CONGREGATION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP AND THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SACRAMENTS DIRECTORY ON POPULAR PIETY AND THE LITURGY PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES Vatican City December 2001 SUMMARY Abbreviations Extracts from the address of His Holiness Pope John Paul II Decree *** INTRODUCTION (1-21) Nature and Structure (4) Those to whom the Directory is addressed (5) Terminology (6-10) Pious Exercise (7) Devotions (8) Popular Piety (9) Popular Religiosity (10) Some Principles (11-13) The Primacy of the Liturgy (11) Evaluation and Renewal (12) Distinction from and harmony with the Liturgy (13) The Language of Popular Piety (14-20) Gestures (15) Texts and Formulae (16) Song and Music (17) Sacred Images (18) Sacred Places (19) Sacred Times (20) Responsibility and Competencies (21) PART ONE Emerging Trends History, Magisterium, Theology (22-92) Chapter I. LITURGY AND POPULAR PIETY IN A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (22-59) Liturgy and Popular Piety throughout the Centuries (22-46) Christian Antiquity (23-27) The Middle Ages (28-33) The Modern Period (34-43) The Contemporary Period (44-46) Liturgy and Popular Piety: The Current Problematic (47-59) Historical data: the causes of imbalances (48-49) The Constitution on the Liturgy (50-58) Importance of formation (59) Chapter II. LITURGY AND POPULAR PIETY IN THE CHURCH'S MAGISTERIUM (60-75) The Values in Popular Piety (61-64) Deviations in Popular Piety (65-66) The Subject of Popular Piety (67-69) Pious Exercises (70-72) Liturgy and Pious Exercises (73-74) General principles for the renewal of Pious Exercises (75) Chapter III. THEOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES FOR AN EVALUATION AND RENEWAL OF POPULAR PIETY (76-92) The Life of Worship: Communion with the Father, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit (76-80) The Church: Worshipping Community (81-84) 1 Common Priesthood and Popular Piety (87-86) Word of God and Popular Piety (87-89) Popular Piety and Private revelations (90) Inculturation and Popular Piety (91-92) PART TWO GUIDELINES FOR THE HARMONIZATION OF POPULAR PIETY WITH THE LITURGY (93-287) Forward (93) Chapter IV. THE LITURGICAL YEAR AND POPULAR PIETY (94-118) Sunday (95) In Advent (96-105) The Advent Rosary (96-105) Processions in Advent (99) The Winter Quartertense (100) The Blessed Virgin Mary in Advent (101-102) The Christmas Novena (103) The Crib (104) Popular Piety and the Spirit of Advent (105) In Christmastide (106-123) The Vigil of Christmas (106-123) The Feast of the Holy Family (112) The Feast of the Holy Innocents (113) The 31st of December (114) The Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God (115-117) The Solemnity of the Lord's Epiphany (118) The Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord (119) The Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord (120-123) In Lent (124-137) Veneration of Christ crucified (127-129) Reading the Lord's Passion (130) The Stations of the Cross (131-135) The Via Matris (136-137) Holy Week (138-139) Palm Sunday Palms, Olive Branches or Branches from other Trees (139) The Easter Triduum (140-151) Holy Thursday Visit to the Altar of Repose (141) Good Friday The Good Friday Procession (142-143) Representations of the Passion of Christ (144) The Memorial of Our Lady of Dolors (145) Holy Saturday The "Ora della Madre" (147) Easter Sunday The Risen Christ meets his Mother (149) The Blessing of the Family Table (150) Easter Greeting of the Mother of the Risen Christ (151) In Eastertide (152-156) The annual Blessing of Families in their Homes (152) The Via Lucis (153) Devotion to the Divine Mercy (154) The Pentecost Novena (155) Pentecost Sunday (156) In Ordinary Time (157-159) The Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity (157-159) The Solemnity of Corpus Christi (160-163) Eucharistic Adoration (164-165) 2 The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (166-173) The Immaculate Heart of Mary (174) The Most Precious Blood of Christ (175-179) The Solemnity of the Assumption (180-181) The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (182) Chapter V. VENERATION OF THE BLESSED MOTHER OF OUR LORD (183-207) Principles (183-186) Times for Marian Devotion (187-191) Celebration of the Feast (187) Saturday (188) Marian Tridua, septenari and Novenas (189) The Marian Months (190-191) Some Pious Practices recommended by the Magisterium (192-207) Prayerful hearing of the Word of God (193-194) The Angelus (195) The Regina Coeli (196) The Rosary (197-202) The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (203) Act of Consecration or Entrustment to the Blessed Virgin Mary (204) The Scapular of our Lady of Mount Carmel and other Scapulars (205) Marian Medals (206) The Akathistos Hymn (207) Chapter VI. VENERATION OF THE SAINTS AND THE BEATIFIED (208-247) Some Principles (208-212) The Holy Angels (212-217) St Joseph (218-223) St John the Baptist (224-225) The cult due to the Saints and the Beatified (226-247) Celebration of the Saints (227-229) Feast days (230-233) In