Knoxville bishop: ‘Not appropriate’ to add prayers to Mass
Knoxville Bishop-elect Mark Beckman says limiting the St. Michael prayer and other public devotions around Mass is intended to respect Catholics who wish to pray silently in church. He says he hopes the change will be accompanied by good catechesis about prayer and the Church’s liturgy. Beckman emphasizes that he does not want to discourage prayer.
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Knoxville Bishop Mark Beckman said a plan to limit public devotions around Mass is intended to protect quiet prayer in parish churches, not discourage prayer. He also hopes priests will explain the change and the relationship between prayer and the Church’s liturgy.
The plan would curtail the St. Michael prayer and other public devotions before and after Masses in the Diocese of Knoxville.
Beckman told The Pillar that the aim is to ensure respect for Catholics who wish to pray silently in churches. He said he hopes priests will offer “good catechesis” about prayer and the liturgy as the change takes effect.
The relationship between liturgical prayer and popular devotion in Catholic worship
Liturgical prayer and popular devotion are distinct but complementary expressions of Catholic worship. The liturgy has primacy because it is the Church’s public worship and, above all in the Eucharist and the sacraments, the action of Christ and his Church. Popular devotions—such as the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, novenas, pilgrimages, and processions—are valuable ways of living and extending prayer into daily life. They should be nourished by the liturgy and lead people toward it, not compete with it or replace it.
The liturgy is not simply one form of prayer among many. In it, the Church worships God through Christ, and no other form of worship equals it in the same way or to the same degree. The liturgy includes the Eucharist and other sacraments, as well as celebrations such as the Liturgy of the Hours and Christian burial rites. This is why the Church gives liturgical prayer and the liturgical year priority in its worship.
The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy states the balance plainly:
The Liturgy and popular piety, while not conterminous, remain two legitimate expressions of Christian worship. While not opposed to each other, neither are they to be regarded as equiparate to each other.
“Not equiparate” means they are not interchangeable or of equal standing. A devotion may be spiritually fruitful, but it cannot take the place of Mass or another liturgical celebration. The Directory also notes that popular devotions are ordinarily optional, whereas Sunday Mass carries a particular obligation for Catholics. Their optional character does not make them unimportant; it clarifies their place in the life of the Church.
Popular devotion helps people pray beyond the times and settings of formal liturgical worship. The Rosary, the Angelus, the Stations of the Cross, and other practices can bring prayer into homes, family life, journeys, and local traditions. Properly used, these practices do not replace the Church’s liturgical life; they extend its influence into everyday life and help sustain the Christian call to pray continually.
The relationship also works in the other direction: the liturgy provides the central reference point by which devotions are understood and shaped. Devotions should accord with the liturgical seasons, draw inspiration from the liturgy, and lead people toward fuller participation in it. For example, a devotion associated with the Passion of Christ can deepen meditation on the mystery celebrated in the Church’s liturgy; it should not be presented as though it were itself a sacramental celebration.
The relationship is therefore more than simple coexistence. Liturgy and popular piety are described as being in a “mutual and fruitful relationship”: the liturgy guides and purifies popular devotion, while the expressive forms and spiritual insights found in popular piety can help the Church recognize how the faith takes root in particular peoples and cultures.
Harmony does not mean blending everything together. The Directory says that the forms and language proper to a devotion should not be mixed into the liturgical action in a way that alters its character. In particular, devotional practices are external to the celebration of the Eucharist and the other sacraments.
This distinction matters because the liturgy has its own structure, language, and theological purpose. If a novena or other devotional exercise is inserted into the celebration of Mass, there is a danger that the Eucharistic celebration—the central act of the Christian community—will appear to serve as a setting for the devotion rather than retain its own integrity. The practical principle is not that devotions must be suppressed, but that they should be scheduled and practiced in a way that respects the liturgy rather than merging with or competing against it.
The Church cautions against two opposite errors. One is to dismiss sound devotions as though they were worthless or inherently opposed to the liturgy. The Directory warns that such disregard can fail to recognize the genuine ecclesial life and spiritual fruit present in popular piety. Devotions can express a real religious response to God and have sustained the faith of communities.
The other error is to treat devotions as equivalent to the liturgy, or to combine them with liturgical actions without sound pastoral and liturgical judgment. A devotion’s popularity or emotional power does not give it the same status as the Eucharist or another sacrament. The right response is neither to marginalize popular piety nor to elevate it above its proper place, but to form and guide it so that it remains in harmony with the Church’s worship.
Popular devotions often express the encounter between Catholic faith and local culture. They can carry the faith into the daily life of a people through familiar symbols, language, music, and customs, provided that these cultural elements are purified of anything incompatible with the faith. The Church can also learn from these expressions: they may reveal the spiritual needs and gifts of a community and offer insight for inculturating the liturgy faithfully.
In practice, Catholics can ask whether a devotion is sound, whether it respects the liturgical season and the nature of the liturgical celebration, and whether it helps lead people toward Christ and fuller participation in the Church’s worship. A devotion that fosters prayer, faith, and charity can enrich Christian life; one that displaces Mass, confuses the faithful about what the liturgy is, or competes with the Church’s worship needs correction. The goal is a life in which liturgical prayer remains central while popular devotion helps that prayer take root in homes, communities, and everyday culture.