POPULAR PIETY IN YOUR HOME

Every parish is a communion of people who gather on the Lord's Day. The assembly asks the Holy Spirit to make us one as the Body of Christ. We also pray that various persons will use their gifts to enable our praise and public prayer. The presence of each person affects the entire Body of Christ.

St. Malachy is an assembly that has been blessed with gifted young people. I know of three talented, college bound young adults who soon bid us adios. They are John Paul Hezel, Olga Torres, and Tim Correia. We pray for them and we hope that they will gift Catholic communities in Washington D.C., Maine and Rhode Island where they study. John Paul is a fine proclaimer of God's Word. Olga ministers eucharist with warmth and hospitality. Tim helps us become the melody of God. They come from families of faith. Their parents and sisters are cherished participants in ministry.

Young people do not come to faith accidentally. Their gifts are cultivated in the domestic church, the Christian household. Just as our public prayer asks the Holy Spirit to consecrate bread, wine, and community, so also we ask the Spirit to consecrate the home. Liturgical prayer is vibrant when each household cultivates its spiritual life by prayer and service. Domestic development is as challenging as worship development on Sunday. So the question is: how can we encourage the Christian life in our households?

Some parishes cultivate spirituality by home retreats. Various lay people are trained to take the Scriptures and to assist small groups in prayer development. Sometimes making a cursillo or a retreat at a retreat center is an impetus to daily prayer.

None of us survives the travails of life without turning over our lives to God each day. Morning and evening prayer is a powerful heritage. Time for Bible reading and meditation is matched by self-help, twelve step recovery, and spiritual literature. Some have found that time spent with the spiritual classics is fruitful. We are blessed with some quality books, poetry, and tapes.

Most people need reminders of faith. Some families put a cross or crucifix on the eastern wall of their home. Others place an ikon or statue of Jesus, Mary, or one of the saints in their home. Eastern Catholics often light a small lamp before the ikon. Others have placed a candle next to the statue. A home without some Christian piety risks being overwhelmed by a consumer, TV fed imagination.

The Rosary began as a devotion to Mary. Later the mysteries of Christ were added. This prayer, like the Jesus prayer, is repeated so that its sentiments get writ large on our souls. As a Passionist Religious, I spend time each day meditating on Jesus' passion and death by looking at a cross or crucifix, by joining my heart with suffering peoples in the southern hemisphere, and by walking the stations of the cross.

Public and domestic prayer nourish each other. Popular religion, i.e., religion of the people, generates devotion. Families benefit from cultivating the heart. Latino, Asian, and Eastern Catholic forms of popular piety are pedagogues to offset the arrogance of overly rational religion. The experience of the Hezel, Torres, and Correia families was the rich soil enabling faithful hearts and devoted service by John Paul, Olga and Tim. They have blessed us. We, as local church, bless them as they depart for college.