Fanning the Flame at 2620 Lebanon Avenue, Belleville, IL 6221 US

Popular Devotions (22)

Sacramentals and Popular Devotions (CCC, NOS. 1667-1679)

Click here for the study sheet for printing, includes * below

About Hispanic Ministry
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Nugget*
Quick Reflection*
Commentary*
Questions to Ponder and Discuss*
Prayer Intentions*

Family Connection
Additional Devotional Practice - The Brown Scapular
Suggested Reading
Beyond the Parish (Learn about some popular Hispanic devotions)

Chapter Nugget:
    Our memories of childhood faith are often infused with recollections of holy practices, blessings and rituals within our family: The sign of the cross, medals we wore, processions, use of holy water or blessed palms, praying the rosary, novenas, First Friday devotions. Are these pious practices and devotions still a part of our life? Are they helpful today in extending the liturgical life of the Church into our daily lives where spiritual blessings and courage are needed?
    Sacramentals, or sacred signs, are expressions of gratitude, of petition, and of our need for God’s blessing in every corner of our daily life. Do we perhaps need now, more than ever, to surround ourselves and our children with the sounds and signs of holy practices and blessing? Can we find ways to instill faith and rekindle trust that the “Holy One” is near and listens to us, even in a very noisy world?
Might these expressions of the holy in our homes and around us in every-day life continue to lead us to a deeper understanding of our faith?

Quick Reflection:

The Sign of the Cross
     Among the sacramentals, blessings hold a major place. All blessings praise God for gifts given. Most invoke the Trinity as expressed in the sign of the cross.
     You have seen it many times. Soccer players, as well as others make the Sign of the cross before beginning a game or shooting a penalty kick. During the last Soccer World Cup, Steven Pieraar of the South African team blessed himself twice. Twice wasn’t enough for soccer legend and Argentina coach Diego Maradona. He made the sign of the cross eight times when his team was facing South Korea. And if you watch closely, you may catch some St. Louis Cardinals signing themselves as well!
     The sign of the cross is one of the most commonly performed sacramentals. Bert Ghezzi, author of “Sign of the Cross: Recovering the Power of the Ancient Prayer” states that the sign means many things: It is “a confession of faith; a renewal of baptism; a mark of discipleship; an acceptance of suffering; a defense against the devil and a victory over self-indulgence”. When we enter the church we take holy water and sign ourselves with the cross. When we are about to listen to the Gospel we trace small crosses on our forehead, our lips and our heart as a prayer that the Word of God will be in our thoughts, on our lips and in our hearts.
    A variety of traditions abound all over the world when it comes to the sign of the cross. In both Mexico and Slovakia when a son or daughter, regardless of age, is leaving on a journey, he or she will bow their head before one or both parents and await a blessing. The parent signs the child. A Polish tradition is to trace the Sign of the Cross with a knife on a freshly baked loaf of bread before cutting it. St. John Damascene (676-754) says, “For wherever the sign shall be, there also shall He be.”

Commentary
What does the rosary teach us? My Rosary Story by Sr. Joan Hornick, ASC

As the youngest of six children in my family the rituals used in our home were habitual by the time I came into being. Every night, after supper when the dishes were done and the floor swept, we all went upstairs, grabbed our rosaries and knelt around my bed to pray this form of prayer. My parents led the rosary and we took turns in leading one of the decades. It was a daily means of connecting to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and learning the story of Jesus and Mary through the mysteries. I learned the surprise of Mary when she was told that she had been chosen to be the mother of Jesus. Her visit to her cousin Elizabeth taught me to go to my elders to see if they need help. The birth of Jesus in the stable captured my imagination with the shepherds and kings. Presenting Jesus in the temple taught me perseverance: The prophetess Anna had waited for so many years! Finding Jesus in the temple after he was lost for days made me appreciate the comforting figures in my life of parents who searched for me when I was lost. The more difficult events of the life of Jesus in the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary allowed me to be in silence as I heard the pain and suffering that Jesus had to endure in the agony, scourging, crowning of thorns, carrying the cross and the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Praying the glorious mysteries helped me realize that death wasn’t the final answer. There is a life after this one. The resurrection of Jesus helped me to realize that when my grandma died, I believed she would be in a better place. The ascension gave me the promise that Jesus will always be with me as He promised. The power of the Holy Spirit descending on the apostles and Mary to give them the courage to speak and not be afraid, helped me to have courage when I had to give a speech in front of a class or respond to other situations that caused some fear in me.. Knowing that Mary is in heaven and crowned told me that Mary indeed was a special person and an advocate for me.
Other events, such as Jesus’ baptism in the Jordon taught me the importance of my baptism as being a follower of Jesus. The wedding feast of Cana taught me the graciousness of Jesus as He proclaimed the Kingdom of God in his daily living. The mystery of the Transfiguration and the Eucharist are mysteries that continually bring me to my knees. When I had difficulties or delights in my life I could find an event in the mysteries of the rosary that helped me in acceptance of both. The rosary taught me how to pray.

