By Fr. Peter Scott, FSSPX
There are, amongst Catholics, a multiplicity of private devotions, some approved by the Church and some not, but most frequently based upon private revelations, that are more or less credible. Many seem pious, and consequently attract generous souls. The question then arises as to whether we should embrace such pious practices or not, or try to follow as many of them as we can. After all, the more piety, surely the better it will be for our souls. Moreover Pope Pius XII condemned the modernists’ idea that all we need is the assistance at Mass, which they called “objective” piety. He castigated as “false, insidious, and quite pernicious” the idea that we do not need to have our own practices of “personal” or “subjective” piety. (Mediator Dei, §29,30).Given, then, that we must have our own devotions, here are a few principles that will enable us to determine which practices we should follow and which ones we should avoid.
WHAT IS DEVOTION?
The first principle to remember is the goal of all piety, as expressed by Our Divine Saviour Himself: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). Piety is consequently not an end in itself, but must be directed towards our striving for perfection in our praise, reverence and service of Almighty God. This perfection is founded on the practice of the love of God and of our neighbor, as Pope Pius XII taught: “Christian perfection is founded above all on charity towards God and towards our neighbor, a charity which, burning with and devoured by zeal, is efficacious. If charity possesses these qualities, it in a certain way contains all virtues and can rightly be called the bond of perfection. In whatever circumstance a man finds himself, it is, then, absolutely necessary that he direct his mind and his actions in this sense” (Sept 20, 1956). True piety is consequently that which enables us to practice our duties of charity towards God and our neighbor.
St. Francis de Sales begins his Introduction to the Devout Life by asking himself what true devotion is.“True and living devotion . . . is simply a true love of God . . . and when it reaches a certain degree of perfection, it move it not only to do good, but to do it often, carefully and promptly . . . It is nothing other than a spiritual agility and liveliness by which charity acts in us and we act by it, promptly and lovingly . . . Charity is a spiritual fire. And when it (the soul)is embraced it is called devotion. Devotion adds nothing to the fire of charity except the ardour of a flame which renders this charity prompt, active and diligent. And this, not only in observing God’s commandments, but even in following His counsels and inspirations” (I,1). This teaching gives us the rule by which we must judge our devotional practices. Do they help or hinder us in the practice of our duties of charity?
St Thomas Aquinas explains that devotion is the first interior act of religion and that it consists in “the will of doing promptly that which belongs to the service of God” (IIaIIae 82,1). Consequently devotion cannot be separated from life, and from our duties in charity in particular. It is of its very nature directed to their accomplishment, by which we will save our souls. He further explains that devotion comes from meditation on divine truths, and this on two kinds of subject matters: first on the Goodness of God and all His blessings to us, but also, on our own defects and sins, that we might be aware of how much we need God’s help and grace and thus be prevented from falling into presumption, which turns us away from submission to God and true devotion (IIaIIae 82,3).
Many and far-reaching are the consequences that follow from these simple principles. Devotion or piety is not a subjective feeling or experience. It is the consideration of truths with our mind that lead the will to submit to God in all things. False piety leaves a man unchanged, whereas true piety transforms him into the perfect practice of charity, by which he fully submits himself to God and to His holy will. Self confidence, he affirms, is the great enemy of devotion, and it comes about through presumption, namely the failure to consider our own unworthiness, and absolute need of grace to be pleasing to God. A devotion that would consequently consider only God’s goodness and love, but not the reality of our sins, of the disorder of fallen human nature, and the need for penance would consequently fail by presumption and be a false devotion. Such is the Divine Mercy devotion promoted since Vatican II.
PERSONAL DEVOTIONS
In his encyclical on the Liturgy, Pope Pius XII quotes this text of St Thomas Aquinas and comments on the role of private and interior devotion in the life of Catholics. “Genuine and real piety, which the Angelic Doctor calls devotion, and which is the principal act of the virtue of religion – that act which correctly relates and fitly directs men to God and by which they freely and spontaneously give themselves to the worship of God in its fullest sense – piety of this sort needs meditation on the supernatural realities and spiritual exercises if it is to be nurtured, stimulated and sustained, and if it is to prompt us to lead a more perfect life” (MD,§32). Pius XII further explains that this piety would be sterile if it were to neglect the sacrifice of the Mass and the sacraments, and teaches that even though they are not strictly connected with the sacred Liturgy, our devotional exercises and pious practices “with the express purpose . . . of rousing people to repentance and holy fear of God, of weaning them from seductions of the world and its vice, and leading them back to the difficult path of perfection . . . are not only highly praiseworthy but absolutely indispensable” (ib.).
