www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Favourite private Latin Devotions of Easterners

Dear Friends,

This is to all Byzantine Catholic and Orthodox posters and lurkers.

Do you have any private Latin devotions that you like?

Would you mind sharing them with us, what they are and why you like them?

Reader Sergius shared with us that he uses the Rosary and Angelus, as an Orthodox Christian.

So don't be afraid to share . . .

Dominus Vobiscum,

Alex

Christ is Risen!

I wear the scapular of the Mother of God, of Mt. Carmel. It is her gift, a monastic garment, and it identifies me as belonging to her brotherhood. It also is a way in which I express my own love and gratitude to her.

Elias

Alex,

Despite the fact you've ruled me out - I look forward [ got it rite this time ] to reading this thread .

Angela

Dear Angela,

Not at all! Celtic Church Christians are welcome too!!

You are right - anyone is invited to share their favourite Latin devotions!

Alex

Bless me a sinner, Reverend Father Elias!

I took it by your monastic name that you were somehow connected to the Carmelite experience.

Archbishop Raya once shared with me that there are both Latin and Byzantine Carmelites, especially in the Holy Land.

You are therefore a Byzantine Carmelite? How are they different from Latin Carmelites, apart from the obvious liturgical differences?

I have always understood the Scapular as a symbol of the Holy Protection of the Mother of God.

What does it mean to live the Carmelite charism within Byzantine spirituality?

I have always loved this devotion!

You know, I've always wanted to ask these questions, and now I finally can!

Kissing your right hand, I again implore your blessing,

Alex

I, too, where a brown scapular, one made and embroidered by Carmelite nuns. It has the seal of the order one one side and a capital M surrounded by five stars. It has lasted me 6 or 7 years now, while others i have worn tended to last six months and itch something fierce. I also carry a carved wooden Rosary with me at all times, though i have not said the Rosary since January, in favour of the Jesus prayer.

I missed doing the Stations of the Cross this year (as well as each of the past three years). When i was still a Latin, i would always serve the Stations, so i suppose they do have a little sentimental value attached to them. There was a purely scriptural and Liturgical version that my mother's old Spiritual Father used that made the Passion of Christ so real and poignant, the closest thing to our Holy Friday Vespers. (It was this particular version i missed, the others, well...)

Oh, yes, i almost forgot. I also do the Angelus/Regina coeli everyday, or try to.

My favorite western devotions are anything connected with St. Francis and his Three Orders. I always carry a Franciscan Crown (Rosary of the Seven Joys of Our Lady)...my favorite mystery is "The Resurrected Christ Appears to His Mother".

Don

I was lawyas under the impression that the Orthodox Church observed the Angelus? Forgive me if Im wrong (My old parish had no bells so this wouldnt be an issue for me anyway).

Robert K.

Alex,
Et cum spiritu tuo! I only took 4 years of Latin and Greek so its more than likely wrong :p My fav. Western devotion has to be is the Eucharist Benediction service after their adoration. I like the songs, some of them are very melodic i.e. Tantum Ergo and of couse all the insence too

Alex,
I am particularly involved with the Divine Mercy "devotion". I certainly venerate the Image and message of The Divine Mercy, especially as it involves complete trust in Jesus and mercy towards one's neighbor. I pray the Chaplet to the Divine Mercy several times each day and I venerate Saint Faustina. I am trying more and more each day to fully understand the Mercy of God and the teaching of complete trust in Him and His Divine Mercy. I find that reading "Dives in Misericordia" is a wonderful and prayerful reflection on just how much the Lord loves us and seeks to show mercy to the world especially to the worst and abandoned of sinners, of whom I am the worst,
Silouan, poor old monk

Dear Robert K.,

Actually, the Angelus isn't Eastern at all, but it is if you speak with my former parish priest!

He was trained in Rome where the Angelus bell is always heard and his church regularly rings it out.

A few years back, a neighbour, an atheist as it turned out, took our church to court over the Angelus bell - he lost.

Father was on TV leaving the court (it was almost like a "Law and Order" scene!), and he talked about maintaining "our traditions" ie. the Angelus bell.

He also believes the Stations of the Cross is a Byzantine devotion from the East and some others.

With two doctorates and a licentiate, it is difficult to convince him of anything he doesn't believe already . . .

Alex

Oh I echo the thoughts about Dives in Misericordia -- absolutely wonderful . Also Redemptor Hominis - but I have yet to read the third linked Encyclical.

How about Redemptoris Mater - not a devotion as such, but it is an absolutely lyrical meditation.

Alex - you are holding out on us - how about your own - or can I guess

Angela

[ 04-11-2002: Message edited by: Our Lady's slave of love ]

Dear Friends,

My great western devotion is the Holy Servitude or Slavery of Jesus through Mary by St Louis de Montfort.

The Rosary, scapular and other devotions all figure into St Louis' teaching.

And I have to thank Angela of Glasgow for being my mentor and guide in this.

But frankly, I've found so much of what St Louis writes about to be very "Eastern."

He talks about "Jesus Christ, Divine Wisdom," promotes devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, the Annunciation of the Theotokos, devotion to the Virgin Mary as Mother of God, devotion to the Holy Trinity etc.

Even his comment about wearing little chains as signs that we are bound to Christ is reflected in the wearing of chains by Eastern monks called in Slavonic "Verygy."

For me, the Rosary and the Jesus Prayer belong together, and St Louis used the Hail Mary as a way to honour the INcarnation of Christ by meditating on the 15 mysteries that we all know.

But his particular method is what has helped me greatly.

For each decade of Hail Mary's, St Louis added a word or words to describe the mystery.

So for the mystery of the Visitation, I use "for Thou has given birth to Christ the Saviour 'whom Thy soul magnifies' the Redeemer of our souls" and so on.

For the Crucifixion, "Christ the Saviour, from Whose pierced Side flowed Blood and Water, the Redeemer of our souls."

For the "Coronation" - "Christ the Saviour, Who crowned you as our Holy Protection . . ."

One can make them up and change them, but it is a method that keeps one's focus on what one is praying.

This devotion is a form of renewal of one's baptismal promises following a 33 day preparation period.

With Angela as my guide, I did my renewal on the Feast of the Annunciation, Old Calendar, April 7.

From then on, I felt like I was truly bound to Christ as my Lord and Master.

I also realized that I commit some sins "matter of factly" and this act of baptismal renewal made me stop and say to myself, "No, can't do that, can't say that."

Thanks, Angela, you are a real "Guardian Angela" to me!

Alex

My favourite Latin devotions are those to the Eucharist, such as Benediction, the Divine Mercy, the Stations of the Cross, and the Rosary. These have always appealed to me for one reason or another, except for the Divine Mercy, for some reason. That took some time, and a bit of education, before it grew on me. But now it's at the top of the list, or just about.