Devotions

[benedictaj]

[quote name='be_thou_my_vision' post='1317024' date='Jul 8 2007, 11:45 AM']Eucharistic Adoration.... does that count as a devotion? [/quote]


[quote name='shortnun' post='1317028' date='Jul 8 2007, 11:50 AM']Absolutely. It's certainly not for everyone.

My favorite Catholic "devotion" would be the entire communion of saints![/quote]
I'm sorry but would you remind clarifying what you mean here? I think Eucharistic Adoration is for everyone... It is placing oneself before the real presence of Christ. I can't really see how it wouldn't be for everyone.

Pope John Paul II, in his letter On the Mystery and Worship of the Eucharist (1980), wrote:
[i]"The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic adoration. Jesus waits for us in this sacrament of His love."
[/i]

Also, Pope John Paul II in his first encyclical letter, Redemptor Hominis, says that Eucharistic adoration is the most fundamental duty in the life of the Christian and that liturgical celebration of the Eucharist and private worship of the Eucharist complement each other. He states: “[i]Our communal worship at Mass must go together with our personal worship of Jesus in Eucharistic adoration in order that our love may be complete.[/i]”


When his excellency, Bishop Ott, spoke to Mother Teresa of Calcutta, he asked her "how she got so many women to join her religious order". She explained: "We were just like other religious congregations with few vocations. Then at our chapter in the 1970s we made a decision to have a holy hour in all our convents each evening." Many blessings resulted from this Holy Hour the Bishop witnessed, for Mother Teresa continued, "We began to see more clearly our mission to serve the poor in Christ’s name. We began to live a more fruitful family life among ourselves. We experienced double the number of vocations in our congregation. And we grew personally in our intimacy with the Lord present in the Eucharist." The Bishop is "confident" that this will occur in his diocese too ("Bishop’s Notebook", Stanley Joseph Ott, Bishop of Baton Rouge, The Catholic Commentator, August 5, 1992, p. 4).

[i]"It was not until 1973, when we began our daily Holy Hour that our community started to grow and blossom...,"[/i] Mother Teresa of Calcutta

I am just interested in what you mean. Personally, I love adoring Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Over the last three months I have been privileged to attend a Holy Hour almost every day. Over this time I have really come to understand the importance of the relationship between confession and adoration - in being reconciled with Our Lord, our worship is made more purer, more pleasing. God is Love... and in the Blessed Sacrament, we see concrete proof of the depth of His love.

Here is a great quote from St Francis of Assisi..
[b]"What wonderful majesty! What stupendous condescension! O sublime humility! That the Lord of the whole universe, God and the Son of God, should humble Himself like this under the form of a little bread, for our salvation ...In this world I cannot see the Most High Son of God with my own eyes, except for His Most Holy Body and Blood."[/b]

[chelsea]

I think they meant that many people are NOT devoted to the Blessed Sacrament and have trouble truly focusing on it.

[shortnun]

[quote name='memtherose' post='1317376' date='Jul 7 2007, 10:05 PM'][quote name='shortnun' post='1317028' date='Jul 7 2007, 06:50 PM']
Absolutely. It's certainly not for everyone.

My favorite Catholic "devotion" would be the entire communion of saints![/quote]
I'm sorry but would you remind clarifying what you mean here? I think Eucharistic Adoration is for everyone... It is placing oneself before the real presence of Christ. I can't really see how it wouldn't be for everyone.
[/quote]
First off... Mem... haven't seen you around the boards in a while (which could be due to my inability to see your posts and/or your time away).

Second... I mean that devotions in general are just that... types or forms of prayer that a particular individual, moved by the Holy Spirit, feels drawn towards. I by no means meant to imply that certain devotions are more or less valuable to the Church as a whole or particular individuals.

For example, I know many Franciscans who pray the Stations of the Cross [i]daily[/i]. This is not a devotion for me in particular. Yet it is a very valuable way to meditate on the life of Christ. Perhaps this is why we most often lift up this devotion on the Fridays of Lent.

