Catholic devotions

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops describes devotions as "expressions of love and fidelity that arise from the intersection of one's own faith, culture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ".

[1] Devotions are not considered part of liturgical worship, even if they are performed in a church or led by a priest,[2] but rather they are paraliturgical.

[3] Catholic devotions have various forms, ranging from formalized, multi-day prayers such as novenas to activities, such as processions or the Eucharistic adoration,[4] the wearing of scapulars,[5] the veneration of the saints, the Canonical coronations of sacred Marian or Christological images and even horticultural practices such as maintaining a Mary garden.

[6] Common examples of Catholic devotions are the Way of the Cross, the Rosary, the Angelus and various litanies, devotions to the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacred Heart, the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Holy Face of Jesus, pilgrimages, observing the month of the Rosary in October and the month of Mary in May.

[13] Various unapproved acts such as the promotion of chain letters that contain prayers or the belief that the use of a statue of Saint Joseph can speed up the sale of a house have been discouraged as non-pious, superstitious and against Catholic values.

In general, acts and beliefs that aim at the manipulation of divine power for specific gainful purposes are always condemned as contrary to Catholic devotional practices.

[15] The practice of novenas derives from the nine days spent in prayer by the Apostles and Disciples together with Mary from the Ascension until the Descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

Catholic teaching considers the Eucharistic adoration an important practice which "stimulates the faithful to an awareness of the marvelous presence of Christ and is an invitation to spiritual communion with Him.

[26] The devotion was first approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1885,[27] and further promoted by Maria Pierina de Micheli based on the image from Secondo Pia's photograph of the Shroud of Turin.

[34] The First Thursdays Devotion based on the visions of Alexandrina of Balazar, and the Chaplet of the Holy Wounds revealed to Marie Martha Chambon.

In the encyclical Ingruentium malorum, Pope Pius XII said regarding the custom of the family recitation of the Holy Rosary: ...when, at eventide, the Christian home resounds with the frequent repetition of praises in honor of the High Queen of Heaven...Then the Rosary, recited in the family,...unites them piously with those absent and those dead.

[40] Pious practices include the erection of a small "May altar" decorated with May flowers,[41] a custom that stems from southern European countries.

The festival of Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga in the Philippines has been celebrated for centuries, and its icon continues to be venerated.

[49] Each year around Pentecost, as part of a local Marian devotion, about a million people attend the Romería de El Rocío in Spain.

[50] In Los Angeles, California, an old custom of a Marian procession was revived in 2011 to coincide with the anniversary of the founding of the city.

The Tredicina refers to a thirteen-day Novena that takes places in preparation for the Feast of Saint Anthony on June 13.