the Celebration of the Eucharist (234) In the Litanies of the Saints The Relics of the Saints (236-237) Holy Images (238-244) Processions (245-247) Chapter VII. SUFFRAGE FOR THE DEAD (248-260) Faith in the resurrection of the Dead (248-250) The meaning of suffrage (251) Christian Obsequies (252-254) Other Types of Suffrage (255) The Commemoration of the Dead in Popular Piety (256-260) Chapter VIII. SHRINES AND PILGRIMAGES (261-287) The Shrine (262-279) Some Principles (262-263) Canonical Recognition (264) Shrines as Places of Worship (256-260) Exemplary Value (266) Celebration of Penitence (267) Celebration of the Eucharist (268) Celebration of the Anointing of the Sick (269) Celebration of the Other Sacraments (270) Celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours (271) Celebration of the Sacramentals (272-273) Shrines as Places of Evangelization (274) Shrines as Places of Charity (275) Shrines as Places of Culture (276) Shrines as Places of Ecumenical Commitment (277-278) Pilgrimages (279-287) 3 Biblical Pilgrimages (280) The Christian Pilgrimage (281-285) Spirituality of Pilgrimage (286) Going on Pilgrimage (287) CONCLUSION (280). *** Index of Biblical References Index of Persons and Places Analytical Index Notes ABBREVIATIONS AAS Acta Apostolicae Sedis CCC Catechism of the Catholic Church CIC Codex Iuris Canonici CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum DS H. DENZINGER - A. SCHOENMETZER, Enchiridion Symbolorum definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum EI Enchiridon Indulgentiarum. Normae et Concessiones (1999) LG SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Constitution Lumen gentium PG Patrologia greca (J-P Migne) PL Patrologia latina (J-P Migne) SC SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium SCh Sources chrétiennes Extracts from the address of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to the Plenary Meeting of The Congregatiion for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (21 September 2001) 2. The Sacred Liturgy, described by Sacrosanctum Concilium as the summit of the Church's life, can never be reduced to a mere aesthetic reality. Neither can it be considered simply as a means to pedagogical or ecumenical ends. Before all else, the celebration of the sacred mysteries is an act of praise to the Triune God's sovereign majesty, and is willed by God Himself. Through the Sacred Liturgy man, personally and collectively, presents himself before God to render thanksgiving, fully conscious that his existence cannot be complete without praising God and doing His will as he strives for the Kingdom which is already present but whose definitive advent is only to be found in the Parousia of the Lord Jesus. Were the Liturgy not to have its effects on life, it would become void and displeasing to God. 3. The celebration of the Liturgy is an act of the virtue of religion which, in keeping with its nature, must be characterised by a profound sense of the sacred. Both the individual and the community must be aware that, in a special way, through the Liturgy they come into the presence of Him who is thrice holy and transcendent. Consequently, the disposition required of them is one that can only flow from that reverence and awe deriving from an awareness of being in the presence of the majesty of Almighty God. Did not God Himself wish to express this when he commanded Moses to remove his sandals in the presence of the burning bush? Was it not because of this same realization that Moses and Elijah did not dare gaze on God facie in faciem. The People of God require a comportment in their priests and deacons that is completely imbued with reverence and dignity since it allows them to penetrate invisible realities without words or explanations. The Roman Missal, promulgated by Saint Pope Pius V, and the various Eastern Liturgies, contain many very beautiful prayers with which the priest expresses a profound sense of reverence and humility before the Sacred Mysteries. These prayers reveal the very substance of every Liturgy. A liturgical celebration, at which the priest presides, is an assembly of prayer, gathered in faith to hear the Word of God. Its primary object is to offer to God the living, pure and holy Sacrifice made once and for all time by Jesus Christ on Calvary, and which is rendered present at every Holy Mass celebrated by the Church so as to worship God in spirit and in truth. I am aware of this Congregation's deep commitment, and that of the Bishops, to the promotion and development of the Church's liturgical life. In expressing my appreciation, it is my hope that this valuable work will contribute to make the celebration of the Liturgy ever more dignified and fruitful. 4 4. With a view to the preparation of a Directory, your Plenary has chosen popular religiosity as its main topic. Popular piety is an expression of faith which avails of certain cultural elements proper to a specific environment which is capable of interpreting and questioning in a lively and effective manner the sensibilities of those who live in that same environment.