"...Never the Cross without Jesus, or Jesus without the Cross..."

[MariaChristi]

1. At last His wishes were fully satisfied. Bearing a stigma of shame He was attached to the cross, indissolubly joined to it, and died joyfully upon it as if in the arms of a dear friend and upon a couch of honor and triumph.
2. Do not think that, wanting to be more triumphant, He rejected the cross after His death. Far from it; He united Himself so closely to it that neither angel nor man, nor any creature in heaven or on earth, could separate Him from it. The bond between them is indissoluble, their union is eternal. Never the Cross without Jesus, or Jesus without the Cross. Through His dying upon it the Cross of ignominy became so glorious, its poverty and starkness so enriching, its sorrows so agreeable, its austerity so attractive, that it became as it were deified and an object to be adored by angels and by men. Jesus now requires that all his subjects adore it as they adore Him. It is not His wish that the honor even of a relative adoration be given to any other creature however exalted, such as His most Blessed Mother. This special worship is due and given only to His dear Cross. On the day of the last judgement He will bring to an end all veneration to the relics of the saints, even those most venerable, but not to those of His Cross. He will command the chief Seraphim and Cherubim to collect from every part of the world all the particles of the true Cross. By His loving omnipotence He will re-unite them so well that the whole Cross will be re-formed, the very Cross on which He died. He will have His Cross borne in triumph by angels joyfully singing its praises. It will go before Him, borne upon the most brilliant cloud that has ever been seen. And with this Cross and by it, He will judge the world. Great will be the joy of the friends of the Cross on beholding it. Deep will be the despair of its opponents who, not being able to bear the brilliant and fiery sight of this Cross, will plead for the mountains to fall upon them and for hell to swallow them. (cf Lk 23.30)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On this First Saturday of July, it seems to me only Mary comes close to loving the Cross as Jesus did, sharing in His Triumph. Recall the apparition to Sister Lucia, eldest of the shepherd children of Fatima:

Our Lady appeared to her again in Spain…on the 10th December 1925. By her side, elevated on a luminous cloud, was a Child. The most holy Virgin rested her hand on Lucia’s shoulder, and as she did so, she showed her a heart encircled by thorns, which she was holding in her other hand. At the same time, the Child said: “Have compassion on the Heart of your most holy Mother, covered with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them”. – See HERE scroll down to The Apparitions at Pontevedra

Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary, we trust in your Love for us, by the power of the Holy Spirit!

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear CajunJoy and Camehome4john6,

Thanks so much for your “hearts” which let me know that the words of St. Louis de Montfort in his book: “The Love of Eternal Wisdom” are words that were a blessing to you. They certainly have been a blessing for me too. May we daily learn from Jesus and Mary, and from the wisdom God shares with His saints who seek Him and find Him.

 

[patricius79]

Jesus now requires that all his subjects adore it as they adore Him. It is not His wish that the honor even of a relative adoration be given to any other creature however exalted, such as His most Blessed Mother. This special worship is due and given only to His dear Cross

MariaChristi,

I love the whole quotation you gave and it’s something I’m trying to understand.

This part, however, I don’t understand. It sounds to me like he’s saying that while we shouldn’t worship His Mother–which of course is true–we should worship the Cross.

Therefore, it sounds like he’s saying that His Cross is greater than His Mother; and that we should worship something–the Cross-- besides God.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear patricuius,

Thanks for your question. I’m sure you are not the only one who is continuing to try and understand what St. Louis de Motfort is saying in paragraph 172. Let’s look at the words in a fuller context of what St. Louis de Montfort wrote:

“…Through His dying upon it, the Cross of ignominy became so glorious, its poverty and starkness so enriching, its sorrows so agreeable, its austerity so attractive, that it became as it were deified and an object to be adored by angels and by men. Jesus now requires that all his subjects adore it as they adore Him. It is not His wish that the honor even of a relative adoration be given to any other creature however exalted, such as His most Blessed Mother. This special worship is due and given only to His dear Cross. On the day of the last judgement He will bring to an end all veneration to the relics of the saints, even those most venerable, but not to those of His Cross…” (I emphasized words in bold)

