Category: Devotions and Sacramentals
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Pre-Signed Sympathy Cards On Sale Here
Mass intentions are an area of sacramental theology that require more theological reflection (see the recent articles by John Baldovin here and here). In Ireland the practice of giving a Mass Card when you pay your respects at a funeral or a wake is still very common. Funerals are still a major social event here…
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Popular Piety: Holy Cards
Popular piety can’t really be programmed. You never know where something like this is going to land.
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Open for Prayer
Paul Westermeyer argues for the value of keeping a church “open for prayer” beyond those times when services are being held.
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Ashless Wednesday in Ireland
Ash Wednesday is still popular in Ireland. As rates of practice have dropped in recent years, many people still make a point of getting ashes on this day. Yet because of the lockdowns due to the Coronavirus, this year there will be no public liturgies to mark Ash Wednesday in Ireland this year. While others…
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And they say the Catholic tradition of relics is crazy!
I readily admit that I am a Mac addict and at times I think I am more successful in converting people to the Apple ecosystem from the Windows than sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ (but I take solace in Umberto Eco’s famous proposal that Mac was the Catholic computer). So I don’t just look…
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First Blessing in the Ordination Mass?
Does it make sense that newly ordained priests give their first blessing at the end of the ordination liturgy?
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An ‘Abundance of Rituals’: selling spirituality in a systemic vacuum
A few weeks ago, Timothy Brunk contributed a blog to this site titled Corporation Rituals (28 September 2020). It caught my eye because it captures an aspect of the ‘ritual boutique business’ that has exploded in the past 30 years (and because it is the focus of my sabbatical research and writing!) So, inspired by…
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Popular Piety Spotlight: Prayers to St. Michael
Whether prayed at the conclusion of a rosary, after mass, or at some other time, these prayers to St. Michael are part of a long tradition of regularly turning to heaven for help against forces that would try to destroy the goodness and unity of the Church.
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Something Old, Something New
The spiritual practice of devotions is an enriching one. Our spiritual/ritual lives—like any ecosystem—benefit from diversity.