Devotions / Other Services

The principle of sacramentality; that is, the belief in God’s presence throughout all of creation, stands close to the heart of the Catholic faith. Because of this, Catholics appreciate blessings, rituals, objects, gestures and prayers that help them to remember the constant presence of God. These reminders, called devotions or sacramentals, never rise to the same level of importance or priority as the seven Sacraments, but they do play an important role in the life and worship of both individuals and worshiping communities. Below you will find information on some devotions and sacramentals you might encounter at Notre Dame.

Popular devotions of the Christian people are warmly commended….devotions should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since the liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them.
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 13.

Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it (CCC 1670).