Blessed is the Kingdom

Seeking The Kingdom In All Things

Vatican II and Popular Devotions

Growing up I spent most of my childhood attending Catholic schools. One of the things we learned early on were the many devotional prayers and practices that have for centuries enriched the lives of the faithful. The BVM sisters taught us to say the morning offering to God, how to pray the rosary, and gave us holy cards of Christ and the saints to name a few.

One of the first things that was taught to me when I began to learn about the Second Vatican Council was the great importance that was given to the liturgy, the Eucharist in particular. I was informed by many priests and other Church teachers that we consider the Eucharist the source and summit of our Christian life and that this might be the most important message of the council. They went on to explain that this was why changing the language to the vernacular was important, why people should not be praying the rosary and other prayers during the Eucharist, why statues and art had been removed so as not to distract people from what was happening at the altar. At the time, this made quite a bit of sense to me, especially having been raised in the culture of the Bible Belt where there is the commonly held belief that Catholics worship statues and Mary. Being told that the Church itself had undergone change that required less statues, less of what many times seemed like superstitious prayers sounded good to me. But when I later read what the Constitution on the Liturgy actually said, I had to rethink what I had been told.

The spiritual life, however, is not limited solely to participation in the liturgy. The Christian is indeed called to pray with his brethren, but he must also enter into his chamber to pray to the Father, in secret; yet more, according to the teaching of the Apostle, he should pray without ceasing. We learn from the same Apostle that we must always bear about in our body the dying of Jesus, so that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodily frame. This is why we ask the Lord in the sacrifice of the Mass that, “receiving the offering of the spiritual victim,” he may fashion us for himself “as an eternal gift”.

Popular devotions of the Christian people are to be highly commended, provided they accord with the laws and norms of the Church, above all when they are ordered by the Apostolic See.

Devotions proper to individual Churches also have a special dignity if they are undertaken by mandate of the bishops according to customs or books lawfully approved.

But these devotions should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since, in fact, the liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them.

The intention of the council fathers was certainly to hold the Eucharist in the highest regards, pointing people towards it as the ultimate form of Christian prayer, but it does not in any way discourage the participation in popular devotions. I am well aware of the fact that there are some who mistakenly see things like the rosary as more important than participation at mass, but for the most part it seems that participation in Eucharistic Adoration, making time for daily prayers and devotions, or using religious art as a way of meditating on the sacred mysteries we celebrate each Sunday are ways that strengthen our participation in the Eucharist.

Perhaps it is my affinity for iconography that leads me to think it was a mistake to remove so much of the statuary from our church buildings following the council, but it seems the same principal applies. Icons are meant to be in churches as they are physical reminders of our participation in the heavenly liturgy. The western version of this reminder has more often been statues of Christ and the saints. The physical aspect of Christ in his Incarnation would almost seem to require us to have these concrete symbols of our faith.

Our current Church looks to be in the process of recovering much of what was lost in what, in my opinion, were mistaken interpretations of what was being taught by the council fathers.

What has been your experience of popular devotions in the Church? Do you find religious art helpful in your prayer life or does it distract you? As always, I welcome your comments.

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About The Author

Fr. Christian is the pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Lenoir City, TN.

Comments

  • http://happyentanglements.blogspot.com Mark G.

    As much as (genuine) sacred music is not an “extra”, but is an integral part of Catholic liturgy, so sacred art is emphatically part of the liturgy. If it’s not beautiful, it doesn’t belong in the church or especially the sanctuary.

    Although I would argue that stained glass windows in the West are as much or more the counterpart of ikons in the East, sacred art also includes the sactuary crucifix (may it please God that we have one one day!), the altar, the sacred vessels, the vestments, the furnishing in the sanctuary, the reredos, etc.

    As a toddler going with my grandparents to the Shrine of Immaculate Conception in downtown Atlanta (where my father also attended growing up), I remember just staring in awe at all the wonderful things, especially the life-size pieta, the reredo behind the altar & the stained glass windows. To me, now & then, it really was like being in some wondrous, enchanted land, like being in heaven.

    The movement to reject sacred art by the liturgical intelligencia has flatly been rejected by the vox populi.

  • Fr. Christian Mathis

    Mark,

    You are not the only one to mention stained glass….not sure where my mind was when I wrote this post not to mention them. And yes they are expensive, but who is to say that a parish couldn’t slowly add windows as they can afford them? Thanks for the reminder.

