological concept closely connected with those of atonement and satisfaction. In ascetical theology, reparation is the making of amends for insults given to God through sin, either one's own or another's. Some devotions have the form of acts of reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus endured during his Passion or for the sin of blasphemy. Pope John Paul II referred to Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ as the "unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified". [34] Pope Pius XI called these Acts of Reparation "some sort of compensation to be rendered for the injury" with respect to the sufferings of Jesus. [19]
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is predominantly used in the Catholic Church, followed by high church Anglicans, and some Western Rite Orthodox. In the Latin Church, the liturgical Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated the third Friday after Pentecost. The 12 promises of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus are also popular.
A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium, is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic Sacramental bread (host) during Eucharistic adoration or during the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. A monstrance may also serve as a reliquary for the public display of relics of some saints. The word monstrance comes from the Latin word monstrare, while the word ostensorium comes from the Latin word ostendere. Either term, each expressing the concept of "showing", can refer to a vessel intended for the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, but ostensorium has only this meaning.
The Feast of the Sacred Heart is a solemnity in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. According to the General Roman Calendar since 1969, it is formally known as the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and celebrated on the second Friday after Trinity Sunday Some Anglican Franciscans keep the feast under the name of the Divine Compassion of Christ.
Eucharistic adoration is a devotional practice primarily in Western Catholicism and Western Rite Orthodoxy, but also to a lesser extent in certain Lutheran and Anglican traditions, in which the Blessed Sacrament is adored by the faithful. This practice may occur either when the Eucharist is exposed, or when it is not publicly viewable because it is reserved in a place such as a tabernacle.
In Catholic tradition, the Five Holy Wounds, also known as the Five Sacred Wounds or the Five Precious Wounds, are the five piercing wounds that Jesus Christ suffered during his crucifixion. The wounds have been the focus of particular devotions, especially in the late Middle Ages, and have often been reflected in church music and art.
During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the second part of the Mass, the elements of bread and wine are considered to have been changed into the veritable Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The manner in which this occurs is referred to by the term transubstantiation, a theory of St. Thomas Aquinas, in the Roman Catholic Church. Members of the Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran communions also believe that Jesus Christ is really and truly present in the bread and wine, but they believe that the way in which this occurs must forever remain a sacred mystery. In many Christian churches, some portion of the consecrated elements is set aside and reserved after the reception of Communion and referred to as the reserved sacrament. The reserved sacrament is usually stored in a tabernacle, a locked cabinet made of precious materials and usually located on, above, or near the high altar. In Western Christianity usually only the Host, from Latin: hostia, meaning "victim", is reserved, except where wine might be kept for the sick who cannot consume a host.
Blood of Christ, also known as the Most Precious Blood, in Christian theology refers to the physical blood actually shed by Jesus Christ primarily on the Cross, and the salvation which Christianity teaches was accomplished thereby, or the sacramental blood (wine) present in the Eucharist or Lord's Supper, which some Christian denominations believe to be the same blood of Christ shed on the Cross.
Eucharist is the name that Catholic Christians give to the sacrament by which, according to their belief, the body and blood of Christ are present in the bread and wine consecrated during the Catholic eucharistic liturgy, generally known as the Mass. The definition of the Eucharist in the 1983 Code of Canon Law as the sacrament where Christ himself “is contained, offered, and received” points to the three aspects of the Eucharist according to Catholic theology: the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Holy Communion, and the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
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. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops describes devotions 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.
Forty Hours' Devotion, in Italian called Quarant'ore or written in one word Quarantore, is a Roman Catholic liturgical action in which continuous prayer is made for forty hours before the Blessed Sacrament in solemn exposition. It often occurs in a succession of churches, with one finishing prayers at the same time as the next takes it up.
A chaplet is a form of Christian prayer which uses prayer beads, and which is similar to but distinct from the Rosary. Some chaplets have a strong Marian element, others focus more directly on Jesus Christ and his Divine Attributes, or one of the many saints, such as the Chaplet of St Michael. Chaplets are "personal devotionals" and depending on the origins, each one of the chaplets may vary considerably. In the Roman Catholic Church, while the usual five-decade Dominican rosary is also considered to be a chaplet, the other chaplets often have fewer beads and decades than a traditional rosary and may use a different set of prayers. In the Anglican Communion, a chaplet often includes one week of the Anglican rosary.
Holy Hour is the Roman Catholic devotional tradition of spending an hour in prayer and meditation on the agony of Jesus Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, or in Eucharistic adoration in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. A plenary indulgence is granted for this practice. The practice is also observed in some Lutheran churches and some Anglican churches.
The Holy Face of Jesus is a title for specific images which some Catholics believe to be miraculously formed representations of the face of Jesus Christ. The image obtained from the Shroud of Turin is associated with a specific medal worn by some Roman Catholics and is also one of the Catholic devotions to Christ.
Mary of Saint Peter was a Discalced Carmelite nun who lived in Tours, France. She is best known for starting the devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus which is now one of the approved Catholic devotions and for The Golden Arrow prayer. She also introduced the "Little Sachet" sacramental.
Reparation is a Christian theological concept closely connected with those of atonement and satisfaction. In ascetical theology, reparation is the making of amends for insults given to God through sin, either one's own or another's. The response of man is to be reparation through adoration, prayer, and sacrifice. In Roman Catholic tradition, an act of reparation is a prayer or devotion with the intent to expiate the "sins of others", e.g. for the repair of the sin of blasphemy, the sufferings of Jesus Christ or as Acts of Reparation to the Virgin Mary.
Rosary-based prayers are Christian prayers recited on a set of rosary beads, among other cords. These prayers recite specific word sequences on the beads that make up the different sections. They may be directed to Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary or God the Father.
A number of prayers to Jesus Christ exist within the Roman Catholic tradition. These prayers have diverse origins and forms. Some were attributed to visions of saints, others were handed down by tradition.
The First Fridays Devotion, also called the Nine First Fridays Devotion or the Communions of Reparation to the Sacred Heart, is a Catholic devotion in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to offer reparations for sins to the Blessed Sacrement. It has its origins in the apparitions of Christ at Paray-le-Monial, France, reported by Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century. This devotion to the Sacred Heart was fully approved by the Roman Catholic Church and a "Great Promise" of final penance was made to those who practice the First Fridays Devotion.
The "Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary" is a phrase coined by Pope John Paul II during his Angelus Address of September 15, 1985. Discussing devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, he said that "...though distinct, they are interrelated by reason of the enduring relation of love that exists between the Son and his Mother." Subsequently, several symposia were held to examine its roots and implications. Since there had already been much research on Devotion to the Sacred Heart, the conferences tended to focus on the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary from the perspective of Sacred Scripture and Tradition.
The First Thursdays Devotion, also called the Act of Reparation to the Wounds of Jesus and to the Holy Eucharist, is a Catholic devotion to offer acts of reparation.
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(help)This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Congregation of the Servants of the Most Blessed Sacrament". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.