Devotions
Part 1 Introduction
Chapter 12 Introduction to
12:629 Devotional Prayer - Fall 2005
Rational for this CourseQuestions to be Explored |
Notes on the Reading AssignmentsNote on Class Method |
Notes on the Writing Assignments |
Rational for this Course
Fall 2005 - many people believe that "devotional prayer" does not have the same prominence in Catholic life today that it had during the years before the Second Vatican Council. Some people think this is a good thing while others lament the fact. I have often heard Catholics say that the Second Vatican Council discouraged popular devotions in favor of liturgical prayer.
When we begin to critically examine these assumptions, many questions arise: What are "popular devotions"? How are they distinguished from popular religiosity and from liturgical prayer? What is "devotional prayer"? (Surely all prayer is "devotional"!) What is the relationship between popular religious expression, Catholic identity, and culture? Is there a cause-effect relation between the decline in popular devotions in the United States and the Second Vatican Council -- or do historical studies indicate that the drop off in devotional prayer occurred before, and independently of the Second Vatican Council?
This seminar, 12:629 Devotional Prayer, will explore these questions.
Questions to be Explored
What is the relationship between culture and religious expression? Specifically, what brought about the demise of popular devotion among Catholics in the years following the council? Was it due to the liturgical reforms of the council or was this decline due to the relation between the devotions and the culture? (If a devotion is culturally dependent, and the culture changes, perhaps the devotion in question will no longer be pertinent?)
In what sense are devotions "private"? Does the longing for private devotions relate to the longing for the transcendent which is often, in today's American culture, a privatized search for transcendence? This sometimes find expression in the traditional Tridentine Mass. As one person said "we do not turn to shake hands with our neighbors, we concentrate on God above." (see Gaillardetz in Worship 68:5, page 403 ff.)
Gaillardetz continues: "I suspect that many of the strongest advocates for a return to the Tridentine rite are not those who have significant memories of the Latin Mass but those who project their private yearnings for the experience of the supernatural on a liturgical rite that, in its North American historical context, was communal precisely because it was celebrated by ethnically defined immigrant churches who maintained a communal sensibility in other ways." (p 406 ff.)
Notes on the Reading Assignments
Text One: The Directory The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline for the Sacraments has recently (December, 2001) addressed the issue of the relation between "liturgy" and "devotions" in The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines. (The text of this document is available in English on the Vatican web site I do not know of any printed text of the document [perhaps this fact in itself is significant]. This directory is a rather long and rambling document and we will study especially the general principles. We will perhaps divide the specific issues among various participants in the seminar according to individual interest. In conjunction with the chapter on the Blessed Virgin Mary, we will also read Pope Paul VI, Marialis Cultus, Apostolic Exhortation for the Right Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. (February 2, 1974) Text available in English on the Vatican web site. This is the best official statement on devotion to Mary that we have currently in the Church.
Text Two: Commentary The second text we will study is the commentary on the Directory edited by Peter Phan. Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines are Commentary. (ISBN 0-8146-2893-1) For the past several years I have been participating with other scholars at the North American Academy of Liturgy in studying the relation between "prayer" and "culture". This Commentary has been written by various participants in this seminar and by other scholars who have particular expertise in these areas. The Commentary is especially helpful in evaluating The Directory and in applying it to our American culture and pastoral context.
Text Three: History The third text we will study is of a different nature from the first two texts. James O'Toole (editor) in Habits of Devotion: Catholic Religious Practice in Twentieth-Century America (Cushwa Center, ISBN 0801442567) has given us a history of devotions in in the United States. The introduction of the book states:
In Habits of Devotion, four senior scholars take the measure of the central religious practices and devotions that by the middle of the twentieth century defined the "ordinary, week-to-week religion" of the majority of American Catholics. Their essays investigate 1) prayer, 2) devotion to Mary, 3) confession, and 4) the Eucharist as practiced by Catholics in the United States before and shortly after the Second Vatican Council.
James M. O’Toole is Professor of History at Boston College. He is the author of Passing for White: Race, Religion, and the Healy Family, 1820–1920 and Militant and Triumphant: William Henry O’Connell and the Catholic Church in Boston, 1859–1944. He is also coeditor of Boston’s Histories: Essays in Honor of Thomas H. O’Connor.