The catechism teaches us: “Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church.” The rosary is a popular devotion that teaches us the mysteries of the life of Jesus and Mary.

Discussion Questions

1. What rituals of prayer or blessing are custom in your family? How might praying as a family, such as saying grace before or after meals, strengthen family life as well as faith in God?

2. What sacred art such as crucifixes, statues or holy images are in your home? Are they in a prominent place?

3. Christians are asked to “pray without ceasing’. What popular devotional practices of your culture help to foster such ‘ceaseless prayer’? Do you know about a devotional practice of another culture?

Suggested Prayer Intentions

--That we remember the great importance of blessings we give to our children and to each other.

--That we endeavor to “pray without ceasing’ by including practices in our daily lives that help us increase in our faith, express gratitude and provide comfort.

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Prayers said while making a cross on forehead, lips and heart:

* “Por la señal de la Santa Cruz, de nuestros enemigos libranos Señor Dios Nuestro”.

(Translation “By the sign of the Holy Cross deliver us, Lord, from our enemies.”)

*May the Word of God be in my mind, on my lips and in my heart.

Family Connection

Learn something new together: The Mexican Sign of the Cross

Here is an explanation on the Mexican persignarse and santiguarse. These are the blessing and the sign of cross that one makes before prayer, passing a church, etc.

Directions

The Mexican child may be only a few days old when the mother takes its little hand and makes it go through the movements on the forehead, on the mouth, and on the breast, required to perform the persignarse. The mother forms the child's forefinger and thumb into a cross for this ceremony; she is very careful that the child do the act correctly. With thumb and forefinger crossed the hand touches the forehead making the four points of the cross there; the same is done on the mouth and on the breast.

The words which are said are these: "Por la señal de la Santa Cruz, de nuestros enemigos libranos Señor Dios Nuestro." It means, "By the sign of the Holy Cross deliver us, Lord, from our enemies."

At this point the regular sign of the Cross is made. The two "signatures" are differentiated by the terminology used. The first is called the persignarse; the second, santiguarse. The first means, signing yourself; the second, blessing yourself.

These two signs of the cross are used together, the one following the other. At the conclusion with thumb and forefinger still forming a cross the child is taught to put his hand to his lips and kiss the cross thus formed. The custom is habitual with all our people of Mexican extraction in the southwest. No Mexican would enter a church, or even pass it by, without the persignarse and santiguarse.

Activity Source: Your Home, A Church in Miniature compiled by The Family Life Bureau in the early 1950s, The Neumann Press, Long Prairie, Minnesota, 1994

Additional Devotional Practice - The Brown Scapular

The brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has been one of the most popular sacramentals of the Church.
"The Scapular is an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer." - An excerpt taken from this article on the Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Mt Carmel (July 16).

Additional Reading

Blessed Pope John Paul II, The Rosary of the Redeemer (Redemptoris Mater), March 2002.

Reaching Out Beyond the Parish Walls

Some Hispanic Popular Devotions

Milagros

“ All across Latin America people express their faith through the use of small metal ‘milagros’. Sometimes these Milagros, fixed to a wall or sewn on the garment of a statue, represent the suppliant in constant, watchful prayer. In this case, the milagro will be stamped in the shape of a man or a woman. Sometimes they represent the object prayed for, in which case they may be shaped as an eye or an arm, a house or even an animal.” Hispanic Popular Catholicism by Rev. Patrick Brankin

Family Life Rituals

Family life is the source of so much popular piety among Latinos and so there are rituals that mark the spiritual and physical growth of family members: i.e. the presentation of a child at age three; the fifteenth birthday of a young girl (a wedding-like quinceános ceremony in which there is renewal of baptism vows and presentation of symbols of the Christian life).

