Tuesday, April 02, 2019

The Litanies

(I love how the Blessed Sacrament 
is carried in the tabernacle,
like the Ark.)


Fr. Z has a post up about litanies, but since I am not signed up to comment on his site I just would like to add some more information I had learned years ago from a book on the liturgy by Louis Boyer.

I once regarded litanies as part of private worship and not necessarily liturgical, whereas in fact, the litany is used in psalmody, in the Divine Office and in the Mass, most notably in the Penitential rite, while the responsorial psalm is a sort of litany, as are the intercessions or prayer of the faithful.  They have their origins in Judaism and Jewish liturgy.  I love that. 

So the litanies approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship are very much grounded in the official prayer of the Church, and united to the liturgy, as it were, in so far as they are approved for liturgical use. 

I just think it's cool that this form of prayer is so ancient and efficacious.

From Fr. Z:
There are eight Litanies officially approved by the Church for public use.
Litany of Saints, used at the Easter Vigil and during ordinations, Rogation days, exorcisms, etc.
Litany of Loreto, the Marian Litany, often recited after the Rosary
Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus
Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Litany of the Most Precious Blood
Litany of St. Joseph
Litany of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim
Litany of the Most Holy Sacrament

*I think they need to restore Rogation and Ember days. 

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