St. Louis Montfort Consecration question

[Pythagoras]

:In his book Treatise on True Devotion, I have a question:

paragraph 228

Every day they should say the Litany of the Holy Spirit, with the prayer that follows, as indicated in the first part of this work. They will turn to our Blessed Lady and beg her to obtain for them that great grace which is the foundation of all others, the grace of selfknowledge.

Do you know what is this prayer that he is referring to which is given at the first part of the Treatise on True Devotion to Mary book because I can’t find it. Thanks!

 

[Joe_5859]

:In his book Treatise on True Devotion, I have a question:

paragraph 228

Do you know what is this prayer that he is referring to which is given at the first part of the Treatise on True Devotion to Mary book because I can’t find it. Thanks!

I think I have a different translation that doesn’t include paragraph numbers, but each time I find in the text “litany of the Holy Ghost”, it is followed by mention of the Ave maris stella prayer.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

I am doing this from memory and without the resources at hand to refer back to. There were various prayers composed by Saint Louis. If I have remembered correctly, the Prayer to Mary below is the one that accompanies the praying of the Litany to the Holy Spirit. The Prayer to Jesus is the one for the next phase of the preparation, with the recitation of the Litany of the Holy Name.

*A. Prayer to Jesus

Most loving Jesus, permit me to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for your kindness in giving me to your holy Mother through the devotion of holy bondage, and so making her my advocate to plead with your Majesty on my behalf, and make up for all that I lack through my inadequacy. Alas, O Lord, I am so wretched that without my dear Mother I would certainly be lost. Yes, I always need Mary when I am approaching you. I need her to calm your indignation at the many offences I have committed every day. I need her to save me from the just sentence of eternal punishment I have deservedly incurred. I need her to turn to you, speak to you, pray to you, approach you and please you. I need her to help me save my soul and the souls of others. In a word, I need her so that I may always do your holy will and seek your greater glory in everything I do. Would that I could publish throughout the whole world the mercy which you have shown to me! Would that the whole world could know that without Mary I would now be doomed! If only I could offer adequate thanks for such a great benefit as Mary! She is within me. What a precious possession and what a consolation for me! Should I not in return be all hers? If I were not , how ungrateful would I be! My dear Saviour, send me death rather than I should be guilty of such a lapse, for I would rather die than not belong to Mary. Like St. John the Evangelist at the foot of the Cross, I have taken her times without number as my total good and as often have I given myself to her. But if I have not done so as perfectly as you, dear Jesus, would wish, I now do so according to your desire. If you still see in my soul or body anything that does not belong to this noble Queen, please pluck it out and cast it far from me, because anything of mine which does not belong to Mary is unworthy of you.

Holy Spirit, grant me all these graces. Implant in my soul the tree of true life, which is Mary. Foster it and cultivate it so that it grows and blossoms and brings forth the fruit of life in abundance. Holy Spirit, give me a great love and longing for Mary, your exalted spouse. Give me a great trust in her maternal heart and a continuous access to her compassion, so that with her you may truly form Jesus, great and powerful, in me until I attain the fullness of his perfect age. Amen.

B. Prayer to Mary

Hail, Mary, most beloved daughter of the eternal Father; hail, Mary, most admirable mother of the Son; hail, Mary, most faithful spouse of the Holy Spirit; hail, Mary, Mother most dear, Lady most lovable, Queen most powerful! Hail, Mary, my joy, my glory, my heart and soul. You are all mine through God’s mercy, but I am all yours in justice. Yet I do not belong sufficiently to you, and so once again, as a slave who always belongs to his master, I give myself wholly to you, reserving nothing for myself or for others. If you still see anything in me which is not given to you, please take it now. Make yourself completely owner of all my capabilities. Destroy in me everything that is displeasing to God. Uproot it and bring it to nothing. Implant in me all that you deem to be good; improve it and make it increase in me. May the light of your faith dispel the darkness of my mind. May your deep humility take the place of my pride. May your heavenly contemplation put an end to the distractions of my wandering imagination. May your continuous vision of God fill my memory with his presence. May the burning love of your heart inflame the coldness of mine. May your virtues take the place of my sins. May your merits be my adornment and make up for my unworthiness before God. Finally, most dearly beloved Mother, grant, if it be possible, that I may have no other spirit but yours to know Jesus and his divine will. May I have no soul but yours to praise and glorify the Lord. May I have no heart but yours to love God purely and ardently as you love him.

