Today, unfortunately, I feel that we only have a minor remnant of the love of these traditions of the past. In many cases they are viewed as more of a burden to be fulfilled, since it's what is always done. Furthermore, the number of holidays, both civil and religious which are commemorated seems to be ever decreasing. It is becoming more common for businesses to remain open on holidays, which of course makes it impossible to commemorate the day.
The other reason I cite for the lack of living the liturgical life in society is the destruction and breakup of the family. As Lumen Gentium pointed out, "The family is, so to speak, the domestic church (11)." It is dependent upon the family, then, to maintain the liturgical life of the faithful outside of the church building.
The Church provides the Faithful with feast days and the celebration of the Sacraments. There are even certain devotions of popular piety which She will celebrate for all of Her children, many of which are laid out in the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines. However, from what I can see, there also seems to be a hierarchy in customs and devotions.
There are those traditions and customs, which the Church refers to as pious exercises (Directory, 7), often led by a priest and done in a full communal nature. While not expressly liturgical, they do bear a strong resemblance to the Liturgy, and are often done in conjunction with it. For examples, I would cite Marian and Saint Processions. These, not only has the Church approved, She has given directives for the performance of. I would say that, after the Liturgy itself, these should be participated in by the faithful, to the extent that prudence allows.
The next in the hierarchy, seems to be what the Directory referred to as devotions (8). As just a small number of the many examples I give the Sacred Heart, the Divine Mercy, our Lady of Lourdes and our Lady of Fatima, and favorite saints. While the Church has condoned all of these devotions, many with a liturgical counterpart, they have not been given the same instructions as certain parts of popular piety, like the ones mentioned above. Additionally, they are proposed for the edification and to assist the Faithful in their growth in holiness, but none of these devotions are necessary for salvation.
These devotions require no communal context for celebration, even though they are often done within one. Although, as I said, many have a Mass text attached with them, such as the Sacred Heart, there are also additional prayers with them. The important thing to remember with them is that there may be a cause for worry if a member of the Faithful has no fondness for any devotion, but there is no cause for worry if a specific devotion is absent in a person's life. A person's attractions depend on the various circumstances of a person's life and culture, and especially the movement of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
The part I am most interested in, however, and which this series will focus on, is what falls under popular piety (Directory, 9). These actions, while connected to the Liturgy are not particularly derived from it, nor do they have a liturgical counterpart. Rather, they stem more from the desires of the people, especially the laity. They may fall into the lowest place in the hierarchy of Catholic customs and traditions, but they are still an integral part of the Faith. It is through them that the Liturgy is kept alive in the daily lives of people.
I like to see it this way. Through the Liturgy, God comes to meet us, especially through the Eucharist, and through popular piety we go to again meet the God we encounter in the Liturgy. I am not trying to promote popular piety above the Liturgy. One is created by man, the other is given by God. There's no question which has the higher dignity, but there are still many ways God acts in our daily life. The benefit of popular piety is that it connects us to "the source and summit of the Christan life (Lumen Gentium, 11)."
This, then is what we need to reawaken in our spiritual lives - a connection to the Liturgy. It goes beyond "popular religiosity (Directory, 10)," but is a concrete and actual means to stay close to God at all times. As all relationships thrive only if imbued with their own personal and unique character, so our relation to God must be personal in that it has its own unique stamp.
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