"Mary's strongest inclination is to unite us to Jesus, her Son..."

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

After explaining kinds of slavery, in “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”, St. Louis de Montfort explains also how and why we can become loving slaves of Jesus and Mary:

1. Granting this, I say that we must belong to Jesus and serve Him not just as hired servants but as willing slaves who, moved by generous love, commit themselves to His service after the manner of slaves for the honor of belonging to Him. Before we were baptised we were the slaves of the devil, but baptism made us the slaves of Jesus. Christians can only be slaves of the devil or slaves of Christ.
2. What I say in an absolute sense of our Lord, I say in a relative sense of our Blessed Lady. Jesus, in choosing her as His inseparable associate in His life, glory and power in heaven and on earth, has given her by grace in His kingdom all the same rights and privileges that He possesses by nature. “All that belongs to God by nature belongs to Mary by grace”, say the saints, and, according to them, just as Jesus and Mary have the same will and the same power, they have also the same subjects, servants and slaves.
3. Following therefore the teaching of the saints and of many great men we can call ourselves, and become, the loving slaves of our Blessed Lady in order to become more perfect slaves of Jesus. Mary is the means our Lord chose to come to us and she is also the means we should choose to go to Him, for she is not like other creatures who tend rather to lead us away from God than towards Him, if we are over-attached to them. Mary’s strongest inclination is to unite us to Jesus, her Son, and her Son’s strongest wish is that we come to Him through His Blessed Mother. He is pleased and honoured just as a king would be pleased and honoured if a citizen, wanting to become a better subject and slave of the king, made himself the slave of the queen. That is why the Fathers of the Church, and St. Bonaventure after them, assert that the Blessed Virgin is the way which leads to our Lord.

Come Holy Spirit, kindle in us the Fire of Your Love. Enable us to “see” by the Supernatural Faith given in Baptism – God’s Will to save us by sending Jesus through Mary, ever more clearly. Enable us to trust in Jesus and Mary’s union of love for us, and to love Them and serve them more each day until we live eternally in union with God in the perfection of Love.

 

[patricius79]

Mary’s strongest inclination is to unite us to Jesus, her Son, and her Son’s strongest wish is that we come to Him through His Blessed Mother.

This is so key, to understand that there is no way an opposition. Jesus wants us to come to Him through Mary, and Mary wants to bring us to Jesus.

As Vatican II tells us, Mary adds nothing to the grace of Christ. Rather, her motherly role manifests Christ’s power.

St. Louis mentions again that great “Prince of Mystics”, “Seraphic Doctor”, and Doctor of the Church, St. Bonaventure (please pray for us).

Here is St. Bonaventure again in his too-little-known masterpiece called the “Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary”:

PSALM 46
All ye nations, clap your hands: sing in jubilee to the glorious Virgin.
For she is the gate of life, the door of salvation, and the way of our reconciliation.
The hope of the penitent: the comfort of those that weep: the blessed peace of hearts, and
their salvation.
Have mercy on me, O Lady, have mercy on me: for thou art the light and the hope of all
who trust in thee.
By thy salutary fecundity let it please thee: that pardon of my sins may be granted unto
me.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
https://d2wldr9tsuuj1b.cloudfront.n...re-The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary.pdf

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks, so much patricius, for your “heart” and for this reply. May God use our words , our quotes from Saints, and words from Scriture to do as St. Louis de Montfort did, strive to make Mary better known and loved, that Jesus may be better known and loved.

How truly St. Bonaventure describes Mary:

…she is the gate of life…

How much there is to ponder and be grateful for in Mary’'s “Yes” to God opening herself totally to the Holy Spirit that the Word became Flesh and dwelt among us.

“O Jesus living in Mary, come and live in Your servants…” = prayer of Fr. Olier

 

[patricius79]

Amen. Yes, I also like how St. Bonaventure calls Mary “the blessed peace of hearts”. I can really relate to that, since I had so little peace until I started understanding how to depend on Mary.