Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy

Blessing of a Bonfire, the Vigil of the Nativity of St John the Baptist

A long forgotten tradition on the Vigil of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist is the Blessing of a Bonfire. Confusion exists because in some people’s minds the 1964 Roman Ritual was suppressed because it’s absent in the US Bishops’ Book of Blessings but it is advocated for in the Directory on Popular Piety.

Since it’s not seen often in the USA it will be seen as esoteric. But those of concerned with Catholic identity and the flourishing of the sacred Liturgy in parishes, monasteries and religious communities. This blessing is one of the most ancient blessings.

Since St Augustine was the one to establish the feast day of the Baptist’s birth, six months prior to the Savior’s and in the summer solstice after the longest day of the year and when daylight incrementally lessens, a celebration of “light of the World” manifested by the Forerunner, it is an appropriate liturgical observance. Plus, the liturgical catechesis is limitless in this rite.

Because St John the Baptist’s testimony to identity of Jesus as the true light which shines in the darkness of the world, the priest doing this rite can bring together several spiritual “themes” for expanding the heart. One can preach on John as the light-bearer before Christ; “he must increase, but I must decrease”; “I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.”

The Rite

Priest: Our help is in the name of the Lord.

All: Who made heaven and earth.

P: The Lord be with you.

All: May He also be with you.

Let us pray. Lord God, almighty Father, the light that never fails and the source of all light, sanctify + this new fire, and grant that after the darkness of this life we may come unsullied to you who are light eternal; through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

The fire is sprinkled with holy water; after which the clergy
and the people sing the following hymn Hymn: Ut queant laxis

1. Ut queant laxis resonáre fibris Mira gestórum fámuli tuórum, Solve pollúti lábii reátum, Sancte Joánnes.

2. Núntius celso véniens Olympo Te patri magnum fore nascitúrum, Nomen, et vitae sériem geréndae Ordinae promit.

3. Ille promíssi dúbius supérni, Pérdidit promptae módulos loquélae: Sed reformásti genitus perémptae Organa vocis.

4. Ventris obstrúso récubans cubíli Sénseras Regem thálamo manéntem: Hinc parens nati méritis utérque Abdita pandit.

5. Sit decus Patri, genitaéque Proli et tibi, compare utriúsque virtus, Spíritus semper, Deus unus, omni Témporis aevo. Amen.

(the same in English)

1. O for your spirit, holy John, to chasten Lips sin-polluted, fettered tongues to loosen; So by your children might your deeds of wonder Meetly be chanted.

2. Lo! a swift herald, from the skies descending, Bears to your father promise of your greatness; How he shall name you, what your future story, Duly revealing.

3. Scarcely believing message so transcendent, Him for a season power of speech forsaketh, Till, at your wondrous birth, again returneth, Voice to the voiceless.

4. You, in your mother’s womb all darkly cradled, Knew your great Monarch, biding in His chamber, Whence the two parents, through their offspring’s merits, Mysteries uttered.

5. Praise to the Father, to the Son begotten, And to the Spirit, equal power possessing, One God whose glory, through the lapse of ages, Ever resounding. Amen.

P: There was a man sent from God.

All: Whose name was John.

Let us pray. God, who by reason of the birth of blessed John have made this day praiseworthy, give your people the grace of spiritual joy, and keep the hearts of your faithful fixed on the way that leads to everlasting salvation; through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

Philip T. Weller, The Roman Ritual (The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee, WI, 1964).

Immaculate Heart of Mary

O Most Blessed Mother, heart of love, heart of mercy, ever
listening, caring, consoling, hear our prayer. As your children, we implore
your intercession with Jesus your Son. Receive with understanding and
compassion the petitions we place before you today, especially …(special
intention).

We are comforted in knowing your heart is ever open to those who
ask for your prayer. We trust to your gentle care and intercession, those whom
we love and who are sick or lonely or hurting. Help all of us, Holy Mother, to
bear our burdens in this life until we may share eternal life and peace with
God forever. Amen.

Why is there a liturgical memorial of Mary Immaculate Heart? What does the Church teach?

Following the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the feast of the Lord’s all holy Mother, the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The two are inseparable and with good reason. It is only with Mary that we meet the face of God in human form. Her yes, her beauty, her purity of heart and body makes it possible for God to be made flesh. As the Mother of God, so our our Mother.

In directing our prayer the Church tells us the feasts of the Sacred Heart and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary have an intimate connection especially known in the Liturgy as a sign of “the mysterium of the Heart of Jesus” because Mary is both Mother and disciple. “As the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart celebrates the salvific mysteries of Christ in a synthetic manner by reducing them to their fount –the Heart of Jesus, so too the memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a celebration of the complex visceral relationship of Mary with her Son’s work of salvation: from the Incarnation, to his death and resurrection, to the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

The tradition of the first Saturdays should be kept in tact and promoted because of the close connection with the Holy Eucharist. The first Saturdays teaches the faithful (clergy and laity alike) of the need to repair the break sin causes in both the Divine and human relationship through prayer, mortification and the giving of alms and charitable work. Why? Because “This pious practice should be seen as an opportunity to live intensely the paschal Mystery celebrated in the Holy Eucharist, as inspired by the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary” (DPPL, 174).