The Eucharist, as celebrated through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass or as worshiped and adored in Exposition, is core to the life of the Church. We are all called to participate in the sacrifice of the Mass as it is our source and summit. Eucharistic Adoration is a devotional way of proclaiming our belief in the True Presence of the Body (and Blood) of Jesus Christ.

I guess what I'm trying to get around to saying is that devotions indicate a movement of the Holy Spirit in a person (over a specific time frame or their entire life) to express and strengthen their faith. And with that presupposition, I conclude that Eucharistic Adoration is [i]not[/i] for everyone. But it is of value and importance to the life of the Christian faithful.

[benedictaj]

[quote name='shortnun' post='1317446' date='Jul 8 2007, 03:31 PM']I'm sorry but would you remind clarifying what you mean here? I think Eucharistic Adoration is for everyone... It is placing oneself before the real presence of Christ. I can't really see how it wouldn't be for everyone.

First off... Mem... haven't seen you around the boards in a while (which could be due to my inability to see your posts and/or your time away).

Second... I mean that devotions in general are just that... types or forms of prayer that a particular individual, moved by the Holy Spirit, feels drawn towards. I by no means meant to imply that certain devotions are more or less valuable to the Church as a whole or particular individuals.

For example, I know many Franciscans who pray the Stations of the Cross [i]daily[/i]. This is not a devotion for me in particular. Yet it is a very valuable way to meditate on the life of Christ. Perhaps this is why we most often lift up this devotion on the Fridays of Lent.

The Eucharist, as celebrated through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass or as worshiped and adored in Exposition, is core to the life of the Church. We are all called to participate in the sacrifice of the Mass as it is our source and summit. Eucharistic Adoration is a devotional way of proclaiming our belief in the True Presence of the Body (and Blood) of Jesus Christ.

I guess what I'm trying to get around to saying is that devotions indicate a movement of the Holy Spirit in a person (over a specific time frame or their entire life) to express and strengthen their faith. And with that presupposition, I conclude that Eucharistic Adoration is [i]not[/i] for everyone. But it is of value and importance to the life of the Christian faithful.[/quote]
Hey hey! Yeah, long time no see. How is everything? You're right.. life just gets too busy for phatmassing but I'm on holiday at the moment!

Ok, thanks so much for clarifying that. I see what you mean now and I think I agree with you to a certain extent. I was just interested in what you really meant. I found that it's too easy to jump to the wrong conclusions over the internet. Thanks again and I hope everything's going well!

[GodChild]

My guardian angel? not sure if that counts as a devotion .... His name is Angelus His my best friend

[IrishSalesian]

I would have to say the Rosary is my biggest devotion, and I wear the Brown Scapular.

[stlmom]

Eucharistic Adoration for sure; does lectio divina count as a devotional practice?

[sr_betsy]

My devotions:

Divine Mercy
Miraculous Medal
Sacred Heart
Pentecost Sequence
The Solemn Anthems (O Antiphons)
De Profundis
Nativity of the Infant Jesus

sr betsy

[AccountDeleted]

I am most moved by the following devotions...

Meditation on Christ's Passion

The Stations of the Cross

Eucharistic Adoration

The Rosary

and I prefer all of them in private prayer rather than in a group, even though I do enjoy the Rosary said before Mass with the congregation.

[moon_child_anne]

[quote name='IrishSalesian' post='1318187' date='Jul 8 2007, 08:19 AM']I would have to say the Rosary is my biggest devotion, and I wear the Brown Scapular.[/quote]


I wear a brown scapular too, though I've had trouble with them falling apart so there's periods of time when I don't have one on between when I get the next one.

I have a special devotion to the Blessed Mother and the infant Jesus. I love to pray with images of them (I draw during prayer sometimes)
If anyone's curious, here's my site www.annesworld.shorturl.com
The religious artwork in a little hidden, but if you surf long enough you should find it... I believe it's in the "more about me" section. Not to toot my own horn or anything... :-p

There's a link to my discernment blog there too.

Peace,
Anne

[Tina44]

I have special devotions to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Lucy, the Miraculous Medal, and the rosary.

But I would have to say that Eucharistic Adoration is my main devotion. Especially meditating on the agony in the garden while in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament........WOW..