He explains why, following St. Thomas Aquinas, and it can be seen that he emphasizes both the many blessings that God has given us through Our Lord, and also the awareness of our weakness, that we might not fall into presumption: “because they (devotions) expose the dangers threatening the spiritual life; they promise the acquisition of virtue; and because they increase the fervor and generosity with which we are bound to dedicate all that we are and all that we have to the service of Jesus Christ” (Ib.). He further explains that our duty of submission to God is motivated firstly by the “inexhaustible treasures of love with which God yearns to enrich us” but also has this fundamental consideration on devotions, that since our hearts do not always respond to the considerations of love “it is also extremely helpful to let consideration and contemplation of the justice of God provoke us on occasion to salutary fear, and guide us thence to Christian humility, repentance and amendment”.
WHICH DEVOTIONS?
Once these principles have been laid out, then we can determine which devotions or prayers we ought to pray, for how long and how often. For it is not the length of prayer nor the quantity that matters. Rather, it is the interior conversion that devotion produces in our souls that counts, that we might more completely and entirely deliver ourselves up to God, to His holy will and to the practice of charity in our seeking for perfection. In this we are not left alone. Pope Pius XII points out that the chief amongst these devotional practices are those which the Church’s law imposes on priests (Cn 125 of the 1917 Code): frequent confession, meditation, examination of conscience, enclosed retreats, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, the Rosary and prayers in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Ib. §174 ss). He also adds to this list: days of recollection, the exercises of St. Ignatius, June devotions to the Sacred Heart, the Stations of the Cross, novenas and triduums. Why are such devotions recommended by the Church: “Such spiritual exercises are most useful and even necessary to instill into souls solid virtue, and to strengthen them in sanctity . . . and encourage them to meditate on the mysteries of the Redemption and imitate the example of the Saints” (§178, 183).
Clearly, therefore, these are the principal devotions that ought to occupy us. However, they do not exclude others which draw us close to our Redeemer, and enable us to meditate on His life and Passion. Such devotions include those to the Holy Ghost, to the Infant of Prague, to the Precious Blood or to the wounds of Our Lord, or to saints such as St. Joseph, St. Anthony, or prayers for the Poor Souls in Purgatory. It is certainly true that each one is free to chose his own. But the questions remains – which ones, how many and how much time do I devote to them?
Pope Pius XII has answer to this also in the above mentioned encyclical: “Above all, do not cease to inculcate into the minds of all that progress in the Christian life does not consist in the multiplicity and variety of prayers and exercises of piety, but rather in their helpfulness towards spiritual progress of the faithful and constant growth of the Church universal . . . All our prayers, then, and all our religious practices should aim at directing our spiritual energies towards attaining this most noble and lofty end” (§185). Consequently, they will differ for each of us, and we must determine which devotions are most effective at bringing our conversion and spiritual progress on the way to perfection. In general, one devotion, well chosen and well practiced is the best way to do this. One of the best examples is the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary according to the method of St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort. It alone, correctly practiced, has all the elements necessary to bring about this interior transformation:“True devotion (to Mary), that of Tradition, that of the Church, that of christian and Catholic common sense, tends essentially to union with Jesus, under Mary’s guidance” (Pius XII July 21, 1947).
St. Thomas Aquinas treats of the question as to how much we ought to pray, and consequently as to whether or not we should multiply devotions, for did Our Lord not say: “We ought always to pray and not to faint” (Lk 18:1). He points out that prayer must be continual in its cause, which is the desire of charity, of doing all things for the glory of God. But our actual prayer cannot be continual, but must be in proportion towards its end, our spiritual health and perfection. Consequently we ought to pray for as long as it helps the fervour of our interior desire to please God, but that it must cease when it no longer accomplishes this end, due to fatigue. For it is not the multitude of prayers or devotions that matter, but the maintaining of our desire of union with God (IIaIIae 83,14). In this, it can be seen that devotions that focus on the sacred Humanity of Our Divine Saviour, such as meditation on His life, the Rosary, the Way of the Cross must take precedence, as being most apt to maintain this fervor and determination to imitate Him – as St. Paul affirms:“Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered Himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God for an odour of sweetness (Eph 5:2).
