The First Amendment ensures our freedom to practice our Catholicism. Sadly, the government has recently made steps discouraging the public practice of our faith. The word "God" or anything religious in nature are being removed from government properties (like, the recent debate on the Pledge of Allegiance and displaying the Ten Commandments at Courthouses). It is frowned on and a cause of controversy for a person to express their religion at work or in a place shared with the public: the "separation of church and state" taken to an extreme.
There are many Bible verses and quotes from the Catholic Church's great minds that support both an external, almost brazen expression of our Catholicism despite persecution: the example of Christ and His martyrs, for example, should be role models for those facing chastisement and condemnation (and, even death) for publicly professing their beliefs. On the other hand, Christ did also teach a more private, internalized form of spirituality, as heard in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18): that we should do things not for others to see, not to boast our faith, but to practice it for God's eyes only.
What it amounts to is summed up in Ecclesiastes: there is a time to stand and identify oneself as a Catholicand, there is a time to live it quietly in the heart. God knows the true intention behind the act. So for those moments when we need to be a little more discreet about our Devotions, here are some suggested items that will help transform us into covert Catholics.
Rosaries
Bringing out the five-decade Rosary to pray on the bus during one