The Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the Brown Scapular and the Miraculous Medal are among many Catholic devotions. Some came from saint, while others were gifts from Our Lord or the Blessed Virgin Mary. There are devotions that were revealed with promises of special graces.
As Catholics, getting to heaven should be our number one priority. That makes it seem like the more devotions we adopt, the better our chances of making it to the pearly gates, right?
Not so fast.
More devotions don’t equal greater holiness. In fact, practicing too many devotions can have a detrimental effect on your spiritual life.
Here’s what you should do.
Regularly practice a few devotions.
It’s better to be faithful to a few devotions than to practice many half-heartedly. We can only do so many things in a day. This is especially true for parents, who must spend the majority of their time serving God by taking care of each other and their children.
If you limit yourself to no more than three devotions, you can focus your energy on carrying them out well. The desire to try to do everything can actually betray a hidden despair—as if what God has provided you is not sufficient, and you feel like you need to add more devotions to feel secure in your relationship with Him.
Remember, devotions are a means to union with God, not goals in and of themselves.