The Christmas Novena: Las Posadas Dec. 16th –24^th

The traditional way to celebrate the novena includes a procession to a family home. Each night of the nine days a different house is visited. The ‘Santos Peregrinos’, holy pilgrims Mary and Joseph, are always part of the celebration (either adults playing the part, or two statues carried by participants) and each night they knock and ask for shelter.

Often, after appropriate prayer and song, there is the breaking of a piñata by the children and treats for all.

One Mexican tradition not commonly known is one that takes place on Christmas Eve, “Nochebuena.” The day begins early with families building their huge nativity scenes that include figures representing scenes from everyday life. Scenes such as children climbing a tree, or a woman making tortillas, and even a drunkard falling off a burro are common scenes depicting everyday life in the midst of the miracle of our savior’s birth. As a family completes the nativity scene, fireworks are lit to let the rest of the town know. By the evening families rush to finish as the sounds of fireworks fill the air. The image of the baby Jesus, which comes in sizes ranging from life size to the size of a thumb, has been previously blessed, but is not laid in the manger until the right time. The right time is at midnight on the 25^th when the family and guests place the child in a blanket and sing him lullabies as they rock him to sleep. Afterwards the children, as well as adults will go house to house to admire the beautiful nativity scenes, some of which take up whole rooms. As they arrive, the hosts will lift the child respectfully to the lips of each person for them to kiss the baby Jesus and receive goodies: candies, cookies, etc. This goes on until the wee hours of the morning.

Blessing the Image of the Divine Child

On the third Sunday of Advent some families bring the infant figure from their family manger scene and ask for a blessing. The priest blesses the infant and offers a blessing prayer for the families.

On February 2^nd (feast of the Presentation—La Candelaria) or on the nearest Sunday, there is a ceremony of the “lifting,(“levantando”) the Christ Child”. Songs are sung and the baby Jesus is rocked in a blanket and then placed in a sitting position in a place of honor.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady appears to a poor peasant, Juan Diego and sends him to the bishop with her message. When the bishop finally gives him an appointment, Juan Diego opens his tilma and roses fall out. And, miraculously, the image of Our Lady is painted on Juan Diego’s tilma. This image is presently housed in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Many pilgrims come to venerate Mary there.

Devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe is part of Mexico’s identity. It dates back to the 17^th century. Celebration of this feast combines the best elements of the Native American and European cultures. Once there were no boundaries to divide the people of America. ‘Our Lady promised to be the mother of all who lived in peace in this borderless land.’

Our Lady of Guadalupe has been designated by the Church as Patroness of the Americas.

The Holy Child of Atocha—El Santo Niño de Atocha

This image and devotion originated in the village of Atocha in Spain at the time of the Moors invasion. According to the legend, the men of the village were captured and imprisoned by the Moors. No one was allowed to visit or bring food or water. Knowing that the men would die, the families prayed every day for a miracle.

The Child, dressed as a pilgrim, appeared in the village and asked to see the prisoners. He carried a staff and a basket with a small gourd or water. No matter how many prisoners ate or drank, the bread and water was sufficient until the last one was served. The Child visited for a year until the men were liberated.

The Santo Nino de Atocha figure is a popular devotional figure. He is shown wearing a brimmed hat with a plume over a pilgrim’s cape with a silver shell. He carries a staff, a gourd and sometimes a pair of shackles or some spears of wheat. He also holds a basket of flowers or bread. He is patron of those unjustly imprisoned and is invoked by travelers.

About Hispanic Ministry

The Office of Hispanic Ministry assists in fostering the diocesan commitment to be a welcoming church for Hispanics and it coordinates ministry efforts as helpful. It facilitates for bilingual ministerial presence and for seasonal pastoral outreach, encourages Hispanic lay leadership development, and affirms Hispanic youth through various gatherings. The office responds to immigrant families in crisis when possible, and educates on immigrant issues and potential legislative action on behalf of immigrants through an e-mail advocacy network. The office is located at 2620 Lebanon Avenue, Belleville, IL 62221 (618) 235-9601 ext. 1292.

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Fanning the Flame at 2620 Lebanon Avenue, Belleville, IL 6221 US - Popular Devotions (22)

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