Catholic devotions are prayer forms which are not part of the official public liturgy of the Church but are part of the popular spiritual practices of Catholics. Many are officially sanctioned by the Church as profitable for spiritual growth but not necessary for salvation. Often devotions in the Church take the form of formalized prayers, sacred objects or sacred images that arise from private revelations, or personal religious experiences of individuals such as apparitions of Mary or of Christ. Catholic devotions also include the veneration of the saints. The Church has a tradition of thorough investigation of such [private revelation]s 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 has a particular prayer form, an image and sometimes a message or prophecy. From the Greek word λειτουργία, which can be transliterated as leitourgia, meaning a public work, a liturgy comprises a prescribed religious ceremony, according to the traditions of a particular religion; it may refer to, or include, an elaborate formal ritual (such as the Catholic Mass), or a daily activity such as... Apparition of The Virgin to St Bernard by Filippino Lippi (1486) Oil on panel, 210 x 195 cm Church of Badia, Florence Marian apparitions are events in which the Virgin Mary is purported to have supernaturally appeared to one or more persons, typically Catholics, in various settings. ... (Latin veneratio, Greek δουλια dulia) In traditional Christian churches (for example, Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), veneration, or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a dead person who has been identified as singular in the traditions of the religion, and through them honoring God who made them and... General definition of saint In general, the term Saint refers to someone who is exceptionally virtuous and holy. ... According to many religions, a miracle, derived from the old Latin word miraculum meaning something wonderful, is a striking interposition of divine intervention by God in the universe by which the operations of the ordinary course of Nature are overruled, suspended, or modified. ...

Examples of Catholic devotions include the Rosary, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the various scapulars, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Novenas to various saints, pilgrimages and devotions to the Blessed Sacrament, and the veneration of icons in the Eastern Catholic Churches, etc. Our Lady of Lourdes - Mary appearing at Lourdes with Rosary Beads The Rosary (from Latin rosarium, crown of roses), is an important and traditional sacramental devotion of the Roman Catholic Church consisting of a set of prayer beads and a system of set prayers. ... A depiction of Christ and the Sacred Heart The Sacred Heart is a devotional name used by some Roman Catholics to refer to the physical heart of Jesus Christ as a symbol of Divine love. ... The Brown Scapular of Mount Carmel promises salvation to its wearer. ... The Immaculate Conception is a Roman Catholic doctrine which asserts that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was preserved by God from the stain of original sin at the time of her own conception. ... Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe or the Virgin of Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic icon and arguably Mexicos most popular image: Nobel laureate Octavio Paz is quoted as saying that the Mexican people, after more than two centuries of experiments, have faith only in the Virgin... The word Novena is the feminine form of the Medieval Latin word, novnus, nine each, which is from novem, nine. ... A pilgrimage is a journey by a religious person to a place that is sacred according to his or her religion. ... Eucharist in the Catholic Church refers to both the celebration of the Mass, that is the Eucharistic Liturgy, and the consecrated bread and wine which acording to the faith become the body and blood of Christ. ... The term Eastern Rites may refer to the liturgical rites used by many ancient Christian Churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that, while being part of the Roman Catholic Church, are distinct from the Latin Rite or Western Church. ...

Terminology

Several terms related to Catholic Devotions require some clarification as they are used by various religious groups and scientific fields with different senses.

Veneration vs. worship

The Catholic Church does not use the term "worship" except in relation to God, (that is, the Holy Trinity, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and the sacramental real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament). The relationship of Catholics to saints is one of honor and to request intercessory prayer. Although it is in common use, it is not theologically proper to pray to a saint except to give honor to that person ask for intercession. The Hail Mary prayer is a good example. The first half of the prayer is a greeting (the greeting of the Angel Gabriel to Mary at the Annunciation taken from scripture. Luke1:28, also known as the Angelic Salutation) and the second half is a request for the intercession of Mary to her son, Jesus, "pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." The name Catholic Church can mean a visible organization that refers to itself as Catholic, or the invisible Christian Church, viz. ... Angel Gabriel can refer to: The Archangel Gabriel The Angel Gabriel (ship). ... Mary is a popular female given name. ... A key piece of the Paleologan Mannerism - the Annunciation icon from Ochrid. ...

