Sept. 25 - "...the poor...have more... faith than..."

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Let us continue to read, and by God’s grace seek to practice "True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin; St. Louis de Montfort lived the words he wrote for God and the salvation of souls:

1. Were I speaking to the so-called intellectuals of today, I would prove at great length by quoting Latin texts taken from Scripture and the Fathers of the Church all that I am now stating so simply. I could also instance solid proofs which can be read in full in Fr. Poir"s book “The Triple Crown of the Blessed Virgin”. But I am speaking mainly for the poor and simple who have more good will and faith than the common run of scholars. As they believe more simply and more meritoriously, let me merely state the truth to them quite plainly without bothering to quote Latin passages which they would not understand. Nevertheless, I shall quote some texts as they occur to my mind as I go along.
2. Since grace enhances our human nature and glory adds a still greater perfection to grace, it is certain that our Lord remains in heaven just as much the Son of Mary as he was on earth. Consequently he has retained the submissiveness and obedience of the most perfect of all children towards the best of all mothers.

We must take care, however, not to consider this dependence as an abasement or imperfection in Jesus Christ. For Mary, infinitely inferior to her Son, who is God, does not command him in the same way as an earthly mother would command her child who is beneath her. Since she is completely transformed in God by that grace and glory which transforms all the saints in him, she does not ask or wish or do anything which is contrary to the eternal and changeless will of God. When therefore we read in the writings of Saint Bernard, Saint Bernardine, Saint Bonaventure, and others that all in heaven and on earth, even God himself, is subject to the Blessed Virgin, they mean that the authority which God was pleased to give her is so great that she seems to have the same power as God. Her prayers and requests are so powerful with him that he accepts them as commands in the sense that he never resists his dear mother’s prayer because it is always humble and conformed to his will.

Moses by the power of his prayer curbed God’s anger against the Israelites so effectively that the infinitely great and merciful Lord was unable to withstand him and asked Moses to let him be angry and punish that rebellious people. How much greater, then, will be the prayer of the humble Virgin Mary, worthy Mother of God, which is more powerful with the King of heaven than the prayers and intercession of all the angels and saints in heaven and on earth.

Come Holy Spirit, kindle in us the Fire of Your Love – as you kindled the Fire of Love for Jesus through Mary, in the heart of St. Louis de Montfort. Jesus, we trust in you,. Mary, Mother of the Church pray for us.

 

[hazcompat]

Praying Mary in a time of crisis… and then what?​

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During a time of crisis, especially one involving our health, it can sometimes be easier to maintain our devotion to God and the saints. In particular, we may pray for the Virgin Mary’s intercession, asking for a miraculous cure or even the simple restoration of our health.
Often our health will be restored, either miraculously or in a more gradual way. While initially we may give thanks to God or the Virgin Mary for such a grace, afterwards our devotion may lessen in fervor or we may even abandon it.
Saint Louis de Montfort, an 18th-century French priest who dedicated his whole life to leading souls to Jesus through Mary, urges Christians not to fall into this temptation in his book entitled True Devotion to Mary :
There are also the interested devotees, who have recourse to our Lady only to gain some lawsuit, or to avoid some danger, or to be cured of some illness, or for some other similar necessity, without which they would forget her altogether. Both, however, of these two last classes are false devotees, and neither of them pass current before God and His holy Mother.
An “interested devotee” is one who is only “interested” in God or the Virgin Mary for a specific goal in mind. When that goal is accomplished, then devotion is dropped entirely.
This type of devotion is not “love” at all, but only a momentary feeling that passes when something in our lives changes. A much better and more authentic devotion to Mary is described by de Montfort:
True devotion is tender; that is to say, full of confidence in her, like a child’s confidence in his loving mother. This confidence makes the soul have recourse to her in all its bodily or mental necessities, with much simplicity, trust, and tenderness. It implores the aid of its good Mother, at all times, in all places, and about all things; in its doubts, that it may be enlightened; in its wanderings, that it may be brought into the right path; in its temptations, that it may be supported; in its weaknesses, that it may be strengthened; in its falls, that it may be lifted up; in its discouragements, that it may be cheered; in its scruples, that they may be taken away; in its crosses, toils, and disappointments of life, that it may be consoled under them. In a word, in all its evils of body and mind, the soul’s ordinary refuge is in Mary, without fearing to be importunate to her or to displease Jesus Christ.

 

[hazcompat]

True devotion to our Lady is constant. It confirms the soul in good, and it does not let it easily abandon its spiritual exercises … It is not that such a person does not fall, or change sometimes in the sensible feeling of devotion, or in the amount of devotion itself. But when he falls, he rises again by stretching out his hand to his good Mother.
Above all we must look upon Mary as our spiritual mother, who cares deeply for us in good times and in bad. Whether we are sick or healthy, we must call upon our mother for help. She is there for us, always leading us back to her Son, Jesus Christ.
Adapted from: Aleteia

Read more on mariedenazareth.com:​

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear hazcompat,

Thanks for your reply with the quotes from “True Devotion” – Adapted from Aleteia.

The section in St. Louis de Montfort’s book from which the quotes were drawn is really an important one because the saint distinguishes between Marks of false and authentic devotion to Mary (cf paragraphs 90 - 110)

My favorite from the Saint’s descriptions of authentic devotion to Mary is this one:

1. First, true devotion to our Lady is interior, that is, it comes from within the mind and the heart and follows from the esteem in which we hold her, the high regard we have for her greatness, and the love we bear her.

May we who are seeking to grow closer to Jesus through Mary, continue to listen to the wisdom God gave to St. Louis de Montfort in writing this classic spiritual book which has helped the Church. More than that may we, by God’s Grace do the Truth we hear!