Mar. 5 - Wk 1 - Day 2 - on our journey

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In his treatise on “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”, St. Louis de Montfort wrote:

1. During the first week they should offer up all their prayers and acts of devotion to acquire knowledge of themselves and sorrow for their sins.

Let them perform all their actions in a spirit of humility. With this end in view they may, if they wish, meditate on what I have said concerning our corrupted nature…

They will ask our Lord and the Holy Spirit to enlighten them saying, “Lord, that I may see,” or “Lord, let me know myself,” or the “Come, Holy Spirit”. Every day they should say the Litany of the Holy Spirit, with the prayer that follows, as indicated in the first part of this work. They will turn to our Blessed Lady and beg her to obtain for them that great grace which is the foundation of all others, the grace of self-knowledge. For this intention they will say each day the Ave Maris Stella and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin.

Humility is the foundation of our Spiritual Life, and St. Louis de Montfort, by God’s Grace wisely encourages us in this first week to begin to seek a true knowledge of self that we may learn from Jesus through Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, who we are in God’s Sight. St. Francis of Assisi is quoted as saying: “I am what I am before God, no more and no less”.

Please notice I left out the descriptions of our corrupted nature, because those words can be a distraction for some and St. Louis says we may consider them but does not make that required reading. He does write however that we will pray certain prayers to help us. Prayer is essential to our Lives in Christ, it is like oxygen to our natural life: if we do not breathe we will die; if we do not pray, we will die spiritually.

Please remember St. Teresa of Avila’s advice that without attention and devotion in prayer, we may move our lips but we do not pray. We need to know to Whom we pray, who is praying and what we are praying. Come, Holy Spirit, teach us to pray well. Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us. Jesus, Meek and Humble of Heart, make our hearts, like Yours.

Litany of the Holy Spirit can be found HERE
Ave Maris Stella -HERE
Litany of the Blessed Virgin - HERE