Norms on Popular Devotions and Practices

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GUIDELINES AND NORMS ON POPULAR DEVOTIONS AND PRACTICES

1. Popular devotions are “warmly commended, provided they accord with the laws and norms of the Church.”(Sacrosanctum Concilium [SC], 13). They shall foster the sanctification of the people (cf. Can. 1186).
2. Popular devotions and practices should be drawn up that “they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy.. and lead the people to it, since liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them.” (SC, 13).
3. Only novenas and prayer booklets that are approved shall be used officially in the diocese.
Only images and pictures that evoke dignity and sacredness shall be put in a proper place at a church or oratory. They are, however, “to be displayed in moderate numbers and in suitable fashion, so that the Christian people are not disturbed.” (Can. 1188).
4. Novena prayers shall not be incorporated within the Holy Mass but shall precede it or be prayed outside the mass.
5. Religious processions of the feast of our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary and Patronal Saints shall be conducted in a devout and orderly manner. The people shall be instructed that it is a time for community prayer and religious singing and that profane presentations like street dancing and acrobatics shall be avoided.
6. Popular rituals and customs like the Palm Sunday Procession, Seven Last Words, Santo Entierro Procession, “Sugat/ Salubong” during Easter Morning, All Souls Day activities and similar activities shall be given proper attention with appropriate catechesis to evoke deeper faith among the people.
7. The wearing of religious scapulars and medals as a public manifestation of people’s faith should be guided with proper instruction so that they do not become associated with magic and superstition.
8. A brief instruction shall accompany blessings of persons, devotional articles and other things so that they will not smack of magic and superstition but they become occasion of witnessing to the faith.
9. The recitation of the Rosary, the Angelus and other traditional devotions shall be guided with proper catechesis so that they become strong means of keeping the family together at prayer and keeping the people united in prayer in BEC/GKK chapels.
10. In novenas for the deceased, the family shall be properly instructed for a meaningful prayer and the occasion to put in proper context the meaning of these traditional practices.
11. In pilgrimages to the pilgrimage centers and shrines, like the Shrine of St. Vincent Ferrer, Vito, Sagay, the pilgrims shall be shepherded and guided for the proper witnessing to their faith. Traditional customs like “palapak”(ritual of touching the religious image on the person), “punas-punas”(ritual of the people touching and wiping the religious image) shall gradually be discouraged through proper instruction and catechesis.
12. Any emerging popular devotions and practices shall be under study and research before being approved and adopted by the diocese. Only popular devotions approved by the local ordinary shall be allowed to be practiced in the diocese.
13. The diocese shall form a Committee to take charge of studying the popular devotions existing in the diocese and who shall submit to the bishop the study of certain popular devotions for appropriate action by our local Church.
14. To create more religious awareness and evoke more participation of the people in the activities of the parish especially in building and consolidating basic ecclesial communities, the image of the patron of the parish shall be brought around the different GKKs/ BECs in the parish and accompanied by appropriate catechesis.