Veneration is specifically the worship given to God or the honor given to a saint by acts of piety offered to God or the saint through a prayer, song or gesture before an image of the one worshiped or honored. An example is the "Veneration of the Cross" on Good Friday when Catholics commemorate the death of Jesus on the Cross. During the Church's liturgy for that day, after the homily, the faithful are invited to approach the front of the Church to kiss a cross or crucifix. As Catholics believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, this is an act of worship by veneration. To lay flowers or light a candle before a statue of St. Joseph, on the other hand, is an act of honor through veneration. In response to the Age of Iconoclasm, the Second Council of Nicaea defined this princilple: "For the honor of the image passes to the original,"[1] that is, to honor given to an image passes to the one imaged. Good Friday is a holy day celebrated by most Christians on the Friday before Easter or Pascha. ... Illustration of the Beeldenstorm during the Dutch reformation Iconoclasm is the destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually for religious or political motives. ... The Second Council of Nicaea was the seventh ecumenical council of Christianity; it met in 787 AD in Nicaea (site of the First Council of Nicaea) to restore the honoring of icons (or, holy images), which had been suppressed by imperial edict inside the Byzantine Empire during the reign of...

Latria, dulia and hyperdulia

Latria, dulia and hyperdulia are terms which come from the Greek and describe the proper relations between the faith and God and the faithful and saints. Latria, translated as "worship" in English is the praise, honor, glorification and adoration due to God alone as Creator of all that is. Dulia is the kind of honor given to great people such as a nation's president or a war hero. One may say great things of him and praise his achievements or what his office signifies such as the nation. This should not be confused with latria. Hyperdulia is the honor given to the Blessed Virgin Mary. While the faithful honor her to a greater extent than other saints (for her unique and essential role in salvation in the Annunciation) this honor given her remains a spiecies of dulia, not latria. Latria is a Greek term used in Catholic theology to mean adoration, which is the highest form of worship or reverence and is directed only to God. ... (Latin veneratio, Greek δουλια dulia) In traditional Christian churches (for example, Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), veneration, or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a dead person who has been identified as singular in the traditions of the religion, and through them honoring God who made them and... (Latin veneratio, Greek δουλια dulia) In traditional Christian churches (for example, Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), veneration, or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a dead person who has been identified as singular in the traditions of the religion, and through them honoring God who made them and... Blessed Virgin Mary A traditional Catholic picture sometimes displayed in homes. ...

As precise definitions of words do not translate well from one language to another, words connoting latria and dulia vary from one language to another. In English certain words are theologically reserved to instances of latria, though in everyday usage the distinctions are often less clear. Terms reserved for Latria include "worship," "to pray to," "to adore," "to praise (the person)," "to glorify." Similarly the gestures of genuflection and double genuflection are reserved to the honoring of the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament alone. Genuflection is an act of reverence consisting of falling onto (usually) one knee. ... The Real Presence is the term various Christian traditions use to express their belief that, in the Eucharist, Jesus the Christ is really (and not merely symbolically, figuratively or by his power) present in what was previously just bread and wine. ... Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE — 29–36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ... The Blessed Sacrament is displayed in a procession at the 2005 Southeastern Eucharistic Congress. ...

Terms that may refer to either latria or dulia include: "veneration," "to honor," "to praise (an action)." Gestures applied to latria and dulia include: kissing an image, using incense, making the sign of the cross, bowing the head, bowing at the waist, laying flowers, lighting votive candles et-cetera. Incense is a preparation of aromatic plant matter, often with the addition of essential oils extracted from plant or animal sources, intended to release fragrant smoke for religious, therapeutic, or aesthetic purposes as it smolders. ... The Sign of the Cross is a ritual performed mainly within Latin-Rite Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and the Oriental Orthodox, as well as Eastern-Rite Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Lutheranism. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... A votive candle is a small, typically white, candle, burnt as a votive offering in a religious ceremony. ...

Cultus

Main article: Cult#Theological definition

Cultus or Cult in Catholic theology refers to the accumulated literature, music, and gerstures of a local faith community or particular church in the veneration of a saint. Over time as the Church in a local area develops practices related to the honoring osomeone who has died as a person of exemplary and heroic holiness through such observances as the commemoration of the person's anniversary of death (also known as the saint's "birth into heaven"), or honoring the person's image, through processions or prayers for intercession, it can be said that a cult of a person has developed. The spontaneous development of such pious practices is one kind of evidence in favor of that person's canonization. The various aspects of a person's cult may not be publicly promoted in the Church until that person has been beatified." It has been suggested that cult debate be merged into this article or section. ... A Particular Church , in Roman Catholic theology and canon law, is any of the individual constituent ecclesial communities in full communion with the Church of Rome and thus make up the Catholic Communion. ... (Latin veneratio, Greek δουλια dulia) In traditional Christian churches (for example, Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), veneration, or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a dead person who has been identified as singular in the traditions of the religion, and through them honoring God who made them and... Canonization is the process of declaring someone a saint and involves proving that a candidate has lived in such a way that he or she qualifies for this. ... In Catholicism, beatification (from Greek μακαριος, makarios) is a recognition accorded by the church of a dead persons accession to Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name (intercession of saints). ...