I do not ask for visions or revelations, for sensible devotion or even spiritual pleasures. It is your privilege to see God clearly in perpetual light. It is your privilege to savour the delights of heaven where nothing is without sweetness. It is your privilege to triumph gloriously in heaven at the right hand of your Son without further humiliation, and to command angels, men, and demons, without resistance on their part. It is your privilege to dispose at your own choice of all the good gifts of God without any exception. Such, most holy Mary, is the excellent portion which the Lord has given you, and which will never be taken from you, and which gives me great joy. As for my portion here on earth, I wish only to have a share in yours, that is, to have simple faith without seeing or tasting, to suffer joyfully without the consolation of men, to die daily to myself without flinching, to work gallantly for you even until death without any self-interest, as the most worthless of your slaves. The only grace I beg you in your kindness to obtain for me is that every day and moment of my life I may say this threefold Amen: Amen, so be it, to all you did upon earth; Amen, so be it, to all you are doing now in heaven; Amen, so be it, to all you are doing in my soul. In that way, you and you alone will fully glorify Jesus in me during all my life and throughout eternity. Amen. *

 

[Magdalen2013]

You might want to get a copy of “Total Consecration” from Montfort Publications – it has all the prayers that St. Louis de Montfort recommended.

 

[Della]

I believe the saint is referring this prayer:

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

It’s the one recommended before reading Scripture, and other devotions.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

There are several phases to the preparation. The prayers that are prescribed depend upon which phase of the preparation cycle you are in. In the earliest phase, one is using the Veni Creator and the Ave Maris Stella. As one proceeds there are litanies to be prayed along with the text of prayers, which Saint Louis composed.

 

[Della]

There are several phases to the preparation. The prayers that are prescribed depend upon which phase of the preparation cycle you are in. In the earliest phase, one is using the Veni Creator and the Ave Maris Stella. As one proceeds there are litanies to be prayed along with the text of prayers, which Saint Louis composed.

I went through the consecration a few years ago–I vaguely remember that. I still pray his “Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin Mary”–a lovely devotion, full of theological insight as well as spiritual inspiration.

 

[Jon_Mallory]

Alas, O Lord, I am so wretched that without my dear Mother I would certainly be lost. Yes, I always need Mary when I am approaching you. I need her to calm your indignation at the many offences I have committed every day. [/INDENT]

Is Christ that unapproachable? He took on human flesh and lived among us bearing our burdens and now that He ascended to the right hand of the Father, he no longer has the patience to care for us such that it is by His mother’s calming influence that he does not shut us out altogether? Forgive me, but this reminds me of an awful Jack Chick cartoon that depicts an angry Jesus being calmed by His mother so He will listen to a wretched sinner. Is this the very same Jesus who demonstrated His love for humanity by being nailed to a cross?

 

[Pythagoras]

1. During the first week they should offer up all their prayers and acts of devotion to acquire knowledge of themselves and sorrow for their sins.

Let them perform all their actions in a spirit of humility. With this end in view they may, if they wish, meditate on what I have said concerning our corrupted nature, and consider themselves during six days of the week as nothing but sails, slugs, toads, swine, snakes and goats. Or else they may meditate on the following three considerations of St. Bernard: “Remember what you were - corrupted seed; what you are - a body destined for decay; what you will be -food for worms.”

They will ask our Lord and the Holy Spirit to enlighten them saying, “Lord, that I may see,” or “Lord, let me know myself,” or the “Come, Holy Spirit”.** Every day they should say the Litany of the Holy Spirit, with the prayer that follows, as indicated in the first part of this work.** They will turn to our Blessed Lady and beg her to obtain for them that great grace which is the foundation of all others, the grace of self-knowledge. For this intention they will say each day the Ave Maris Stella and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin.

Well this prayer is during the first week after the 12 days. I think St. Louis de Montfort could be referring to the Come Holy Spirit prayer which is attached at the end of the Litany of the Holy Spirit. Am I right?

