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I have a strong and inexplicable bond with a saint who is a Father and Doctor of the Church. I met him when I was an atheist, and I hated him, but when I converted, he contributed to drawing me to the Catholic Church and I am so grateful to the Lord for sending me this essential help in my life. I defended this saint multiple times, and he gave me the opportunity and the right motivation to obtain a Doctorate in Theology.
Probably my mission in this life, as several priests told me, is to recover the reputation of this saint, who is probably one of the most slandered nowadays, and to give him all the love, affection, and gratitude he didn't receive in the past centuries. His quotes made me fall in love with the Eucharist, and he basically taught me all I need to know about our Faith, even if I enjoy reading other saints and their works and praying to them. To me, this saint is more alive and present than anyone around me, and after Christ, he is definitely the person I love the most on the entire planet; it sounds incredible but I never felt so deeply involved with another human being, not even with my dearest family members.
Now, the questions:
Is it safe for me to assume that God wants me to cherish this affection to make me grow spiritually?
When is devotion "too much"?
I am very glad to have someone in Heaven that fought in life in the footsteps of Christ and won, just like I'm trying to do; thinking about this saint is very natural in my eyes and I cannot imagine my life without him.
Irene
{ Is it OK for me to have a devotion to this Saint and when is devotion to a saint too much? }
Mike replied:
Dear Irene,
You said:
Is it safe for me to assume that God wants me to cherish this affection to make me grow spiritually?
When is devotion "too much"?
A devotion is too much when we place the saint on a higher level than (God/Jesus).
Worship is given to (God/Jesus) alone.
That said, we, the Church Militant on Earth, are blessed to have Heavenly Warriors who have gone before us to help us on our spiritual journey toward Heaven. We call them the Communion of Saints. This includes your favorite saint, whoever he is. I see no problem with your saintly devotion, as it was probably placed on your heart by God Himself. Just make sure (in your head) that divine worship is always separate from saintly devotion.
954 The three states of the Church."When the Lord comes in glory, and all his angels with him, death will be no more and all things will be subject to him. But at the present time some of his disciples are pilgrims on earth. Others have died and are being purified, while still others are in glory, contemplating in full light, God himself triune and one, exactly as he is': (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 49; cf. Matthew 25:31; 1 Corinthians 15:26-27; Council of Florence (1439):DS 1305)
All of us, however, in varying degrees and in different ways share in the same charity towards God and our neighbors, and we all sing the one hymn of glory to our God. All, indeed, who are of Christ and who have his Spirit form one Church and in Christ cleave together.
955 "So it is that the union of the wayfarers with the brethren who sleep in the peace of Christ is in no way interrupted, but on the contrary, according to the constant faith of the Church, this union is reinforced by an exchange of spiritual goods." (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 49)
956 The intercession of the saints. "Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness. . . . They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus . . . . So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped." (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 49; cf. 1 Timothy 2:5)
Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life. (St. Dominic, dying, to his brothers)
I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth. (St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The Final Conversations, tr. John Clarke (Washington: ICS, 1977), 102)
957 Communion with the saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven; we seek, rather, that by this devotion to the exercise of fraternal charity the union of the whole Church in the Spirit may be strengthened. Exactly as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace, and the life of the People of God itself" (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 50; cf. Ephesians 4:1-6):
We worship Christ as God's Son; we love the martyrs as the Lord's disciples and imitators, and rightly so because of their matchless devotion towards their king and master. May we also be their companions and fellow disciples!
958 Communion with the dead. "In full consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and 'because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins' she offers her suffrages for them." (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 50; cf. 2 Maccabees 12:45) Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.
959 In the one family of God. "For if we continue to love one another and to join in praising the Most Holy Trinity - all of us who are sons of God and form one family in Christ - we will be faithful to the deepest vocation of the Church."
