Oct. 29 - "Presumptuous devotees"

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Yesterday I was only able to post a small part of paragraph #97 from St. Louis de Montfort’s treatise on “True Devotion” due to CAF limits on word count for posts. Today Im repeating that part and the rest of #97 to give context to anyone who missed yesterday’s post.

Presumptuous devotees

1. Presumptuous devotees are sinners who give full rein to their passions or their love of the world, and who, under the fair name of Christian and servant of our Lady, conceal pride, avarice, lust, drunkenness, anger, swearing, slandering, injustice and other vices. They sleep peacefully in their wicked habits, without making any great effort to correct them, believing that their devotion to our Lady gives them this sort of liberty. They convince themselves that God will forgive them, that they will not die without confession, that they will not be lost for all eternity. They take all this for granted because they say the Rosary, fast on Saturdays, are enrolled in the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary or the Scapular, or a sodality of our Lady, wear the medal or the little chain of our Lady.

When you tell them that such a devotion is only an illusion of the devil and a dangerous presumption which may well ruin them, they refuse to believe you. God is good and merciful, they reply, and he has not made us to damn us. No man is without sin. We will not die without confession, and a good act of contrition at death is all that is needed. Moreover, they say they have devotion to our Lady; that they wear the scapular; that they recite faithfully and humbly every day the seven Our Fathers and seven Hail Marys in her honour; that sometimes they even say the Rosary and the Office of our Lady, as well as fasting and performing other good works.

Blinding themselves still more, they quote stories they have heard or read - whether true or false does not bother them - which relate how people who had died in mortal sin were brought back to life again to go to confession, or how their soul was miraculously retained in their bodies until confession, because in their lifetime they said a few prayers or performed a few pious acts, in honour of our Lady. Others are supposed to have obtained from God at the moment of death, through the merciful intercession of the Blessed Virgin, sorrow and pardon for their sins, and so were saved. Accordingly, these people expect the same thing to happen to them.

1. Nothing in our Christian religion is so deserving of condemnation as this diabolical presumption. How can we truthfully claim to love and honour the Blessed Virgin when by our sins we pitilessly wound, pierce, crucify and outrage her Son? If Mary made it a rule to save by her mercy this sort of person, she would be condoning wickedness and helping to outrage and crucify her Son. Who would even dare to think of such a thing?

Come Holy Spirit, fill us with Your Love and Your Truth!

 

[Peonies]

@MariaChristi, thank you for your daily sharing of passages from St. Louis de Montfort’s writing! Your posts are always worth reading.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Peonies,

Thanks for your “heart” and for your reply. If there is anything worthwhile in any post of mine, you must surely know whose work that is – not mine – but Mary’s sweet spirit bringing Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit to all who seek Him.

St. Louis de Montfort was first introduced to me by our Religion teacher, a Dominican nun, in Catholic High School. Sister was also the Spiritual Director of our Junior Legion of Mary. We were about 15 yrs old in our sophomore year, and we accepted the invitation to consecrate ourselves totally to Jesus through Mary.

Hopefully her students will meet Sister Therese Catherine, O.P. again in heaven to thank her for such a wonderful “gift” ---- to begin deepening our spiritual lives by coming to know Jesus through Mary. If you are able to listen with the ears of your heart to the Truth God gave St. Louis de Montfort to share with His Church – then you too are experiencing how our Mother by her example and her words: “Do whatever He tells you” is by the Power of the Holy Spirit bringing you closer to Jesus.

Thanks again for your loving “heart” to express your love for Jesus through Mary. Please let us pray for one another, for the Church and for all those in most need of God’s Mercy.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Inbonum,

Thanks again for your “heart” which indicates both your “liking” the words of St. Louis de Montfort, and your own love for Jesus through Mary. The sin of presumption is so close to the capital sin of pride isn’t it? It was the pride of satan which caused him to fall into hell with all those those other prideful angels who chose to follow Lucifer’s words to God: “I will not serve”!

It is so important to listen to the words of Jesus, as Mary did:

… Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." (Mt 16:24–25)

St Louis de Montfort prepares us well in his 33 days of Preparation for Consecrating ourselves Totally to Jesus through Mary by encouraging us to spend the preliminary 12 days seeking to rid ourselves of the spirit of the world which opposes Christ; the first week is spent on seeking true knowledge of self; the second week on seeking better knowledge of Mary and finally the 3rd week seeking better knowledge of Jesus Christ.

“True Devotion” was written in the 1700’s but intended to be read by the Church in every age since – and especially in the difficult age we are living in today!

Prayerfully, I hope you, Inbonum, have read “True Devotion” or are reading it and anyone else who may be reading this post, I encourage you to click on the link and begin to read the truth God gave to His saint that he might share God’s truth with us. Begin or continue reading it by God’s grace, today.