The Annual Blessing of Family Homes
152. The annual blessing of families takes places in their homes
during Eastertide - or at other times of the year. This pastoral practice is
highly recommended to parish priests and to their assistant priests since it is
greatly appreciated by the faithful and affords a precious occasion to recollect
God's constant presence among Christian families. It is also an opportunity to
invite the faithful to live according to the Gospel, and to exhort parents and
children to preserve and promote the mystery of being "a domestic
church"(156).
The Via Lucis
153. A pious exercise called the Via Lucis has developed
and spread to many regions in recent years. Following the model of the Via
Crucis, the faithful process while meditating on the various appearances of
Jesus - from his Resurrection to his Ascension - in which he showed his glory to
the disciples who awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 14, 26; 16,
13-15; Lk 24, 49), strengthened their faith, brought to completion his teaching
on the Kingdom and more closely defined the sacramental and hierarchical
structure of the Church.
Through the Via Lucis, the faithful recall the central
event of the faith - the resurrection of Christ - and their discipleship in
virtue of Baptism, the paschal sacrament by which they have passed from the
darkness of sin to the bright radiance of the light of grace (cf. Col 1, 13; Ef
5, 8).
For centuries the Via Crucis involved the faithful in the
first moment of the Easter event, namely the Passion, and helped to fixed its
most important aspects in their consciousness. Analogously, the Via
Lucis, when celebrated in fidelity to the Gospel text, can effectively
convey a living understanding to the faithful of the second moment of the Pascal
event, namely the Lord's Resurrection.
The Via Lucis is potentially an excellent pedagogy of the
faith, since "per crucem ad lucem". Using the metaphor of a journey, the Via
Lucis moves from the experience of suffering, which in God's plan is part of
life, to the hope of arriving at man's true end: liberation, joy and peace which
are essentially paschal values.
The Via Lucis is a potential stimulus for the restoration
of a "culture of life" which is open to the hope and certitude offered by faith,
in a society often characterized by a "culture of death", despair and nihilism.
Devotion to the Divine Mercy
154. In connection with the octave of Easter, recent years have
witnessed the development and diffusion of a special devotion to the Divine
Mercy based on the writings of Sr. Faustina Kowalska who was canonized 30 April
2000. It concentrates on the mercy poured forth in Christ's death and
resurrection, fount of the Holy Spirit who forgives sins and restores joy at
having been redeemed. Since the liturgy of the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine
Mercy Sunday - as it is now called(157) - is the natural locus in which to
express man's acceptance of the Redeemer's mercy, the faithful should be taught
to understand this devotion in the light of the liturgical celebrations of these
Easter days. Indeed, "the paschal Christ is the definitive incarnation of mercy,
his living sign which is both historico-salvific and eschatological. At the same
time, the Easter liturgy places the words of the psalm on our lips: "I shall
sing forever of the Lord's mercy" (Ps 89[88] 2)"(158).
The Pentecost Novena
155. The New Testament tells us that during the period between the
Ascension and Pentecost "all...joined in continuous prayer, together with
several women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers" (Acts
1, 14) while they awaited being "clothed with the power from on high" (Lk 24,
49). The pious exercise of the Pentecost novena, widely practised among the
faithful, emerged from prayerful reflection on this salvific event.
Indeed, this novena is already present in the Missal and in the
Liturgy of the Hours, especially in the second vespers of Pentecost: the
biblical and eucological texts, in different ways, recall the disciples'
expectation of the Paraclete. Where possible, the Pentecost novena should
consist of the solemn celebration of vespers. Where such is not possible, the
novena should try to reflect the liturgical themes of the days from Ascension to
the Vigil of Pentecost.
In some places, the week of prayer for the unity Christians is
celebrated at this time(159).
Source: Directory on Popular Piety
