Flighty spirituality

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Is it normal to flit about from saint to saint, devotion to devotion… or should I just pick a few to stick with for a period of time? Maybe I’m subconsciously worried I’ll pick the “wrong” patrons or something 🤷 …
 
fons_vitae said:
Is it normal to flit about from saint to saint, devotion to devotion… or should I just pick a few to stick with for a period of time? Maybe I’m subconsciously worried I’ll pick the “wrong” patrons or something 🤷 …
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Constantly going from one thing to the next keeps you on the surface. You’re not giving yourself a chance to go more deeply into a form of prayer or devotion to a saint.

If you’re considering trying out a new form of prayer, or trying to incorporate it into your daily life, you might try it for a period of time. “I’m going to do _____ for two weeks and see how it goes.” Just because you try something out doesn’t mean that you have to do it for the rest of your life. But if you do decide that this type of prayer is good, then commit to it. Don’t give up on it when it becomes hard or boring or whatever. Be faithful to it.

I would say the same thing applies to devotion to the saints. I think we can get a surface-level knowledge and decide we like that saint. But as you go deeper, you learn a lot more about what the saints said and did. Following them may be more difficult. That’s not the time to give up and move on to someone else who you can know at a superficial level. That’s the time to dig deeper.

I’m not trying to say that you should never change. As we grow we’re constantly changing. But there’s a difference between changing and developing and in flitting from one thing to another with no commitment.
 
Excellent points… I should stick first to those saints which spurred my interest in Catholicism in the first place, I think.
 
i have the same problem i can keep a devotion going for a few weeks or a couple of months or so but never really much longer. i just get tired of the same thing the same routine of prayers everyday.
 
Very interesting and unique thread! 👍

I’ve wondered this about myself. Everything grabs me. Sometimes it’s novelty and my ADD-self (“Oh look - a devotion!” LOL 😃 )

On the other hand, we really do have a Church and a Faith that are so full of riches that it’s mind-boggling at times. Some people are generalists and some are specialists. Some of us have trouble choosing! :o

I like the suggestion about trying for a period of time - enough to do more than skim the surface yet not to feel guilty if you choose to pursue something different later. Sometimes I will return again to what I have set aside, because in most cases whatever drew me to that Saint or that devotion is still there in my heart, and the reason I set it aside is usually not a negative reason - it’s just me, my “flightiness” as you call it. 😉

Eager to hear more perspectives on this! 🙂
 
fons_vitae said:
Is it normal to flit about from saint to saint, devotion to devotion… or should I just pick a few to stick with for a period of time? Maybe I’m subconsciously worried I’ll pick the “wrong” patrons or something 🤷 …
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Quite recently, I used to flit from saint to saint, making several novenas almost as if I was “blanket bombing” Heaven. However, I’ve cut my scope drastically and I am now primarily devoted to St. Therese, St. Michael and the Divine Infant of Prague, although of course I am still looking around before I firmly choose my “go-to saints”.

I agree with the other poster, that having such a flighty approach to saints does not allow you to develop a connection with them better, and may even decrease the efficaciousness of your prayers requesting their intercession.

This is a very unique thread though, haha 👍

Thank you,
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk
 
I personally make it a point to be always doing some sort of novena. For 9 days I will be doing a novena to St. Benedict, next St. Michael, etc. But actually I have found it keeps me on my toes I guess and broadens my relationship with the Saints.😃
 
fons_vitae said:
Is it normal to flit about from saint to saint, devotion to devotion… or should I just pick a few to stick with for a period of time? Maybe I’m subconsciously worried I’ll pick the “wrong” patrons or something …
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it is neither normal nor abnormal, but not particularly helpful. It is fine to learn more about all the saints, and to learn about devotions that are new to us, but it is not particularly healthy to continually leave off devotions always search for the latest and greatest, because the old one no longer has that zing. That means were are searching for subjective feelings, emotions and pleasures, rather than union with God, in our practices.
 
Maybe too, the problem isn’t always fickleness or the search for novelty. It might simply be that we need reminders to jog our memory.

At least, I’ll speak for myself. Sometimes the events of the day are different from one day to the next, making it hard to keep to a schedule. My life is unstructured more than usual since I’m in a time of transition with an uncertain future. Often my mind wanders and my best intentions just sort of float away and then I remember later when I’m about to fall asleep or something.

So I have to come up with strategies - anything from taking books about my devotion with me in the car to read while waiting for an appointment, to putting them on my pillow to be sure I’ll see them at night, etc. Maybe something like this will help. Or keeping a spiritual journal, writing down what you are learning, is another good way to deepen your recollections and keep your devotions strong. 👍
 
Bohm_Bawerk said:
Quite recently, I used to flit from saint to saint, making several novenas almost as if I was “blanket bombing” Heaven. However, I’ve cut my scope drastically and I am now primarily devoted to St. Therese, St. Michael and the Divine Infant of Prague, although of course I am still looking around before I firmly choose my “go-to saints”.
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I also tend to “blanket bomb Heaven,” as you put it. After scrolling through the (name removed by moderator)ut you’ve all given me, I think I might just stay with St. Therese (who has all the virtues I lack, basically :o), St. Joseph (he’s come across my path a few times in past months), and St. Thomas Aquinas (don’t know any specific devotions to him, but we seem to have similar personalities and virtues). Oh, and Our Lady >.< .
 
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