This feast is yet another example of the Church giving to her children the opportunity to attend to the affect, that is, to one’s humanity, in order to know and love more intimately the salvation given to us in Christ. It is not a one time experience but an on-going, incremental changing of mentality that draws us closer to Christ.

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

God our Father, may we always profit by the prayers of the
Virgin Mother Mary, for You bring us life and salvation through Jesus Christ
her Son who lives and regins with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever.

from Catechism of the Catholic:

Called in the Gospels “the Mother of
Jesus,” Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and
even before the birth of her son, as “the mother of my Lord.” In
fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became
her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father’s eternal Son,
the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is
truly “Mother of God.” (495).

from the Directory on Popular and the
Liturgy: The Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God:

On New Year’s Day, the octave
day of Christmas, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Holy Mother of
God. The divine and virginal motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a
singular salvific event: for Our Lady it was the foretaste and cause of her
extraordinary glory; for us it is a source of grace and salvation because
“through her we have received the Author of life.”

The solemnity of the 1
January, an eminently Marian feast, presents an excellent opportunity for
liturgical piety to encounter popular piety: the first celebrates this event in
a manner proper to it; the second, when duly catechised, lends joy and
happiness to the various expressions of praise offered to Our Lady on the birth
of her divine Son, to deepen our understanding of many prayers, beginning with
that which says: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners”.

In
the West, 1 January is an inaugural day marking the beginning of the civil
year. The faithful are also involved in the celebrations for the beginning of
the new year and exchange “new year” greetings. However, they should
try to lend a Christian understanding to this custom making of these greetings
an expression of popular piety. The faithful, naturally, realize that the
“new year” is placed under the patronage of the Lord, and in
exchanging new year greetings they implicitly and explicitly place the New Year
under the Lord’s dominion, since to him belongs all time (cf. Ap 1, 8; 22,13)

A
connection between this consciousness and the popular custom of singing the Veni
Creator Spiritus can easily be made so that on 1 January the faithful can pray
that the Spirit may direct their thoughts and actions, and those of the
community during the course of the year.+New year greetings also include an
expression of hope for a peaceful New Year. This has profound biblical,
Christological and incarnational origins. The “quality of peace” has
always been invoked throughout history by all men, and especially during violent
and destructive times of war.

The Holy See shares the profound aspirations of
man for peace. Since 1967, 1 January has been designated “world day for
peace”. Popular piety has not been oblivious to this initiative of the
Holy See. In the light of the new born Prince of Peace, it reserves this day
for intense prayer for peace, education towards peace and those value
inextricably linked with it, such as liberty, fraternal solidarity, the dignity
of the human person, respect for nature, the right to work, the sacredness of
human life, and the denunciation of injustices which trouble the conscience of
man and threaten peace. (115-117)

Our Lady of the Rosary

The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary has been observed by the universal Church since 1716 when Pope Clement XI extended its observance, but the feast was in many respects a local feast since 1213 by some accounts. Regardless, we should take care to pray this feast because of the theology and beauty of Christ and the great Mother of God.

The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy says of the rosary: “Given the close relationship between Christ and Our Lady, the rosary can always be of assistance in giving prayer a Christological orientation, since it contains meditation of the Incarnation and the Redemption.” In another place it says: “The Rosary, or Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is one of the most excellent prayers to the Mother of God. Thus, ‘the Roman Pontiffs have repeatedly exhorted the faithful to the frequent recitation of this biblically inspired prayer which is centered on contemplation of the salvific events of Christ’s life, and their close association with the his Virgin Mother. The value and efficacy of this prayer have often been attested by saintly Bishops and those advanced in holiness of life.'”

And so we pray the Litany of Loreto and the Rosary today for the intentions of the New Evangelization and a greater awareness of our Christ’s work of salvation.

Litany of Loreto

V. Lord, have mercy.
R. Christ have mercy.

V. Lord have mercy. Christ hear us.
R. Christ graciously hear us.

God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of Virgins, [etc.]

Mother of Christ,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good Counsel,
Mother of our Creator,
Mother of our Savior,
Virgin most prudent,

Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honor,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower of ivory,
House of gold,
Ark of the covenant,
Gate of heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of Angels,
Queen of Patriarchs,
Queen of Prophets,
Queen of Apostles,
Queen of Martyrs,
Queen of Confessors,
Queen of Virgins,
Queen of all Saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the most holy Rosary,
Queen of peace,

V. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
R. Spare us, O Lord.

V. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
R. Graciously hear us, O Lord.

V. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, that we thy servants may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body, and by the glorious intercession of blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may we be freed from present sorrow, and rejoice in eternal happiness. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.