Devotions
In addition to the liturgy, Christian life is nourished by various forms of popular piety, rooted in the different cultures.
While carefully clarifying them in the light of faith, the Church fosters the forms of popular piety that express an evangelical instinct and a human wisdom and that enrich Christian life.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1676.
Immaculate Heart of Mary
Historically, devotion to the Heart of Mary grew up in parallel, but at a lesser intensity than that of devotion to the Heart of Jesus, only starting to become more prominent during the time of St John Eudes. He brought people to love Christ and the Virgin Mary by speaking tirelessly about their Heart, the sign of the love God shows for us and the communion to which we are called.
Nevertheless, it was not until after the Apparitions at Rue du Bac concerning the "Miraculous Medal" made to Catherine Labouré in 1830, and the establishment of a society dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Paris in 1836, that this particular devotion became really well known.
Since then devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, has gradually grown more widespread in the Church, particularly since the apparitions at Fatima.
Extract: catholicnewsagency.com
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First Friday Devotion
“I promise you, in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the first Friday for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance; they shall not die in my disgrace nor without receiving the sacraments; my divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in that last moment.” — Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary
How to complete the First Fridays Devotion
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First Saturday Devotion
Our Lady of Fatima asked us to make the First Saturday Communion of Reparation to Her Immaculate Heart. Her promise: “I promise to assist at the moment of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep Me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to Me.”
First Saturday Devotion
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Stations of the Cross
The Stations of the Cross have formed part of Christian devotion for many centuries because they offer a particularly vivid way of following in the steps of Jesus on the way to the Cross.
Stations of the cross
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The Brown Scapular
In its original form, the scapular is a part of the monastic habit (the outfit that monks wear). It is composed of two large pieces of cloth, connected in the middle by narrower strips of cloth, much like an apron that covers both the front and the back of the wearer. The scapular gets its name from the Latin word scapulae, which means "shoulders."
Today, the term scapular is used most often to refer to a sacramental (a religious object) that has essentially the same form as the monastic scapular but is composed of much smaller pieces of wool cloth (usually only an inch or two square) and thinner connecting strips. The most famous of the small scapulars is the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (the "Brown Scapular"), revealed by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself to St. Simon Stock on July 16, 1251. Those who wear it faithfully as an expression of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is said, will be granted the grace of final perseverance—that is, to remain firm in the faith even in the moment of their death. learnreligions.com
Why wear a scapular
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The Chaplet of Mercy
The Chaplet of Mercy is recited using ordinary Rosary beads of five decades. The Chaplet is preceded by two opening prayers from the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska and followed by a closing prayer.
How to Recite the Chaplet
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Praying the Rosary
The structure of the Rosary prayer, recited using the rosary beads, is as follows:
The Rosary is begun on the short strand:
- The Sign of the Cross (sometimes using the cross or crucifix);
- The Apostles' Creed (the cross or crucifix is held in the hand);
- The Lord's Prayer at the first large bead (for the needs of the Catholic Church and the intentions of the reigning pope);
- The Hail Mary on each of the next three beads (for the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity);
- The Glory Be in the space before the next large bead; and
- The Lord's Prayer at the second large bead.
The praying of the decades then follows, repeating this cycle for each mystery:
- Announcing the mystery (e.g. "The First Glorious Mystery is the Resurrection of Jesus.").
- The Lord's Prayer on the large bead.
- The Hail Mary on each of the ten adjacent small beads.
- The Glory Be on the space before the next large bead (often followed by the Fatima Prayer).
To conclude:
- The Hail Holy Queen (sometimes with other prayers, while holding the medal or large bead); and
- The Sign of the cross.
Mysteries of the Rosary
Joyful Mysteries
- The Annunciation. Fruit of the Mystery: Humility
- The Visitation. Fruit of the Mystery: Love of Neighbour
- The Birth of Jesus. Fruit of the Mystery: Poverty, Detachment from the things of the world, Contempt of Riches, Love of the Poor
- The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Fruit of the Mystery: Gift of Wisdom and Purity of mind and body (Obedience)
- The Finding of Jesus in the Temple. Fruit of the Mystery: True Conversion (Piety, Joy of Finding Jesus)
Luminous Mysteries
- The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. Fruit of the Mystery: Openness to the Holy Spirit, the Healer.
- The Wedding at Cana. Fruit of the Mystery: To Jesus through Mary, understanding of the ability to manifest-through faith.
- Jesus' Proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Fruit of the Mystery: Trust in God (Call of Conversion to God)
- The Transfiguration. Fruit of the Mystery: Desire for Holiness.
- The Institution of the Eucharist. Fruit of the Mystery: Adoration.
Sorrowful Mysteries
- The Agony in the Garden. Fruit of the Mystery: Sorrow for Sin, Uniformity with the Will of God
- The Scourging at the Pillar. Fruit of the Mystery: Mortification (Purity)
- The Crowning with Thorns. Fruit of the Mystery: Contempt of the World (Moral Courage)
- The Carrying of the Cross. Fruit of the Mystery: Patience
- The Crucifixion and Death of our Lord. Fruit of the Mystery: Perseverance in Faith, Grace for a Holy Death, Forgiveness.
Glorious Mysteries
- The Resurrection. Fruit of the Mystery: Faith
- The Ascension. Fruit of the Mystery: Hope, Desire to Ascend to Heaven
- The Descent of the Holy Spirit. Fruit of the Mystery: Love of God, Holy Wisdom to know the truth and share it with everyone, Divine Charity, Worship of the Holy Spirit
- The Assumption of Mary. Fruit of the Mystery: Union with Mary and True Devotion to Mary
- The Coronation of the Virgin. Fruit of the Mystery: Perseverance and an Increase in Virtue (Trust in Mary's Intercession)
Rosary: wikimedia.org
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