Of novenas and scapulars

Sister Rejane  
This Random Nun Clip is brought to you by A Nun's Life Ministry.

Sister Maxine  
We'll take the question from Clara Lee. And she asks, "What is a novena?" And she had also asked about scapulars.

Sister Julie  
Okay, sister, what do you think?

Sister Maxine  
Well, sort of the short answer to that is "novena" comes from "nine." And I think novenas are a nine-day time of prayer -- it can be public prayer or private prayer. And it's generally done for making petitions. Usually it's associated with a sense of either need or some kind of an urgency. Some people do it to just obtain a sort of a different quality in their life, to have a little time out. Some people do it as a sense of focus and finding a way closer to God. So Sister Julie, do you have any favorite novenas?

Sister Julie  
Well, my favorite one would be the St. Teresa of Avila one we prayed that, I think it was not last year but the year before, at A Nun's Life blog. And so every day for nine days we had a novena to St. Teresa of Avila. So yeah, I would say that would be probably my favorite. I don't recall having anything urgent or any needs like that, that I specifically prayed around. For me, it was a chance to be very intentional about spending time with Teresa of Avila in the presence of God and that meant a lot to me, especially that I could also share that with other people in the A Nun's Life community.

Sister Maxine  
Yes. And Kathleen mentions that she's now completing a novena of grace for a special intention. And novenas are considered Catholic devotions, which are prayer forms. They're not really part of the liturgy of the church, but they are a way of growing in holiness and a way of becoming closer to God. And I looked on the internet, of course, and found there's just many, many different kinds of novenas. I found there's Marian novenas, Sacred Heart novenas, saints novenas, and special novenas. So there's just any number of them.

Sister Julie  
So now what about the scapulars?

Sister Maxine  
Okay, well, there's two basic kinds of scapulars. One is the monastic scapular, and one is a devotional. If you've seen Benedictines who used to be in a habit, or maybe they still wear them, the monastic scapular is the part that goes over the front and then down the back -- the meaning of "scapular" being related to shoulder. And the devotional scapular, some people say it came from that monastic scapular, but it hangs around the neck in the same way and usually has two small pieces of cloth, or sometimes it's wood. And they usually have like a religious image -- a saint or text. So the devotional scapulars, as the name implies, they're also part of devotional life.

Sister Julie  
The first kind was actually like, part of a habit. Actually a piece of cloth.

Sister Maxine  
Yes.

Sister Julie  
The devotional one is as well, but it actually constitutes part of the habit.

Sister Maxine  
Yeah, and I think both forms of the scapular come with promises for people who wear them. The other thing that I think is important about scapulars and devotional practices in general, is that sometimes people -- in the history of the church -- sometimes people would equate that with magic, working with God, wanting something magical to happen. And really, the devotionals are really just to help the process of holiness in the way that that a person can relate to it.

Sister Julie  
I don't personally have a scapular of either variety. But what I like about them and what I love about Catholic devotions in general is it's a thing, it's something that we can put in our hands like rosary beads, a piece of cloth, a relic. There is something I think is very important and incarnate about that for us as Catholics. We have that weighing against our shoulders or in our hands that we can touch and feel. And it's a way to connect our whole body, mind and soul to our life of prayer.

Sister Maxine  
It's interesting -- in the chat room, some folks say, "Well, you know, I haven't seen a scapular since I was a child." And people are talking about the rosary a little bit there. And it makes a good point: throughout history, scapulars and other kinds of devotionals have waxed and waned in popularity. Like in the 1960s and 70s, there was a decline of what would be called popular devotions, and that would include the rosary. Part of that relates to, after the Second Vatican Council, people had a lot more participation in the Mass and the Mass was understood, the Eucharist was understood as more the central celebration of the faithful. So, at one time, before the Second Vatican Council, the priest used to stand with his back to the congregation. But after the Second Vatican Council, you had the priest facing the congregation, and then you had the words were in the language of the people instead of Latin. And I remember somebody saying that when that change happened, she felt like there was an interruption to her rosary, because she used to say the rosary during Mass. So, you know, some of those popular devotions they go up and down over time. They did change quite considerably in the 1960s. And like I say, that was partly related to the liturgical changes, which related really to the 1950s. And for people who are interested in the history of that, and I know I've talked about this book before, it's really a fabulous book. It's called Habits of Devotion: Catholic Religious Practice in 20th century America, and it's edited by James O'Toole. It's got about four essays that are absolutely spectacular about the history of devotions -- that lived religious experience. I would highly recommend that.

Sister Rejane  
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This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.