For generations, American Catholics . . . lived out their faith through countless unremarkable routines. Deep questions of theology usually meant little to them, but parishioners clung to deeply ingrained habits of devotion, both public and private. Particular devotions changed over time, waxing or waning in popularity, but the habits endured: going to Mass on Sunday, saying prayers privately and teaching their children to do the same, filling their homes with crucifixes and other religious images, participating in special services, blending the church’s calendar of feast and fast days with the secular cycles of work and citizenship, negotiating their conformity (or not) to the church’s demands regarding sexual behavior and even diet . . . . It was religious practice, carried out in daily and weekly observance, that embodied their faith, more than any abstract set of dogmas.
We will read these three texts according to the schedule indicated in the syllabus.
Other (Suggested) Reading: When I have taught this course formerly I have assigned the following:
United States Catholic Conference. Solemn Exposition of the Holy Eucharist Liturgy Documentary Series #11 (USCCB, 1996. Publication No. 5-106). ISBN 1-57445-106-X. This text seems to be currently out of print.
Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy. Norms Governing Liturgical Calendars. The Liturgy Documentary Series, Number 6. Washington DC: Office of Publishing and Promotion Services, USCCB, 1984. Publication number 928-9. $6.95 paper. This is a very helpful (and fundamental) document for understanding the structure of the liturgical year and the liturgical celebration of the saints and feasts.
USCCB. Book of Blessings.
CLSA Proceedings #64, 2002 pp121-146.
Charles H. Lippy. Being Religious, American Style: A History of Popular Religiosity in the United States. Westport ,CT: Greenwood. (Praeger Publishers) 1994 ISBN 0-275-94901-X. Paper. $22.95. 296 pages.
Orlando O. Espín. The Faith of the People: Theological Reflections on Popular Catholicism. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1997. ISBN 1-57075-0308. $25.00.
Note on Class Method
This seminar belongs to the participants; I (as professor) will do very little "teaching" during the semester. The course method is rather simple and straight forward. We will read the three texts according to the schedule indicated in the syllabus. Before each class period, each participant in the seminar is to post an essay of 400-600 words in the appropriate discussion box in ANGEL. During our time together (Fridays at 2:15 p.m. to 4:05 p.m. in B-104) each student will open their essay on ANGEL, project it on the screen for all to see, and the author will read it to the class. We will then discuss the essay. The class meetings are as interesting as the postings and presentations -- and in the past this has been very satisfactory for all concerned.
I have intentionally used "discussion forums" on ANGEL rather than "drop boxes" so that you can see, read, learn from, and discuss the postings of the other participants. You are encouraged to make comments on the postings of the other participants. Studies have show that: 1. Adult learners benefit from peer feedback as much, if not more, than younger learners. 2. Adult learners benefit from sharing real-life experiences as part of the learning process. 3. Adult learners benefit from non-punitive suggestions for improvement (peer feedback is not graded) 4. Adult learners benefit from exercising autonomy in the learning process (they are free to accept, modify or reject any suggestions received).
I would also appreciate your help in updating, improving, correcting, and expanding the notes on my website which are relative to this course.
Notes on the Writing Assignments
I would evaluate (grade) the presentations according to the following scale:
OK (B-) A 400 word essay related to some aspect of the assigned reading which indicates that you have read at least some of the assignment and have thought about it.
Good (B) A 400-600 word essay which summarizes the reading in a way that indicates that you have read the assignment and have understood what you have read.
Better (B+ / A-) A 400-600 word essay which demonstrates that you have read the assignment and have understood what you have read and have made some steps at integrating the reading with your previous knowledge and pastoral experience.
Best (A) A 400-600 word essay which demonstrates that you have read the assignment and have understood what you have read and that you are able to critique and evaluate the reading by integrating it with your previous courses, reading, and pastoral experience and can present those conclusions in such a way informs and holds the interest of the other participants (on a Friday afternoon).
Concluding Essay
Post a 400-600 word essay summarizing what you have learned, or on some particular aspect of the course, or some other project which demonstrates that you have met the course objectives. The criteria for grading this essay are similar to those of the other weekly postings.
© Copyright: Tom Richstatter, Franciscan Province of St. John the Baptist, Cincinnati Ohio, Order of Friars Minor. All Rights Reserved. This page was created by Fr. Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M. Every effort has been, and is being made, to acknowledge sources when the ideas are not my own. Any failure to comply with the United States Copyright Act (Title 17, United States Code) will be corrected immediately should I become aware of it. This site was updated on 10/07/08 . Your comments on this site are welcome at tomrichs@psci.net.