Catholic devotions to Jesus

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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

Main article: Holy Name of Jesus
IHS monogram, with kneeling angels, atop the main altar, Church of the Gesù, Rome

Devotion to the

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.

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]

Infant Jesus of Prague

Main article: Infant Jesus of Prague
Infant Jesus of Prague

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.

Eucharistic adoration

Main article: Eucharistic adoration

One of the first possible references to reserving the Blessed Sacrament for adoration is found in a life of

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.

Holy Hour

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]

Corpus Christi

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]

Stations of the Cross

Main article: Stations of the Cross

The

Alphonsus Ligouri
, or the scriptural references or other texts, or simply contemplate the depicted event in the life of Jesus.

Holy Face of Jesus

Main article: Holy Face of Jesus
Secondo Pia's negative of the image on the Shroud of Turin, used in the devotion to the Holy Face 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

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]

Sacred Heart

Main article: Sacred Heart

Devotion to the

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.

Margaret Mary Alacoque
(1647–1690), who claimed to have received a series of private revelations from 1673 to 1675.

From this developed 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]

Precious Blood

The devotion to 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]

Holy Wounds

Main article: Five Holy Wounds § Holy Wounds devotions

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

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]

Divine Mercy

Main article: Divine Mercy (Catholic devotion)

The Divine Mercy is a devotion associated with reputed

Marian Fathers
in its promotion.

Acts of reparation

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 "some sort of compensation to be rendered for the injury" with respect to the sufferings of Jesus.[19]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 0-8264-8011-X
    .
  2. ISBN 1-146-98633-5
    .
  3. ^ Holweck, Frederick. "Holy Name of Jesus." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 26 May 2021 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ISBN 0-664-22336-2
    page 89
  5. ^ a b c Holweck, Frederick. "Special Devotions for Months." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 27 April 2020Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ Mershman, F. (1910). Litany of the Holy Name. In The Catholic Encyclopedia New York: Robert Appleton Company. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ^ "Pray the Holy Infant of Prague nine-day novena, Dec. 16-24", Catholic News Herald, July 28, 2016
  8. ISBN 0-89555-390-2
  9. ISBN 978-0-8091-4365-8
  10. ^ "The New Catholic Dictionary". Archived from the original on 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2011-02-14. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ Matthew 26:40
  12. ISBN 0-87973-669-0
    p. 498
  13. ^ "Katinas, Paula. "Brooklyn's Catholic churches celebrate Feast of Corpus Christi"". Brooklyneagle.com. 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  14. ^ "Stations - Printer Friendly". onlineministries.creighton.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  15. ^ Dégert, Antoine. "St. Veronica." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 9 April 2017
  16. ISBN 0-89555-390-2
  17. ISBN 1-931709-77-7
  18. ^ Holy Face Devotion http://www.holyfacedevotion.com/timeline.htm
  19. ^ a b Miserentissimus Redemptor Encyclical of Pope Pius XI [1]
  20. ^ Bainvel, Jean. "Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 8 April 2017
  21. ISBN 0-8146-6194-7
    page 35
  22. ISBN 1-4086-8658-9
    page 118
  23. ^ Evelyn Underhill, "The Fountain of Life: An Iconographical Study", The Burlington Magazine 17.86 (May 1910, pp. 99–101) p.100.
  24. ^ The first historian of the "Saint Sang" was the Abbé Carton, "Essai sur l'histoire du Saint Sang", Bruges, 1857. (noted Underhill 1910:100 note).
  25. ^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 128
  26. ^ Liguori, Alfonso Maria de'; Grimm, Eugene (1887). The passion and the death of Jesus Christ. New York Public Library. New York : Benziger Brothers.
  27. ^ "Chaplet of the Five Wounds". www.cpprovince.org. Archived from the original on 2019-10-23. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
  28. ISBN 0-87973-910-X
  29. ^ Catholic Online – Prayers
  30. ^ Preces Gertrudianae sive vera et sincera medulla precum potissimum ex revelationibus BB. Gertrudis et Mechtildis excerptarum. Editio nova, accurate recognita et emendata a monacho ordinis S. Benedicti Congregationis Beuronensis, 1903
  31. ^ Sargent, Emily Jo. "The Sacred Heart: Christian Symbolism", The Heart, (James Peto, ed.), Yale University Press, 2007,
    ISBN 978-0300125108
  32. ^ "Loving Mercy". Sed Contra. Archived from the original on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  33. ISBN 0-87973-910-X
    page 175
  34. ^ Vatican archives https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/2000/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_20001021_riparatrici_en.html

 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.

External links

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