We had a wonderful celebration of the feast of St Thérèse in Rathkenny this evening. Our usual First Friday Mass was a special celebration of the feast with choir, Blessing of Roses and veneration of the relics of St Thérèse and her parents Blesseds Louis and Zelie Martin. There was a large crowd, and I think they were happy with the devotions. It was the first time they had the Blessing of Roses here.
Thinking about renewal in Ireland, I believe the devotions should have an important part to play. Popular piety, often looked down on by the "theological/liturgical elite" since Vatican II, has always been a great force for evangelisation and reform. Some devotions can go too far and there must be caution, but in popular piety we can find the expression of the eternal truths and a means in which the ordinary people can live those truths.
One devotion which seems to be re-emerging in these times, and serves as a good example of this, is that of the Holy Face - a devotion Thérèse loved, so much so she had it added to her religious name. I think the recent exposition of the Shroud of Turin has helped this new interest in the devotion. This devotion brings us into the heart of the Mystery of the Incarnation (God made man, whose face we see in Christ) and into the Paschal Mystery as devotees contemplate the suffering and death of Jesus. Interesting after the Mass this evening one lady gave me an envelope, "A gift from St Thérèse for you, Father", she said. It was a medal of the Holy Face with a prayer book of devotions. What a wonderful gift on this feast.
When I was in seminary, while popular devotion was not directly attacked, it was lumped under "Peripheral Spiritualities" which detract from Christ. I remember we asked one of our Directors of Formation for some examples of such "peripheral devotions": in his list he included the Divine Mercy, a devotion blessed by Church, established as an official feast and one which centres on Christ himself but in the mind of this formator it was responsible for distracting us from Christ. So as future priests we were to have nothing to do with it. I have my own conclusions as to why he was not keen on this devotion, I will keep them to myself.
I think we priests need to nurture these devotions - yes, by all means keep them in check, within the borders of orthodoxy, but also lead people to prayer and the Christian life through them, and, yes, help the renewal of the Church in our country. When you see crowds of people, hungry for faith and an encounter with God, find one in a momentary blessing with a relic, or come to make their own the mysteries of the Lord's life and redemption by a simple novena, you know the Holy Spirit is working. There is also another important factor which must not be lost: these popular devotions keep you simple; they keep you grounded in the ordinary but profound faith of the children of God. And that is important, after all as St Thérèse teaches, we must strive to be children.
A lovely story to reiterate the point above. I remember reading a journalist's account of travelling with the Venerable John Paul II. Looking out into Pope's cabin he watched the Pontiff as he prayed - at this stage it was common knowledge that the Pope was a great mystic. When he had finished his Office, the Holy Father produced a tattered book in which there seemed to be a number of prayer cards and holy pictures wedged between the pages, and all of it held together with a plastic band. The journalist was astonished - this great mystical Pope was just like any simple man or woman who lovingly prayed their prayers from a prayer book or prayer cards, all held together with the usual plastic band. I think that says it all.
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