That first sentence I emphasized in bold above, can help us hear better what St. Louis de Montfort said:

…"Through His dying upon the Cross of ignominy" that Cross became so glorious… …that it became as it were deified and an object to to be adored…

Jesus so identifies HIMSELF with HIS CROSS that St. Louis de Montfort wrote the cross became AS IT WERE DEIFIED – “as it were” can be translated “like”. St. Louis is not saying that a piece of wood is worshiped as God is but rather because it was through His Cross Jesus saved us, He wants us to revere the Cross as He does, in a very special way. (At least that is how the saint’s words seem to me)

Mary is certainly more than any material object but our Mother is never more than Christ. Mary is not God nor can she ever be a “deity”. Jesus reveres His Mother but in a different way from His Cross. Mary is not adored but she is revered and venerated above every other saint and angel in heaven. Both Mary and His Cross are “special” to Christ and “Loved” by Christ but each in a unique way.

When St Louis wrote wrote further in the same paragraph:

It is not His wish that the honor even of a relative adoration be given to any other creature however exalted, such as His most Blessed Mother. This special worship is due and given only to His dear Cross

As I understand St. Louis, he wrote that Jesus does not want us to give “even a relative adoration” --meaning no adoration at all, not even even anything suggesting adoration for a creature, or “relate adoration” with any other creature". Certainly the Church venerates the True Cross in a way very different from any other relic, and venerates Mary in a very special way above every other Saint. (There are no relics of Mary). These are only my thoughts, patricius, but since the Church has approved St. Louis de Montfort’s writing, we need to keep pondering passages we may not understand, just as Mary pondered all in her heart, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Hope that helps a bit. Thanks again for your reply and the good question.

 

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

It always fascinates me that Jesus decided He would wear His stigmata throughout all eternity. His wounds.

We try to hide our wounds, or we say “X happened in the past and it’s okay—I’m all past that now!”

But Jesus kept them and people know Him by them.

 

[patricius79]

“… Through His dying upon it, the Cross of ignominy became so glorious, its poverty and starkness so enriching, its sorrows so agreeable, its austerity so attractive, that it became as it were deified and an object to be adored by angels and by men.

Thank you, MariaChristi. I don’t understand some of his word choice. But I am understanding how much more I need to embrace the Cross and my share in it.

 

[patricius79]

Or we don’t let our wounds heal because we refuse to forgive.

Jesus forgave completely and left his wounds.

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks for your comment, O’Scarlet. Truly some do hide their wounds for different reasons.

As I was praying the Chaplet of Mercy this afternoon, looking at our crucifix, I was thinking of what St.Louis de Montfort wrote:

" … Through His dying upon it, the Cross of ignominy became so glorious, its poverty and starkness so enriching, its sorrows so agreeable, its austerity so attractive,…

His words reminded me of Pope St. John Paul II’s words:

“The revelation of the glory of the Trinity in the passion of Jesus becomes a promise –
that our pain and darkness, too,
can become a dialogue of love,
in which there shines forth in our lives the glory of the Trinity.” – Pope St. John Paul II, May 3, 2000

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear OScarlet and patricius,

Thank you both for your" hearts" letting me know you read and appreciated both the words of St. Louis de Montfort, and words of Pope St. John Paul II. I had never connected that particular passage from “The Love of Eternal Wisdom” with that particular Quote from St. John Paul II, but I’m not surprised by their similarity of thought.

Pope St. John Paul II wrote in his book “Crossing the Threshold of Hope” that reading St. Louis de Montfort’s “True Devotion to Mary” was a “turning point” in his young life. He also chose words from St. Louis de Montfort : “Totus Tuus” (All Yours) for his Papal Motto. Such similarity of their words was no accident, but rather the work of the Holy Spirit to be sure!

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.