In the Catholic tradition, devotions are popular prayers, rituals and pious practices used by individuals or groups to worship God or venerate Mary and the saints. Litanies, novenas and holy hours are all forms of Catholic devotion.
Devotions express a particular conviction about the object of the devotion: Eucharistic devotions are commonly an expression of Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist; devotions to Mary and the saints commonly express a confidence in their role as spiritual companions, guides and mediators. Popular and indigenous devotions are a manifestation of the Catholic sense of sacramentality -- the ability of time and space, nature, human relationships and human activity to mediate (signify or express) the presence, love and grace of an Incarnate God.
While valuable and helpful in their place, popular devotions should not become substitutes for the Liturgy of the Eucharist (Mass) or be incorporated into liturgical celebrations. The Church has stressed that the Liturgy has a preeminence over any other legitimate form of Christian prayer. Various forms of popular devotion, especially those associated with particular groups or regions, should not overshadow the common and universal nature of the church and its worship; nor should veneration of the saints take precedence over worship of the Divine Trinity.