  • http://www.fromthepulpitofmylife.blogspot.com/ Ruth Ann

    The parish church of my childhood, where I received First Penance, First Communion, Confirmation, and Matrimony, had a nearly life size crucifix, but the only statues were one of Mary and the other of St. Joseph carrying the infant Jesus above each side altar. There was an icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The stained glass windows were beautiful and most depicted events from Scripture. There was even a huge rose window in back of the church above the choir loft (balcony). The Stations of the Cross were beautifully painted and prominently displayed on the side walls. The tabernacle was beautiful, and there was a curtain on it veiling the doors. So even if the doors were opened, the curtains covered the interior from public view. There were vigil (votive) candles that could be burned for a quarter donation. There were also an American flag and a Vatican (Holy See) flag in the sanctuary. There was also a vessel with holy water where we could fill little bottles to take home. This was well before Vatican Council II, and nothing major changed after VC2 except that an altar facing the nave was introduced and the communion railing was removed.

    The parishes to which I have belonged since Vatican Council II haven’t been much different from that of my childhood, except for my current parish Church. It has most of the same features, but has more statuary, like the Sacred Heart, St. Patrick, St. Anthony, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Joseph the Worker, Mary, the Holy Family and St. Jude. These are placed in various parts of the nave and vestibule. There is something about the architecture of my current parish church that is not aesthetically pleasing. I don’t know how to describe it.

    I thought the altar servers wore much nicer outfits in my childhood. They usually wore a long black cassock and a short white surplice. On special occasions the surplice was fancier. Now they wear a white garment that looks like a long nightgown and it has a cincture the color of the liturgical season. I find them very unattractive.

    As for popular devotions, we have Eucharistic adoration daily, except on weekends. Rosary is recited aloud before all Masses. During Advent we have the Advent wreath and during Lent there is Stations of the Cross. We have a Nativity Scene from Christmas Eve until Epiphany (Three Kings).

  • http://happyentanglements.blogspot.com Mark G.

    Ruth Ann, the church of your youth sounds wonderful, a lot like Holy Ghost in Knoxville. It, too, saw little desecration during the “reforms”, Deo gratias, other than the addition of a plain “second” altar that blocks the view of the glorious high altar. It’s funny (or perhaps sad) that the Introit procession for the “Latin” Mass has to go around this thing to begin Mass.

    As far as altar servers in albs: ditch ‘em (the albs, not the servers). Over at Fr. Dwight Logenecker’s glorious Standing On My Head bolgsite, his persona Mantilla the Hun says that servers in albs “look like big walkin’ sacks of mashed potatoes”! It’s hillarious.

    The albs at St. Thomas are so thin that what ever’s underneath is clearly broadcast through. I remember one Mass when a bright-white-tennis-shoe-wearing boy (black shoes, please!) was holding the Sacramentary for Father to read the Collect prayer, & the yellow shirt underneath his alb clearly read, “Sprite”. I thought, “Wow, now we have corporate sponsors for Mass.” At least he wasn’t wearing one the shirts that say “Make 7″ on one side & “Up Yours” on the other! Though it wouldn’t have surprised me a bit.

    Father, regarding stained glass: not counting the ancient churches of Europe, sometimes too much is too much – like at the new St. John Neumann, frankly. They’re all beautiful, but it’s just too much. Also, mosaics have a grand & glorious tradition in Churches East & West. The National Shrine in D.C. is an absolute marvel! The chapel of Our Lady of Pompei is probably my favorite. However, the giant “Superman” Jesus in the apse remains quite controversial, even to this day.

    As to the topic of little old ladies praying the Rosary during Mass, I bet heaven is absolutely teeming with them…

  • Fr. Christian Mathis

    Ruth Ann,

    It sounds like you grew up in a beautiful church. Glad that you had such art to inspire you.

    Mark,

    It sounds like Fr. Longnecker might want to reconsider his humor as the albs are nothing more than baptismal garments. That does not sound funny to me, but disrespectful to a primary symbol of a sacrament of the church. I can agree that we should be respectful of what we wear as ministers, but there is a fine line between constructive criticism and being offensive.

    I also have never liked the image of Jesus in the National Shrine, though the church as a whole is beautiful.

    Old ladies praying the rosary are probably much more holy than you or I, but it doesn’t hinder me from trying to get people to put our prayers in the proper perspective!

