Establishing a Devotion to the Saints

Another question that arises when we’re talking about our relationship with the saints, and the honor that is due to them, is, “Must I have a devotion to the saints?”

Well, it depends on what we mean by devotion. If we intend to include within our definition of “devotion” the recognition of certain facts about them, then yes. For example, we must honor them by acknowledging their saintly status and our communion with them in the body of Christ. And, as mentioned in a previous chapter, given their status as members in the body of Christ, we must acknowledge their help: “there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you’” (1 Cor. 12:20-21). This includes recognizing that they intercede for us in heaven. Also, as the Catechism teaches in Paragraph 957, we must “cherish the memory of those in heaven,” since it’s a “fraternal exercise of charity” that strengthens the union of the Church.

Now, if what we mean by “devotion” is simply having an emotional attachment to the saints, then such “devotion” is not necessary. Unlike the devotion described above that simply requires assent, emotions are not something we can have direct and immediate control over. As such, emotional attachment to the saints is not something that can be required of us.

With that said, devotion in this sense is natural and can be developed just as emotional attachment to any person can be developed. And to develop such emotional attachments to our spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ would be a pious action for a Catholic.

So how do we develop such devotion?

One way is to learn more about the saints through reading apologetic and devotional literature. Apologetic literature seeks to articulate what the Church teaches about the saints and why. This provides a basis for properly relating to the saints in our devotional practices. We don’t want to relate to the saints in ways that contravene what God has revealed to us.

Another way to foster a relationship with the saints is to have normal conversations with them as you would with a friend. You can’t have a friendship with someone unless you talk to him. The saints are our friends, and as we’ve seen in Revelation 5:8, they are aware of what we’re saying to them.

Other devotional practices include celebrating a saint’s feast day, wearing a holy medal of the saint, or praying novenas in his honor. Take feast days, for example. In the Roman Martyrology, every day on the liturgical calendar honors a particular saint, and often multiple saints. Since these are days of celebration, we can foster devotion to a saint on his feast day by doing celebratory things: go to the Mass that commemorates the saint, put up a picture of the saint in a prominent place in the home, read something about the saint’s life, or even just have an ice cream outing in his honor.

Holy medals of saints serve as a reminder of their heroic lives in Christ, urging us on to imitate them. Also, by wearing a medal of a saint, we’re reminded to call upon him for help.

With regard to novenas, a simple search online provides a plethora of novena prayers. Whereas a novena involves a set of nine prayers, similar devotions include the Six Sundays of Aloysius, which was established in the eighteenth century by Pope Clement XII to foster devotion to the youthful saint. Other devotions include the Five Sundays of Francis’s Stigmata, the Seven Sundays of the Immaculate Conception, the Seven Sundays of St. Joseph, the Ten Sundays of St. Francis Xavier, and the Ten Sundays of St. Ignatius Loyola.

St. Paul teaches us that the Church is the “household of God” (1 Tim. 3:15). The saints in heaven are members of that household. As such, it’s important that we get to know our fellow family members and foster love among the family.

If you'd like to know more, order your copy of The Saints Pray For You today!