This is to seven almost forgotten and often neglected acts of piety that are due to being revived.
1.) Making the sign of the cross when passing by a church and adoring the Eucharistic presence of Christ
In reverence of the real presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, hidden in the tabernacle of each and every Catholic church all around the world, we bless ourselves with the sign of the cross and praise God whenever we pass by a church, for example with this traditional prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi:
“Adoramus te, sanctissime Domine Iesu Christe, hic et ad omnes Ecclesias tuas, quae sunt in toto mundo, et benedicimus tibi; quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum. Amen.“
Adoramus te prayer
“We adore You, O Lord Jesus Christ, in this Church and all the Churches of the world, and we bless You, because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world. Amen.“
2.) Praying Requiem aeternam for the departed souls when passing or visiting a cemetery
Whenever we pass or visit a cemetery, we offer up the Requiem aeternum prayer for the benefit, welfare, eternal rest and peace of the departed souls:
“Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine; et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.“
Requiem aeternam prayer
“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.“
3.) Offering up Gregorian Masses for a departed soul
We request the offering up of Holy Masses or even Gregorian Masses (30 consecutive Holy Masses) for a departed family member, a friend, a benefactor, or any brother of God’s nation we feel compelled to pray for. There is nothing more effective for the holy souls in purgatory.
“But the most valiant Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves from sin, forasmuch as they saw before their eyes what had happened, because of the sins of those that were slain. And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection, (for if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,) and because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.“
2 Maccabees 12: 42-46
4.) The Brown Scapular
There was a time when every child on the day of their first Holy Communion also was invested with the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel which Saint Simon Stock received from the Blessed Virgin Mary in an apparition in the year 1251.
The promises associated with wearing the Brown Scapular is the special protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to be preserved from the fires of hell and to be freed from purgatory on the first Saturday after one‘s death by the Blessed Virgin:
“I, the Mother of Grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in purgatory I shall free so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting.”
What the Blessed Virgin Mary said to Saint Simon Stock according to the bull of Pope John XXII
The obligations that come with it are: wearing the Brown Scapular continuously; chastity according to one‘s state of life; praying the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin – or: keeping the fasts of the Church and abstaining from meat on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays – or: praying the Most Holy Rosary every day.
“Let the faithful hold in high esteem the practices and devotions to the Blessed Virgin approved by the teaching authority of the Church. It is Our conviction that the Rosary of Mary and the Scapular of Carmel are among these recommended practices. The Scapular is a practice of piety, which by its very simplicity is suited to everyone.”
Pope Paul VI
5.) Fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays
The traditional way is to fast every week on Wednesdays and Fridays by eating only one simple meal without meat. Unless it is a feast day or the festive season from Pesach to Pentecost.
6.) Grace before and after meals
We try to remember to say a prayer of blessing before the meal. But grace after meals is often neglected. Which is a pity because a traditional form for giving thanks after a meal includes another prayer offered up for the holy souls in purgatory:
“Benedic, Domine, nos et haec tua dona quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.“
Mealtime prayers
“Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.“
“Agimus tibi gratias, omnipotens Deus, pro universis beneficiis tuis, qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. Fidelium animae, per misericordiam Dei, requiescant in pace. Amen.“
“We give Thee thanks for all Thy benefits, O Almighty God, Who livest and reignest forever. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.“
7.) Celebrating a name day (and baptismal anniversaries) more festively than a birthday
They used to do that back in the olden days: They used to celebrate a man‘s name day – rather than a man‘s birthday. At least more festively. But why?
Let us wildly speculate: Firstly, human life, the life of an eternal soul made in the image of God, does not begin with the day of being birthed out of the mother‘s womb. It begins with conception. That puts the importance of the actual birthday into perspective.
Sometimes children are named even before their birth, meaning that it is anticipated which name they will receive. In a dream, Joseph received the command, long before the Messiah was born in Bethlehem, that he is to name the expected child Jesus, Yeshua – Yahwe saves.
Secondly, according to a biblical worldview these names are identities and destinies according. The names given to children by their parents are not accidental. Like Adam, whom God called to name all the animals under the sun, parents share in a divine authority by naming us. According to the precepts of the Church, Catholic parents are obliged to give their children Christian names. Not only to confirm them in a Christian identity and calling but also to put them under the patronage of one of our saintly ancestors. By naming their children, they bless them.
What is worthier, then: to celebrate one‘s day of birth, or to honor one‘s patron saint who, compelled by perfect charity, keeps interceding for us, and to rejoice over having such a friend in heaven? We could be more mindful of name days, and of baptismal anniversaries, too. The point is to remember that in God‘s governance and economy everything has a depth of meaning we do well to explore and savor.
“A good name is better than great riches: and good favour is above silver and gold.“
Proverbs 22: 1
“A good name is better than precious ointments: and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.“
Ecclesiastes 7: 2