Q&A: Devotion to Mary vs. Other Saints

Saint Louis de Montfort writes: “We must not confuse devotion to the Blessed Virgin with devotions to the other saints, as if devotion to her were not far more necessary than devotion to them, and as if devotion to her were a matter of supererogation (i.e., optional).

Veneration of Our Lady is on another level than devotion to other saints. Since devotion is our response to the role a saint plays in salvation history, it follows that devotion to Mary is uniquely different than our veneration of other disciples of Christ. Our Lady’s role in redemption far surpasses that of any other human person. Not only is she the Mother of God our Redeemer, not only is her holiness the greatest of all the redeemed, but it also is through her living, divinely willed “Yes” that our redemption, Incarnate Wisdom, came to be. To pull out the Mary—thread from the tapestry of salvation history is to unravel the tapestry itself. The honor and respect owed to her is then far greater than that which should be given to any other person redeemed by Jesus the Lord.

It is customary, therefore, to speak of the adoration of God as latria, and the veneration of the saints as dulia; devotion to Our Lady is called hyperdulia in as much as it clearly is not adoration, but is a special form of veneration.

Notice that Saint Louis de Montfort categorically states that devotion to Our Lady is not optional, as is devotion to other saints. The statement is founded on the truth that Mary is hypothetically necessary in God’s redemptive plan and, in a very unique way: God willed that in the present order of salvation (and there is in reality no other), Mary’s fiat be an intrinsic element of the redemptive incarnation. Therefore, veneration to her is necessary by the will of God in this salvific plan; devotion to her is called for by the very fact that we are redeemed in Christ Jesus, her Son and the fruit of her faith—filled consent. No similar statement can be made of other saints. It cannot be said, therefore, that veneration of St. Pancratius (or even of Saint Patrick!) is in the same category as devotion to Mary.

However, it must be quickly added that although adoration of Jesus is ipso facto also devotion to the woman whose “Yes” is part of the Incarnation itself, this veneration of Mary may not always be formal or explicit. For those who know the Gospel of Jesus and recognize Mary’s intrinsic role in salvation history, some type of veneration of her is called for by this very fact. For those who through no fault of their own do not recognize Jesus, who do not recognize Mary’s salvific role, devotion to Our Lady will be only through an implicit desire found in their determination to follow everything willed by God as best as they know how.