Trouble with settling and sticking with a devotion

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Wintersdemise

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It’s been awhile since I posted on here but I have always had a problem with settling and sticking with devotions. One day I venerate Saint Philomena and say prayers to her, the next day I feel compelled to venerate St. Therese, the next day I emphasize devotion to Our Lady, the day after that I feel compelled to glorify the Holy Ghost then the Sacred Heart, Divine Mercy, ect ect…

I feel this is a spiritual downfall and is making me weaker when it comes to resisting temptations and doing things that are right.

Has anybody else ever experienced this devotional OCD? What can I do to fix this? Thank you all.
 
The devotions you are drawn to at a particular time are to serve your needs for that time. Many people who settle on a single devotion for a long time end up in a spiritual rut and may not realize they need to mix it up a little now and then to keep their growth on track.
 
Wintersdemise said:
Has anybody else ever experienced this devotional OCD? What can I do to fix this?
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Compare and despair. Don’t compare your spiritual life with someone else’s or create false models of spirituality.

Instead of thinking that you have to stick to a devotion of X, or a devotion of Y, or a devotion of Z, consider that your devotion is devotion.
 
There are so many fabulous devotions. Find what you need from one place at one point in time; don’t feel worried about laying it aside and finding spiritual profit from elsewhere down the road. It’s better to be a flighty butterfly and flit from one devotion to the next than it is to faithfully recite the same devotion day in and day out merely out of habit, but not actually pay attention to what you’re doing.
 
I agree. I’d say it’s a good thing, and probably the Spirit is calling you shot-by-shot which is a VERY good thing.

Alan
 
Thank you all so much for these great responses. I’m happy to see that this habit is not bad but good! I thank God for this gift of diverse devotions!
 
I don’t agree with the responses so far. I think, while it’s perfectly fine to vary one’s devotions, some sort of consistent spiritual routine is important.

I’d suggest picking one thing and sticking to it every day, at least for a certain substantial period of time, and you can add whatever else you like. For many people a daily rosary gives that consistency to their spiritual life. We should all be doing some kind of Morning Offering, and a nightly examen/act of contrition before bed, every day.
 
Student09 said:
I don’t agree with the responses so far. I think, while it’s perfectly fine to vary one’s devotions, some sort of consistent spiritual routine is important.
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Why?
I’d suggest picking one thing and sticking to it every day, at least for a certain substantial period of time, and you can add whatever else you like. For many people a daily rosary gives that consistency to their spiritual life. We should all be doing some kind of Morning Offering, and a nightly examen/act of contrition before bed, every day.
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Those are nice ideas. Of course nothing I said would tell the OP not to do something consistent if that’s the desire. With the information given so far it didn’t sound like it. Remember devotions were made for people, not people for devotions. That’s what I felt the OP really needed to hear most, is that the devotions edify us but don’t have to rule us. Now yes, if we were under spiritual direction to do a certain thing, fine; that’s a choice, too.

Alan
 
AlanFromWichita said:
Why?
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Because for most people, the self-discipline of a daily spiritual routine is important in staying grounded and focused. And otherwise it’s far too easy to confuse following our own whims with the leading of the Holy Spirit.
 
Student09 said:
Because for most people, the self-discipline of a daily spiritual routine is important in staying grounded and focused. And otherwise it’s far too easy to confuse following our own whims with the leading of the Holy Spirit.
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Thank you for clarifying. Once you are being led by the Holy Spirit, though, you will know it so you will know you are not following your own whims.

But when it comes to devotions, where do I get my whims anyway? Could they not be divinely inspired?

And why is my decision to go on a whim intrinsically weaker than an oath to oneself to do a daily routine … which btw we should not make according to scripture.

Nothing against a daily prayer ritual. Just as long as it is serving us. But for me, I consider each breath as 1000 prayers of thanks and awe, using my lifetime to do what He designed me to do – to be me. Daily, or at each meal, or weekly, whatever. It’s all good.🙂

Alan
 
AlanFromWichita said:
And why is my decision to go on a whim intrinsically weaker than an oath to oneself to do a daily routine … which btw we should not make according to scripture.
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One doesn’t have to make an oath - just a commitment.

Following one’s inclinations may be all very well when prayer is enjoyable, but when prayer becomes difficult, when every devotion seems distasteful, what then? Does one simply stop praying? A person who has established a habit of prayer will be better able to pray through the periods of repugnance and aridity than one who is accustomed to pray however he feels like praying at that moment.

Of course there should also be freedom in prayer, but in my experience, discipline makes room for freedom. I’m not suggesting that the OP should make a rigid, joyless routine for himself, only that he should have some prayers that he says on a daily basis, ideally at the same time of day. This is what monastics do, on a much greater scale. This is recommended by St. Francis de Sales to one who wants to advance spiritually. The OP came here feeling that perhaps he should be more consistent in his devotion, and I agree with him.
 
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