"Cult" in this theological sense is not to be confused with "cult" in the sociological sense, which is group formed for the psychological control of its members.

Origins and funtions

By the term "devotions" in the plural, or "popular devotions" are external practices which evoke a sense of piety, devotion, love or affection for God. Several factors shape the effects of these practices on the devout:

1. association with the private revelation of others
2. the strong appeal which they make to the emotions
3. the simplicity of form which puts them within the reach of all
4. the association with many others engaged in the same practices
5. btheir derivation from the example of others considered to lead a holy life.

Imitation of other devout practices

Historically, the best known devotions have nearly all originated from the imitation of some practice of the religious orders. The Rosary, for instance, was known in its earliest form as "Our Lady's Psalter". At the time, the recitation of all one hundred fifty Psalms was a common practice of the religious orders; those unable to read recited instead a hundred fifty Pater Nosters or Hail Marys. The Rosary was thus a miniature Psalter. Within the Roman Catholic Church the Consecrated Life, referred to also as the Religious Life, is a way of Christian living by those who have made the prescribed public profession and vow that is recognized in Church Law. ... Our Lady of Lourdes - Mary appearing at Lourdes with Rosary Beads The Rosary (from Latin rosarium, crown of roses), is an important and traditional sacramental devotion of the Roman Catholic Church consisting of a set of prayer beads and a system of set prayers. ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Hail Mary (Angelic Salutation) (from the Latin Ave Maria (Salutatio Angelica), is a traditional Roman Catholic prayer calling for the intercession of Mary, the mother of Jesus. ...

Another example is the Stations of the Cross. 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. Great numbers of Europeans found an equivalent to walking the Via Dolorosa in following Christ's footsteps in spirit. The practice of the Stations of the Cross was a kind of miniature pilgrimage. The Stations of the Cross (or Way of the Cross; in Latin, Via Crucis or Via Dolorosa) refers to the depiction of the final hours (or Passion) of Jesus, and the Catholic devotion commemorating the Passion. ... Via Dolorosa (Latin for Way of Grief) is a street in the Old City of Jerusalem. ...

Similarly, wearing a scapular of a particular religious order is like wearing a miniature habit. A habit is the usual condition or state of a person or thing, either natural or acquired, regarded as something had, possessed, and firmly retained. ...

Some devotions are limited in popularity to certain periods or particular churches. Many Tridentine era devotions such as the Six Sundays of St. Aloysius, the Five Sundays of St. Francis's Stigmata, the Seven Sundays of the Immaculate Conception, the Seven Sundays of St. Joseph, the Ten Sundays of St. Francis Xavier have fallen out of use since the liturgical reforms of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Other devotionss such as the Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and other devotional prayer forms which declined abruptly after the Second Vatican Council have flourished once again since the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. Over time and in different nations and cultures there is a tendency to multiply various devotional forms. There is not only one Rosary, but many rosaries or chaplets such as the Rosary of the Seven Dolours. There is not just one scapular but many scapulars, A Particular Church , in Roman Catholic theology and canon law, is any of the individual constituent ecclesial communities in full communion with the Church of Rome and thus make up the Catholic Communion. ... The Liturgical Movement is a movement of scholarship and the reform of worship within the Roman Catholic Church which has taken place over the last century and a half and which has affected many Reformed Churches including the Church of England and other Churches of the Anglican Communion. ... Our Lady of Lourdes - Mary appearing at Lourdes with Rosary Beads The Rosary (from Latin rosarium, crown of roses), is an important and traditional sacramental devotion of the Roman Catholic Church consisting of a set of prayer beads and a system of set prayers. ... Eucharistic adoration is a practice in the Roman Catholic and some Anglican Churches, in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed to and adored by the faithful. ... In the Catholic Church , Benediction usually refers to the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. ... The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, (Vatican two) was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... Pontiff is a title of certain religious leaders. ... Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef Wojtyła [1] (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005) reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from October 16, 1978 until his death, more than 26 years, making his the second-longest pontificate in modern times after Pius IXs... The Brown Scapular of Mount Carmel promises salvation to its wearer. ...

