Living "through Mary"

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Yesterday was Day 1- AFTER praying the Act of Consecration on Sept. 15, Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. Some of you may have joined in reading at least some of the threads posted on the 33 Days of Preparation outlined by St. Louis de Montfort in his spiritual classic, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Perhaps some of you actually made the journey and prayed the Act of Consecration as I did, and now want to live it.

As I shared yesterday and continue to ponder today, it is becoming more and more important to me to LIVE the words I pray. I want to live by God’s Grace the way Mary our Mother lived because she is His most faithful disciple. If I am to follow Jesus truly, then I need to do as He said to his beloved disciple John: “Behold your Mother”. I also need to do what John did, and take Mary into my life, more and more by God’s Grace.

St. Louis de Montfort was inspired by God to write a small treatise on why and how True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin is a perfect renewal of our Baptismal promises and how it helps us to continue growing as Mary continued growing in grace, all her life. Please remember, we are ALL called to holiness. We may not all reach the highest stages of perfection before we die, but we are called to union with God in the perfection of charity.

Toward the end of his treatise, St. Louis de Montfort wrote:

Special interior practices for those who wish to be perfect

… here are some very sanctifying interior practices for those souls who feel called by the Holy Spirit to a high degree of perfection. They may be expressed in four words, doing everything through Mary, with Mary, in Mary, and for Mary, in order to do it more perfectly through Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus, and for Jesus.

Through Mary

1. We must do everything through Mary, that is, we must obey her always and be led in all things by her spirit, which is the Holy Spirit of God. “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God,” says St. Paul. Those who are led by the spirit of Mary are children of Mary, and, consequently children of God, as we have already shown. Among the many servants of Mary only those who are truly and faithfully devoted to her are led by her spirit.

I have said that the spirit of Mary is the spirit of God because she was never led by her own spirit, but always by the spirit of God, who made himself master of her to such an extent that he became her very spirit. That is why St. Ambrose says, “May the soul of Mary be in each one of us to glorify the Lord. May the spirit of Mary be in each one of us to rejoice in God.” Happy is the man who follows the example of the good Jesuit Brother Rodriguez, who died a holy death, because he will be completely possessed and governed by the spirit of Mary, a spirit which is gentle yet strong, zealous yet prudent, humble yet courageous, pure yet fruitful.

If you have never taken time to read this little classic treatise, prayerfully asking the Holy Spirit to teach you the complete truth of Jesus, I encourage you to read it. Read slowly, pondering the words of this saint, more than once. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve read the book, continue to read it and learn more. Today, I ask the Holy Spirit to show me how I can do better in living “through Mary”.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. Kindle in us the Fire of Your Love.
Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.
Jesus, we trust in You.

 

[liturgy96]

Thanks for this! I was especially touched by these words: “a spirit which is gentle yet strong, zealous yet prudent, humble yet courageous, pure yet fruitful” . I hope I can grow more in these virtues! Mary, Virgin and Mother, pray for us!

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks for this! I was especially touched by these words: “a spirit which is gentle yet strong, zealous yet prudent, humble yet courageous, pure yet fruitful” . I hope I can grow more in these virtues! Mary, Virgin and Mother, pray for us!

Dear liturgy96,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, those were beautiful words to describe Mary’s spirit, and give us hope that by God’s Grace we might become:

… completely possessed and governed by the spirit of Mary, a spirit which is gentle yet strong, zealous yet prudent, humble yet courageous, pure yet fruitful.

By God’s Grace, this sentence from St. Louis de Montfort also impressed me:

…the spirit of Mary is the spirit of God because she was never led by her own spirit, but always by the spirit of God…

Several times today, things happened that were difficult to discern – i.e. how do I discern which way the Spirit of God is leading me when several things happen in rapid succession with several people’s comments in conflict with my own feelings. Only afterwards, can I begin to “see” by faith, God’s Love allowing all that happens — even when I don’t understand — God is working good in some mysterious way. God knows the deepest desire of our heart is for Him, as was Mary’s deepest desire, we need to trust Him to continually form us, as we cast all our cares on Him as Mary did.

Like Mary, I can be gentle with others, because God is within giving me His gentleness, even while I remain strong because of His strength. Mary did not understand everything at once in her life, but she learned as Jesus did, obedience through suffering (cf Heb. 5:8). It seems to me, I need to keep praying to the Holy Spirit and to Mary for the grace to become all I am called to be.

 

[nuntym]

+JMJ+

I renewed my Marian consecration last September 8, and since then I have been studying the four special interior practices of St. Louis de Montfort in light of my recent meditations on 33 Days to Morning Glory, which was what I used to renew my consecration, and My Ideal: Jesus Son of Mary, probably my favorite Marian book. What I learned was that St. Louis’ four interior practices can be summed up also in four more descriptive words: generosity, union, trust, and steadfastness. That they form the acronym GUTS reminds me that these are the attitudes I must have so that my consecration would not be hollow, and yet the more I practice them, the more courage, the more “guts”, I have.

Trust corresponds to “through Mary”, but it seems trust can only come from giving oneself to Mary (hence generosity comes first). Only someone who has complete trust in Jesus can give himself to Mary, and only someone who gave himself to Mary totally can trust Mary, and only someone who has complete trust in Mary can be led by her Spirit.

 

[MariaChristi]

+JMJ+

I renewed my Marian consecration last September 8, and since then I have been studying the four special interior practices of St. Louis de Montfort in light of my recent meditations on 33 Days to Morning Glory, which was what I used to renew my consecration, and My Ideal: Jesus Son of Mary, probably my favorite Marian book. What I learned was that St. Louis’ four interior practices can be summed up also in four more descriptive words: generosity, union, trust, and steadfastness. That they form the acronym GUTS reminds me that these are the attitudes I must have so that my consecration would not be hollow, and yet the more I practice them, the more courage, the more “guts”, I have.

Trust corresponds to “through Mary”, but it seems trust can only come from giving oneself to Mary (hence generosity comes first). Only someone who has complete trust in Jesus can give himself to Mary, and only someone who gave himself to Mary totally can trust Mary, and only someone who has complete trust in Mary can be led by her Spirit.

Dear nuntym,

Thanks for your reply and for your comments. I have not read the book My Ideal: Jesus Son of Mary but I have read other works by the same author and some work of his order’s founder, both holy men. I did read 33 Days to Glory but I continually go back to St. Louis de Montfort and his treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. I find more depth in his life and words than in others. St. Maximilian Kolbe, perhaps is closest to St. De Montfort and for me Kolbe’s Act of Consecration which I prayed a few years ago, in a certain way “completed” for me, the Act of Consecration written by St. Louis de Montfort I made many years previously as a teenager. Each soul is unique, and God provides for each one.

I am posting today another thread on “the spirit of Mary” which is indeed the “Spirit of Christ” I find in Mary our Mediatrix with the Mediator Christ. I find in her the perfect totally human person who followed Jesus most perfectly. May each of us and all of us who are called to holiness continue to trust in Jesus through Mary. As the Church teaches, God has willed that all His Grace comes to us through Mary (whether persons are conscious of it or not). Only in heaven will any of us appreciate her enough as God’s gift to us from His Cross.