How many understand? St. Louis de Montfort asks

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Continuing to share with us the "Wonderful Effects ofTrue Devotion" in Chapter 7, St. Louis de Monfort wrote:

1. I think I can very well compare some spiritual directors and devout persons to sculptors who wish to produce Jesus in themselves and in others by methods other than this. Many of them rely on their own skill, ingenuity and art and chip away endlessly with mallet and chisel at hard stone or badly-prepared wood, in an effort to produce a likeness of our Lord. At times, they do not manage to produce a recognisable likeness either because they lack knowledge and experience of the person of Jesus or because a clumsy stroke has spoiled the whole work. But those who accept this little-known secret of grace which I offer them can rightly be compared to smelters and moulders who have discovered the beautiful mould of Mary where Jesus was so divinely and so naturally formed. They do not rely on their own skill but on the perfection of the mould. They cast and lose themselves in Mary where they become true models of her Son.
2. You may think this a beautiful and convincing comparison. But how many understand it? I would like you, my dear friend, to understand it. But remember that only molten and liquefied substances may be poured into a mould. That means that you must crush and melt down the old Adam in you if you wish to acquire the likeness of the new Adam in Mary.

I believe this “crushing and melting down the old Adam” is something we simply do not hear with the same unction as when the Holy Spirit is welcomed into our hearts and minds. We need to read both Scripture and the writings of the saints prayerfully asking for God’s Grace to understand with supernatural Faith, and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit we were given in Baptism.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Finn,

Thanks so much for your “heart” letting me know you liked this post. I truly believe that people who only read a little of St. Louis De Montfort’s “True Devotion" are often either “misunderstanding” him or not reading his words prayerfully enough, because they are seem unable to “hear” with the ears of their hearts” the truth of what he wrote.

The Church, and especially Pope St. John Paul II and St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta understood him well and both lived their Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary – giving witness to all the world! I hope you have read “True Devotion” and also Prayed your own Act of Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. I count it a great grace in my life to have made my Consecration as a teenager, and though I have not been as faithful in my younger years – now I am even more grateful to know how blessed I was and am to have been given such a grace.

I pray that I will persevere in living the Supernatural Faith, Hope and above all Charity infused into my soul at Baptism, giving me a share in Divine Life. The Life of Holiness to which we are all called begins at Baptism and was intended to grow. St. Louis de Montfort shows us how important Mary is to our Life in Christ.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church also makes it clear in paragraph #971:

971 “All generations will call me blessed”: “The Church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship.The Church rightly honors "the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs… This very special devotion … differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration.” The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an “epitome of the whole Gospel,” express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.