Approbation process

Specific devotions in the Catholic Church may not be promoted publicly through any ecclesiastical medium such as parishes, publications, etc. unless they are approved by the Church. The process of approval requires a detailed investigation by the local ordinary. After it is determined that a practice is based on sound doctrine and is not injurious to one who practices, it may be permitted (but not promoted by the clergy). Although the Holy See as a rule refrains from intervention, on rare occasions, where some theological principle is involved, action may be taken by one of the Roman Congregations, The slow recognition by the Church of the devotion to the Sacred Heart illustrates the caution with which the Holy See proceeds in matters of theological principle. Only after a thorough investigation by the Holy See may a devotion be fully approved and recommended (though never required) by the Church. With such approval the devotion may be given a feast day on the liturgical calendar after which it may be used as the name of Churches, schools and various other ecclesiastical institutions. Examples include Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Infant of Prague, el Santo Nino de Atocha, the Feast of the Holy Rosary, among many others. Pope Pius XI, depicted in this window at Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, Honolulu, was ordinary of the universal Roman Catholic Church and local ordinary of Rome. ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason) means reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and God. ... A depiction of Christ and the Sacred Heart The Sacred Heart is a devotional name used by some Roman Catholics to refer to the physical heart of Jesus Christ as a symbol of Divine love. ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with a saint, and referring to the day as the saints day of that saint. ... // January January 1: Mary, Mother of God - Solemnity January 2: Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen - Memorial January 3: Saint Guinevere and The Feast of the Holy Name - Optional Memorial January 4: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton - Memorial January 5: Saint Telesphorus and Saint John Neumann - Memorial January 6: Blessed... It has been suggested that Three Secrets of Fatima be merged into this article or section. ... Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe or the Virgin of Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic icon and arguably Mexicos most popular image: Nobel laureate Octavio Paz is quoted as saying that the Mexican people, after more than two centuries of experiments, have faith only in the Virgin...

Private revelations

The private revelations of Blessed Padre Pio

Indulgences

Main article: Indulgences

Indulgences have long been associated with Catholic devotions. In the Medieval period until the reforms of the Second Vatican Council indulgences were expressed in terms of days, weeks and years and were attached to various devout practices. An indulgence is the removal of some of the temporal penalty for sin. As breaking a window even accidentally requires two forms repayment, an apology (contrition and apeal for forgivess or mercy) and replacement of the window (an act of justice) so all sin is an offense against God requiring two responses (contrition, and appeal for mercy) and purification of the damage caused to one's soul (an act of justice as we belong to God). The Church understands Purgatory an indefinite state of purification in preparation for the fulness of the Beatific Vision or heaven. While the remission of "time" in Purgatory is no longer expressed in temporal terms such as days, weeks, months, the Catholic Church continues to attach indulgences (partial and plenary) to many forms of Catholic devotions, particularly in relation to pilgrimages and other pious practices during Jubilees or Holy Years. Plenary indulgences remit all of the existing temporal punishment due for the individual’s sins, while partial indulgences remit only a part of the existing punishment. In the theology of Roman Catholicism, an indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment due to God for a Christians sins. ... In the theology of Roman Catholicism, an indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment due to God for a Christians sins. ... The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, (Vatican two) was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... The term purgatory is generally defined as the means by which the elect reach perfection before entering into the Kingdom of Heaven. The term purgatory in accordance with Catholic teaching, is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in Gods grace are not... In Roman Catholic theology, the beatific vision is the direct perception of God enjoyed by those who are in Heaven, imparting supreme happiness or blessedness. ... In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment due to God for sin. ... A pilgrimage is a journey by a religious person to a place that is sacred according to his or her religion. ... The concept of the Jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. ...

Sacramentals

Many Catholic devotions incorporate "sacramentals", objects which have been blessed or consecrated, set aside as instruments of God's grace through their symbolic value and the devout use of the faithful. Some examples of sacramentals are blessed crosses, crucifixes, rosaries, religious medals, images and other obects of religious significance. The use of sacramentals is not "magic" but can provide an occasion for a deeper relationship with God. This is not automatic but depends on the spiritual disposition of the individual and the will of God who offers grace freely out of his mercy. Sacramentals are things (sacramentalia) set apart or blessed by the Catholic Church to manifest the respect due to the Sacraments, and so to excite good thoughts and to increase devotion, and through these movements of the heart to remit venial sin, according to the Council of Trent (Session XXII, 15). ...