True devotion in the church considers all of the above. Together they provide a rich example of fidelity to life and mission of the Church. Equally they demonstrate the life within ‘The Body of Christ’ can contain many areas of faithfulness as a devotion to Christ. Devotion in the Church in reality involves ministry. Even private devotion in prayer in effect is a ministry in that it directly serves the whole body of Christ.

While it is true, devotion begins with prayer and sustained by grace from the sacraments. You must never consider that devotion only amounts to the prattle of prayers and just going through the motions of liturgy. All true devotion to God involves you taking on a disposition where you are open to do what it is God may be prompting you to do. Devotions can be the liturgy or have liturgical aspects as it pertains to availing yourself to serve within the liturgical practices. This serving is ministry in the form of prayer but also prayer in action. Even so,, many times, you prompted just to be present with God.

Devotions become the practical and prayerful aspects of all the things you will do in your daily life. Your actions can be dedicated for the glory of God’s will on earth. These are things you do in such a way so as to be present with God, listen to God, preparing yourself to be an ambassador for Christ in the world and ready to serve as part of the Body of Christ.

All Devotions and ministry should begin with the sacraments. It is from their where you see how many encumbered things in life can take on a ministerial aspect. It is also looking at the world at large where you branch out to become devoted to serving in the name of Jesus Christ.

So, What is a devotion?

By definition, a devotion is a prayer and/or practice followed by believers that are not part of the liturgy of the Church.

Devotions vary in their forms. Some follow more formal rubric such as Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament or Novenas which are multi-day prayers. There are devotions to saints where you prayerfully petition the saint to intercede on your behalf to plead your cause before Christ in heaven. Some devotions are activities which do not involve any prayers, again this would include Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament outside of Mass.

Sometimes devotions are done in a church and may be presided by a bishop, priest and/or deacon. Even in such instances they are not considered part of liturgical worship.[1] One such devotion would be Eucharistic Adoration. Devotions can be seen as expressions of love and faith which comes from your disposition to draw closer to God.[2]

Being devoted to prayer allows you to be present to God. It is a willful act which is congruent with the will of God. Such acts mark the “Devoted Life of a Saint.”

Devotions become the practical and prayerful aspects of all the things you will do in your daily life. These are things you do in such a way so as to be present with God, listen to God, preparing yourself to be an ambassador for Christ in the world and ready to serve as part of the Body of Christ.

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[1]   "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Liturgical Chant". www.newadvent.org.

[2]   "Prayers and Devotions" ww.usccb.org.:  "expressions of love and fidelity that arise from the intersection of one's own faith, culture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ".

Service Devotions

Serving in the capacity of a ministry is not in the strictest sense considered a devotion. However, serving cannot be done without prayer, and so serving becomes a complementary action as a result of prayerful devotions. As such you become devoted to serving God in a special way

A devotion to serving others is characterized by a consistency and commitment to the helping or contribution of your time and talent, while maintaining a selfless heart. Such devotions should never be done without first being devoted to prayer and acceptance of the sacraments. In order to serve you need grace from the sacraments to give you clarity and strength.  You also need to be consistent and constant in your prayer life.

Serve one another.

Devotions in the strictest sense tend to yield to prayer or prayerful disposition such as Eucharistic Adoration. Devotions can go on into ministry. Such as being devoted to assisting the poor. This is not just mere action. Instead, it is action which begins with prayer, the action is done with or as a prayer and ends in prayer. Remember what was provided in Lesson 4; While serving is very important, stopping to listen to our Lord first is even more important.

Serving others whether it be a formal or informal ministry must always begin with prayer. So, you become devoted to praying to god for enlightenment, strength, forbearance and prudence so that you may serve. In other words, you become devoted to ministry through prayer.

Ministry itself has its own definition which focuses on serving. Ministry is a way of serving but, without drawing attention to yourself. All ministries must begin with prayer.

Ministering to the poor and needy is a way to serve. Sometimes there are areas within your current station in life which are deemed your principal ministry. For the married your principal ministry is your Marriage. For a parent your principal ministry are your children. It is in such principal areas where your prayer time devotions are mainly directed.

Do things with a Cheerful heart

Your devotions along with any ministry is done for the sake of God’s love for all people. So, you do it with a cheerful heart.

Christ specifically speaks of giving alms and you must do this cheerfully. As such, alms giving is a form of prayer. It becomes this when you do it with a prayerful heart. You may hear of certain individuals who may say, “I am devoted to this mission (a charitable organization).” In such cases what is meant is, they first offer prayers for the mission and because they are unable to serve directly, they provide a monetary gift as way to help. Monetary gifts are referred to as "Almsgiving."

Almsgiving includes providing alms to:

·        Charitable organizations and hospitals that help others.

·        Feeding the poor.

·        Assisting the sick

·        Helping the homeless

·        Helping battered women.

·        Prison Ministry

·        Help the orphan

·        Help the aged

·        Help the disabled

·        Help the mentally disabled.

There are many ministries  in your parish community. Many ministries can involve assisting at the Mass this does not mean the sacrament by nature becomes a devotion.  While it is true some people are “Devoted to the Eucharist.” This only underscores the types of prayers that are said, and these prayers are outside the scope of the Mass itself.

With that said, to be fully present and responsive at any liturgy is in a way of expressing the “Devoted Life of a Saint.” Devotions are a way to present yourself to God and be present to God. It is in the sacraments where your hearts, mind and soul must be dispositioned in much the same way.

Prayer devotions

Committing to a prayer life is where the essential aspect of devotion is found. Prayer devotions allows you to develop a relationship with God and disposes your soul to more readily follow His will.  This willful act on your part is congruent with the will of God thus marking a Devoted Life . It is such a life which is exemplified by the Saints.

 The Rosary

The Rosary is a prayer kept by the Church for many centuries. It has a long tradition concerning the benefits received by the Church, individuals and even History. It has been written about eloquently by many of the Saints. It has also been endorsed by many, many saints as well as included as part of their own personal devotions. 

The Rosary helps keep in memory certain principal events in the history of our salvation. There are twenty mysteries in the Rosary, and these are divided into the five Joyful Mysteries (Monday and Saturday), the five Luminous Mysteries (Thursday), the five Sorrowful Mysteries (Tuesday and Friday), and the five Glorious Mysteries (Wednesday and Sunday). As an exception, the Joyful Mysteries may be said on Sundays during Advent and Christmas, while the Sorrowful Mysteries may be said on the Sundays of Lent.

The steps to praying the Rosary are: