" Her hands...purify everything they touch..."

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We continue in St. Louis de Montfort’s book, “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”, the motives for embracing this true devotion, especially in Consecrating ourselves Totally to Jesus through Mary . In today’s paragraph St. Louis continues to write of the many blessings obtained when a person gives ALL to Jesus through Mary:

1. Since by this devotion we give to our Lord, through the hands of his holy Mother, all our good works, she purifies them, making them beautiful and acceptable to her Son.

(1) She purifies them of every taint of self-love and of that unconscious attachment to creatures which slips unnoticed into our best actions. Her hands have never been known to be idle or uncreative. They purify everything they touch. As soon as the Blessed Virgin receives our good works, she removes any blemish or imperfection she may find in them.

1. (2) She enriches our good works by adorning them with her own merits and virtues. It is as if a poor peasant, wishing to win the friendship and favour of the king, were to go the queen and give her an apple - his only possession - for her to offer it to the king. The queen, accepting the peasant’s humble gift, puts it on a beautiful golden dish and presents it to the king on behalf of the peasant. The apple in itself would not be a gift worthy of a king, but presented by the queen in person on a dish of gold, it becomes fit for any king.
2. (3) Mary presents our good works to Jesus. She does not keep anything we offer for herself, as if she were our last end, but unfailingly gives everything to Jesus. So by the very fact we give anything to her, we are giving it to Jesus. Whenever we praise and glorify her, she sings today as she did on the day Elizabeth praised her, "My soul glorifies the Lord."

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful. Kindle in us the Fire of Your Love. Enable us to hear deeply as John heard on Calvary, Jesus’ Words from His Cross:

Behold your Mother (Jn 19:27)

 

[StephieNorthCo]

Kinda makes you reflect on The Magnificat.

Again, thanks for these threads.

God Bless,

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Stephie,

Thanks so much for your “faithful heart” and for this reply. Yes, certainly, St. Louis de Montfort had the “Magnificat” in mind when writing paragraph #148 quoting Mary’s words to her cousin Elizabeth: “My soul glorifies the Lord”.

We see again and again, how God has made Mary to be both Mother and Model for the Church! We are all called to holiness and Mary gives us a perfect human example of that humility which is the foundation for holiness. We can do nothing without God who created us and re-created us in Baptism to be Holy as He is Holy.

Holy Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.