Devotions: Well springs or/and Broken Jars

By the term ‘devotions’ we commonly understand those external practices of piety by which our faith finds life and expression. We have pilgrimages, novenas, processions and celebrations in honour of Mary and other saints, the Rosary, the Angelus, the Stations of the Cross, the veneration of relics, and the use of sacramentals. In many ways devotions give an opportunity to give praise and worship to God. They are occasions where we find joy (so we praise), and peace (so we worship) in the experience of the presence of God. We have used a variety of practices as means of flavouring everyday life with prayer to God.  

Blending of Our Life and the Life of Jesus
By the practice of devotions, we aim at a deeper nearness of God in our everyday lives, and all the more conform us closely to Christ so that we can contemplate the mysteries of human and divine natures of Christ in our own life situations. Through the pious activities we involve our human realities after the living presence of Jesus, mostly through the models and examples of the saints and imitating their virtues etc. These involve also an invitation to follow the example of pious persons who are venerated in a particular occasion.

To enjoy the fruitfulness of any devotional practice, primarily they are to make us aware of the relationship that the Gospels suggest, a belongingness to God as Children. In this sense, we are yet to discover the heart of various devotions in the light of Scripture, in harmony with the Liturgy, and in the context of our daily lives. According to nature and modality of devotions, they can provide a deep experience of the attributes of God: fatherhood, providence, loving and constant presence. In response to them we experience childhood, gratitude, belongingness, commitment and reverence. They generate within us interior attitudes such as patience, meaning of the Cross in daily life, detachment, openness to others, . . .. So, when it is well oriented, devotions help us to touch the reality of the living presence of God in Christ. Having said these, we need to look into the fact whether they are mere practices that are expected to produce effects, or they help us to grow a relationship with God who can provide what we need, may be through the instrumentality of the very things we do or use. In all these, devotions ask for a wholehearted trust in God without which they become an empty ritual, and so even have the potential to become idols. 

Distortion of Devotions

We can notice that there is a strong appeal which they make to emotional instincts. Devotions are in simple form of practice so that they are within the reach of all. They also bring people together both in devout practices and in common good works. These make devotions meaningful and sensible means of living presence of Christ. Unfortunately, the purpose of devotions can be easily distorted according to petty likes and fancies, and is often subject to superstitions. It is a subtle difference between devotion and superstition. The whole matter is whether we receive a sense of trust growing in us, find confidence in God, feel a growing courage to live our life. In contrast if we see the orientation of pious practices is for favours, and focus is on the 'miraculous objects, prayers, and practices' it potentially become superstitions. Because there is a fear element hiding, and we trust on these rather than God though we are calling out God in all these. Often the emphasis on the necessity of specific devotions and practices are at the manipulation of human emotions of fear, insecurity, uncertainty and so on. It may be serving benefits, but at the close examination it might be emotional fulfilment. It can even lead to creation of sects, and endanger the true ecclesial community.

Many sets of prayers seem to create a sense of insecurity and fear rather than confidence and trust in God. Though prayer is made for protection and deliverance in the name of Christ, people are often filled with more of suspicion and doubt that they are facing devils all around.  Sometime the honoring of the saints, use of the verses of the Scripture etc turn out to be in an expectation of magical effect. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that "Superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition" (CCC 2111).Without the faith dimension no devotion receives a Christian nature. The favors received is not because of the power of the statues or a medal, but because in what they signify, they connect us with relationship with God. We should be able to make a distinction between the cult of the saints and the devotion of saints in relation to faith in Christ. The cults find their ends in themselves.

In general, acts and beliefs that people practice as to manipulate the divine power for specific gainful purposes are always condemned as contrary to Catholic devotional practices. Various unapproved acts such as the promotion of chain letters that contain prayers have been discouraged as non-pious, superstitious and against Catholic values. There is nothing wrong if we share a beautiful prayer, or a reminder of a feast day, or a request for prayers for a specific need. But a message or a picture that that asks us to say it for a number of times, send to a number of people, is not from God. Or, there may be 'prayer initiatives,' "we have started a prayer campaign to reach to ... number of people." When we yield to such 'spiritual' message with a supernatural overtone, we have actually reduced the truth of that prayer, or saint, or ever the Blessed Mother, and falsely represented what and how of true faith. There is actually no basis for such practice other than preference or personal liking of some.  Even devotions worthy of high value, like rosary and adoration, loses its value and take a binding nature when they are given a chain form (chain rosaries, chain adorations …). What is really important is that we pray sincerely, not the number, specific time, or the unbrokenness etc. If it is on the Lord's saying, ‘pray unceasingly’ it says about perseverance in prayer, not about unbrokenness in relation to time. Perseverance also involves our surrender, petition, patient waiting, and gratitude. What counts is our attitude of sincerity and humility, intensity and earnestness.

Idols that We Form

Dependent on the distorted devotions we also have distorted image of God. God is treated as a Chocolate baby when we think that God is happy when we do lot of things for him, prayer-doings, sacrifice-doings, … just as a child is happy when it is given chocolate and when someone entertains it. God may be approached as a Bank. As we invest more God will reward with blessings. We must increase the number of prayers, kinds of works…, otherwise God will not bless. It gives an image of a God whom we can condition, or one who pays for the work one has done. Similarly, God may be seen as paying our salaries for the works we have done. We also see God as a problem solver. We approach God when there is a problem. The novena, other practices are done for the sake of solving problems. God is loving compassionate, and affectionate like a mother. But at times, when we feel God becomes very lenient if we take up extra pain and suffering, we develop an attitude as a child who takes advantage of a sympathetic mother who runs close to the child when it is hurt. All the worse if we feel that God is happy when we take up pain in his name. We need to rethink about the attitude behind our sacrifices. Sacrifices demanded and interpreted to be for the glory of God are at times for someone's whims and fancies; for number and achievements. It becomes a matter of injustice when spiritual leaders exploit people’s faith making them dependent in the name of sacrifice and commitment for the Lord, but actually getting their own works done.

Destroy the Petty Idols

We do have strong emotional appeal in devotions: invocation for God’s help in the time of need, even a moment of crisis, we might place our complaints, we feel protection and security and hope that our prayers may be granted. They are genuine, and part of a true prayer. But in doing all these, they must be based on a form of trust because we recollect the promise of God, “I am with you.” Use of devotions devoid of this trust and awareness of this promise can turn out to be an opium, a self-consolation onto which we gradually become dependent (it may be true in cases when some become dependent on retreats and some retreat centres). The very forms of devotions, when used for mere satisfaction of needs, perhaps are made mere idols. However pious and deep sensational they are, no devotion, no spirituality promotes a proper attitude if they do not keep up the freedom of the children of God.

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For a Malayalam version of it please see ഭക്തിയും, വഴിയറിയാത്ത വിളക്കും

N.B. if you could check how 'pyramid schemes' and 'chain letters' function, you could see the parallel models in some suggested spiritual practices.