Special importance must also be given to devotion to the Sacred Heart. Pope Pius XII condemns those who maintain that this devotion is an “additional practice which each one may take up or not according to his own inclination”. This opinion, he teaches, is due to a confusion of the primary nature of this devotion to the love of God, which is necessary for all, with “various individual forms of piety which the Church approves and encourages but does not command” (Haurietis aquas, §10). He points out the universality of this devotion, for it is a devotion to the love of God, inseparable from the Redemption itself, and consequently most helpful in attaining Christian perfection. “Can a form of devotion surpassing that to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus be found, which corresponds better to the essential character of the Catholic Faith, which is more capable of assisting the present day needs of the Church and the human race” (§120)?
FALSE DEVOTIONS
This brings us to the consideration of which devotions we must exclude from our spiritual life. They are most commonly described as sentimental devotions, for they play on our feelings, but do not bring about a profound change of life. Many are based on private revelations not approved by the Church or at least highly doubtful as to their supernatural origin. Since sanctity consists in submission to God through the Church, it is clear that devotions based upon apparitions not approved by the Church do not sanctify. However, there are also many devotions based upon an apparition, approved by a bishop here or there, but still far from certain. Such an approval is not proof of the divine origin of such an apparition, nor does it give us proof that this devotion will sanctify us. Let us take a couple of examples. The devotion to the Precious Blood is a beautiful and sanctifying one, approved by Tradition. However, the so-called apparitions to a certain Barnabas, to which a bishop gave approval, are manifestly false, filled with strange conspiracy and end of world theories. The literature produced is highly emotional and sentimental and must be rejected. Another example is the false apparition of Mother of Salvation, also with similar conspiracy theories. They do not sanctify and are to be rejected, amongst many others, such as the highly disputed and false apparitions of Medjugorje.
DIVINE MERCY
Devotion to Divine Mercy also falls under the same category, for although it was condemned by the Holy Office as being without certain supernatural origin, it was given approval in 1978 without a true investigation. The focus on unconditional mercy, is accompanied by the absence of the need for penance, sacrifice, humility, amendment of life and expiation for sins. But we saw the teaching of Pope Pius XII that these are a part of every true devotion. This means that it does not bring about a true conversion of soul. The facility of the Mercy Sunday communion, supposedly wiping away all the punishment due to sin without any effort or penance, likewise does not help the sinner to seek God, but rather promotes presumption. Why make the effort to mortify oneself to grow in the love of God in such circumstances? It is consequently a false devotion and not only to be avoided, but to be regarded as a diabolical deception to turn souls away from those devotions that truly sanctify.
In addition, we must remember that Pope Pius XII taught that there can be “no real opposition between the sacred Liturgy and other religious practices” (Ib. §173) and that consequently all such devotions are to strengthen the soul “so as to be able to derive from the sacred Liturgy more efficacious and abundant benefits” (Ib. §178). Here lies another problem with the Divine Mercy devotion, which proposes that the novena to Divine Mercy must start on Good Friday. But Good Friday is the day of the Passion, in which we remember all that Our Divine Saviour suffered for us, and how He died for love of us. No private devotion should distract from that. Likewise, Easter Sunday and its octave are the most solemn in the Church’s year, in which we celebrate Our Divine Saviour’s victory over sin and death, the perfect proof of the incredible work of love of our Redemption. Divine Mercy devotion proposes to substitute for this work of our Redemption, the simple memory of mercy. How sad to empty out this solemn Octave, and to take away from the wonderful mystery of the Redemption, which sanctifies and transforms souls. And this for a celebration of mercy without justice, of love without sacrifice, of Christ without His Cross. Truly this devotion is not a providential and sanctifying one in the life of the Church, for it is not united to Christ’s one sacrifice on the Cross and at the Mass.