"...Mary has been unknown up till now..."

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today we conclude St. Louis de Montfort’s Introduction to his treatise on “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”, and begin Chapter 1: Much of St. Louis’ writing is prophetic. By God’s Grace, he wrote not only of the times in which he lived but also was given to “see” by faith, what God intended for His Church. God gave to St. Louis, it seems to me, an understanding of Mary’s role in God’s plan that is unique and important for every age. May the Holy Spirit open the ears of hearts to listen:

1. Finally, we must say in the words of the apostle Paul, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has the heart of man understood” the beauty, the grandeur, the excellence of Mary, who is indeed a miracle of miracles of grace, nature and glory. “If you wish to understand the Mother,” says a saint, “then understand the Son. She is a worthy Mother of God.” Hic taceat omnis lingua : Here let every tongue be silent.
2. My heart has dictated with special joy all that I have written to show that Mary has been unknown up till now, and that that is one of the reasons why Jesus Christ is not known as he should be.

If then, as is certain, the knowledge and the kingdom of Jesus Christ must come into the world, it can only be as a necessary consequence of the knowledge and reign of Mary. She who first gave Him to the world will establish His kingdom in the world.

PART I: TRUE DEVOTION TO OUR LADY IN GENERAL

CHAPTER ONE - NECESSITY OF DEVOTION TO OUR LADY

1. Mary’s part in the Incarnation

1. With the whole Church I acknowledge that Mary, being a mere creature fashioned by the hands of God is, compared to his infinite majesty, less than an atom, or rather is simply nothing, since he alone can say, “I am he who is”. Consequently, this great Lord, who is ever independent and self-sufficient, never had and does not now have any absolute need of the Blessed Virgin for the accomplishment of his will and the manifestation of his glory. To do all things he has only to will them.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. Kindle in us the Fire of your love.

 

[patricius79]

“If you wish to understand the Mother,” says a saint, “then understand the Son. She is a worthy Mother of God.”

That’s right. The idea of a creature being the Mother of God is beyond our power to understand, because Jesus (God) is Infinite. This is why Pope Leo XIII wrote:

1. When we have recourse to Mary in prayer, we are having recourse to the Mother of mercy, who is so well disposed toward us that, whatever the necessity that presses upon us especially in attaining eternal life, she is instantly at our side of her own accord, even though she has not been invoked. She dispenses grace with a generous hand from that treasure with which from the beginning she was divinely endowed in fullest abundance that she might be worthy to be the Mother of God. By the fullness of grace which confers on her the most illustrious of her many titles, the Blessed Virgin is infinitely superior to all the hierarchies of men and angels, the one creature who is closest of all to Christ. “It is a great thing in any saint to have grace sufficient for the salvation of many souls; but to have enough to suffice for the salvation of everybody in the world, is the greatest of all; and this is found in Christ and in the Blessed Virgin.”(1)
   Magnae Dei Matris (September 8, 1892) | LEO XIII

It’s interesting how he connects Mary’s exaltation with her charity towards us, saying that she is “instantly at our side” when she is needed, even when she hasn’t been invoked.

 

[patricius79]

Pope Pius XI, quoting the greatest Doctor of the Church (St. Thomas Aquinas), makes the same point:

1. From this dogma of the divine maternity, as from the outpouring of a hidden spring, flow forth the singular grace of Mary and her dignity, which is the highest after God. Nay more, as Aquinas says admirably: “The Blessed Virgin, from this that she is the Mother of God, has a certain infinite dignity, from the infinite good which is God.” (Summ. Theo., III. a.6.) Cornelius a Lapide unfolds this and explains it more fully, in these words: “The Blessed Virgin is the Mother of God; therefore she is far more excellent than all the Angels, even the Seraphim and Cherubim. She is the Mother of God; therefore she is most pure and most holy, so that under God no greater purity can be imagined. She is the Mother of God; therefore whatever privilege (in the order of sanctifying grace) has been granted to any one of the Saints, she obtains it more than all” (In Matt. i. 6).
   Lux Veritatis - Papal Encyclicals

How wonderful our Blessed Mother is, so high and yet so humble and near to us!

 

[Pat_Albertson]

Jesus Christ: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” ~ Matthew 7:13-14

“From day to day, from moment to moment, she increased so much this twofold plenitude that she attained an immense and inconceivable degree of grace. So much so, that the Almighty made her the sole custodian of his treasures and the sole dispenser of his graces. She can now ennoble, exalt and enrich all she chooses. She can lead them along the narrow path to heaven and guide them through the narrow gate to life. She can give a royal throne, sceptre and crown to whom she wishes.” ~ Louis de Montfort

Mary is the narrow path. Rejoice at being Catholic for we have been given knowledge of the narrow path!

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear patricius,

Thanks for your “heart” telling us once again of your tender love of Jesus and Mary. Thanks also for your quote from Pope Pius XI, who quoted one of our great Saints and esteemed Theologians, St. Thomas Aquinas:

Aquinas says admirably: “The Blessed Virgin, from this that she is the Mother of God, has a certain infinite dignity, from the infinite good which is God.” (Summ. Theo., III. a.6.)

As the Church teaches, God’s Revelation comes through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church. St. Louis de Montfort in his writing shows us his fidelity to all those sources as he helps us to understand Mary’s exalted role in God’s Plan for our salvation. May we listen to God as He speaks to us through His Word and ponder all as Mary, did. May we listen to Him as He speaks to us through the Wisdom He gives his Saints and by the power of the Holy Spirit let us continue to hear Him through centuries of the Church’s Magisterium.

Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Pat_Albertson,

Thanks so much for your reply and the very beautiful words you posted from Jesus, as recorded by St. Matthew in his Gospel and the words of St. Louis de Montfort, who like our Mother Mary listened to all Jesus said and did, pondering all in her heart.

Yes, how we all need to lift up our heads and rejoice in our Catholic Faith! The Catholic Church is the one Church Christ founded and to whom God has given the fullness of His Truth. Jesus from the Cross entrusted His Mother to John and to all of us, to help us follow Jesus on the narrow way.

Like John may we take Mary into our Lives, obeying Jesus’ Words:

"Behold your Mother.’

In the Litany of Loreto, we invoke her as “Gate of Heaven” and how lovely that image of her is, for as St. Catherine of Siena said, "All the way to heaven is heaven for Jesus said “I am the Way.” Jesus came the first time through Mary, and He continues to come to us through her, and through her He will come again in triumph at the end.