Day 228: Blessings, Sacramentals, and Popular Piety

Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church. They prepare men to receive the fruit of the sacraments and sanctify different circumstances of life. Among the sacramentals, blessings occupy an important place. They include both praise of God for his works and gifts, and the Church's intercession for men that they may be able to use God's gifts according to the spirit of the Gospel. In addition to the liturgy, Christian life is nourished by various forms of popular piety, rooted in the different cultures. While carefully clarifying them in the light of faith, the Church fosters the forms of popular piety that express an evangelical instinct and a human wisdom and that enrich Christian life. CCC 1677-1679

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses sacramentals in the Church, blessings, and popular piety among the faithful. All of these are geared towards focusing our hearts and minds on Christ through the liturgy. 

For the last of these, the Catechism Compendium gives a summary:

The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in the various forms of piety which accompany the sacramental life of the Church, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, and the rosary. The Church sheds the light of faith upon and fosters authentic forms of popular piety. (#353)

Among the laity, especially, the Rosary is probably the most popular form of piety. Since at least the 2nd century and the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, the faithful have also venerated the relics of holy saints as being "more precious than the most exquisite jewels, and more purified than gold." Hence why they are incorporated in the altars of every cathedral throughout the world. 

Finally, speaking of the Rosary, Paradisus Dei has a great series filmed in the Holy Land that can be viewed on their website, Formed, and some episodes are even on YouTube.