  • http://www.fromthepulpitofmylife.blogspot.com/ Ruth Ann

    I have never before heard the explanation that albs are symbols of baptism. Nice to know. The one I’ve seen on altar servers are not as nice as the ones the priests and deacons wear. Maybe they need to be upgraded.

  • http://happyentanglements.blogspot.com Mark G.

    Father, I think that was his point: the alb IS the baptismal garment, which the baptized wear during baptism, & in olden times was put away after Dominica in Albis, the Sunday after Easter.

    Ministers in the sanctuary should wear clerical attire, of which the alb, at least by itself, is not. When ordained ministers are lacking, then lay people can fulfill that role, but should still wear the proper vestments. Altar servers in albs seems to have popped up around the time permission was granted for females to serve in the sanctuary, since the cassock with surplice is properly reserved to men.

    You mentioned before that you thought our worship has gotten too casual. I agree. But I see albs – & cheap vestments in general – as part of that casualness, which itself is the manifestation of an American people who want everything on their terms, or else they just can’t be bothered.

    No disrespect intended & certainly not a criticism directed at you – just everything in its place.

  • Fr. Christian Mathis

    Yes, I meant to say something about cassocks and surpluses being properly for the clergy and I think this is the point of the change in many parishes to the use of albs for liturgical garb. There was an emphasis on the role of the laity in the Church that came as a result of the council, not exclusively in liturgical roles I might add, and the activity of our Christian life flows primarily from Baptism, not from Orders. Sacraments such as Holy Orders and Marriage flow from Baptism and so, just as a priest and deacon wear albs under their vestments, it seems appropriate to me that other liturgical ministers would also.

    Your point about using clerical garb for clerical roles doesn’t seem to fit in my mind for the role of an altar server as we no longer have minor orders. We do certainly have the official ministries of lector and acolyte (in this case meaning someone who is commissioned permanently to assist in distributing the Eucharist), but these are rarely seen in our country beyond those preparing for Holy Orders and because they stem from what used to be minor orders are limited to being received by men.

    It doesn’t bother me at all to see parishes using cassocks and surpluses as attire for servers, but our current General Instruction to the Roman Missal would seem to favor albs without excluding other appropriate clothing. They should be of good quality and worn respectfully of course. One area I need to correct at our parish is having enough albs of the proper size as there are some servers who can never find one that properly fits.

    Here is the wording from the GIRM:

    336. The sacred garment common to ordained and instituted ministers of any rank is the alb, to be tied at the waist with a cincture unless it is made so as to fit even without such. Before the alb is put on, should this not completely cover the ordinary clothing at the neck, an amice should be put on. The alb may not be replaced by a surplice, not even over a cassock, on occasions when a chasuble or dalmatic is to be worn or when, according to the norms, only a stole is worn without a chasuble or dalmatic.

    337. The vestment proper to the priest celebrant at Mass and other sacred actions directly connected with Mass is, unless otherwise indicated, the chasuble, worn over the alb and stole.

    338. The vestment proper to the deacon is the dalmatic, worn over the alb and stole. The dalmatic may, however, be omitted out of necessity or on account of a lesser degree of solemnity.

    339. In the dioceses of the United States of America, acolytes, altar servers, lectors, and other lay ministers may wear the alb or other suitable vesture or other appropriate and dignified clothing.

  • Mark G.

    Thanks for the clarification on the GIRM directives. I don’t happen to have one handy right now :)

    There’s a knot of issues tied together here, so it’s difficult to speak with precision. Also, I’m trying to distinguish my personal preferences from what the Church permits & that from what perhaps is most beneficial.

    Your point on the universal call to Christian holiness may actually be the single biggest good to come from the Council, though it is in itself nothing new – just something perhaps forgotten clearly.

    Also, you are totaly correct that clericalism is alive & well. These days it is much less likely to take the form of putting priests on pedestals, but rather that of the laity not taking up their own call in right way.

    As a poor example, I know a lot of the older VCII crowd that are up in arms about various “secondary” issues of the practice of the faith (like albs on servers!), but won’t come to a Bible or Catechism study unless “Father” is teaching it. This comes up all the time in our Adult Faith Formation planning meetings.

    Your other point about the liturgy is quite relevant. When the Council “empowered” the laity to go forth & change the world for Christ, it seems so many turned inward & charged the sanctuary instead. While I am definitely a man in love with the liturgy & feel a call to help in a particular way, I think it should be emphasized more clearly that the sanctuary is the proper domain of the clergy; the world is the proper domain of the laity.

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