Anyways I searched for the websites for the 1st week prayer of the Total Consecration to Mary like this totalconsecration.ageofmary.com/preparation-13.html

It only says that this are the 1st week prayers:
1.) Litany of the Holy Spirit
2.) Litany of the Blessed Virgin
3.) Ave Maris Stella.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

Is Christ that unapproachable? He took on human flesh and lived among us bearing our burdens and now that He ascended to the right hand of the Father, he no longer has the patience to care for us such that it is by His mother’s calming influence that he does not shut us out altogether? Forgive me, but this reminds me of an awful Jack Chick cartoon that depicts an angry Jesus being calmed by His mother so He will listen to a wretched sinner. Is this the very same Jesus who demonstrated His love for humanity by being nailed to a cross?

When one looks at the schools of spirituality, one sees a very great breadth. The English School is distinct from the French School which is distinct from the Spanish School. In a similar way, Benedictine Spirituality is quite distinct from Ignatian or Carmelite. The Benedictine and Carmelite view of contemplation is quite different from the Dominican.

Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort was very heavily influenced by the French School of Spirituality and that of the 17th and 18th centuries; that said, his approach to Marian consecration was quite unique in its expression, even for the matrix out of which it emerged, and he is in many ways the exemplar of a Mariacentric spirituality. Some people find it very helpful in their spiritual lives. Others do not. As I have had occasion to say on other threads, that is why the Church has many different treasure houses from which to draw and leaves the faithful to make choices among many charisms. In many cases, a person can draw from many. There are instances, however, where there are aspects all but irreconcilable.

One does have to read even the writings and examples of the saints with care – and always in light of the mind of the Church and of sound theology. That is why the admonition of the Council Fathers in paragraphs 66 and 67 of Lumen Gentium are very important. Unfortunate things happen when the caution of the Council Fathers is not observed.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

Well this prayer is during the first week after the 12 days. I think St. Louis de Montfort could be referring to the Come Holy Spirit prayer which is attached at the end of the Litany of the Holy Spirit. Am I right?

Anyways I searched for the websites for the 1st week prayer of the Total Consecration to Mary like this totalconsecration.ageofmary.com/preparation-13.html

It only says that this are the 1st week prayers:
1.) Litany of the Holy Spirit
2.) Litany of the Blessed Virgin
3.) Ave Maris Stella.

I first made the consecration many many years ago. I have used the method the saint outlined various times since then to renew it – although a formula I long ago committed to memory that is shorter than the one de Montfort composed, but is largely an abridged and slightly re-styled version of what he wrote, is what I use daily to renew it, after I offer Mass.

There was a sort of practical handbook that I used, since it had all the texts of the various prayers at hand as well as The Secret of Mary and a number of devotions inspired by de Montfort including an examination of conscience and a Marian Way of the Cross…it was entitled The Reign of Jesus Through Mary, and was published by the de Montfort Fathers. Whether or not that book is still in print, I do not know – mine is ancient like its owner – and I do not have my copy readily at my fingertips at the present moment.

 

[Pythagoras]

I first made the consecration many many years ago. I have used the method the saint outlined various times since then to renew it – although a formula I long ago committed to memory that is shorter than the one de Montfort composed, but is largely an abridged and slightly re-styled version of what he wrote, is what I use daily to renew it, after I offer Mass.

There was a sort of practical handbook that I used, since it had all the texts of the various prayers at hand as well as The Secret of Mary and a number of devotions inspired by de Montfort including an examination of conscience and a Marian Way of the Cross…it was entitled The Reign of Jesus Through Mary, and was published by the de Montfort Fathers. Whether or not that book is still in print, I do not know – mine is ancient like its owner – and I do not have my copy readily at my fingertips at the present moment.

Yes, I read something about that where you say that prayer daily in order to renew your consecration after you were already consecrated.

So do you/we still renew the consecration yearly using the 33-day formula set by St. Louis de Montfort in a single date like every Dec. 8 for example? Or is that daily consecration prayer we say everyday already enough for the renewal of the consecration?

 

[Jon_Mallory]

When one looks at the schools of spirituality, one sees a very great breadth. The English School is distinct from the French School which is distinct from the Spanish School. In a similar way, Benedictine Spirituality is quite distinct from Ignatian or Carmelite. The Benedictine and Carmelite view of contemplation is quite different from the Dominican.

Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort was very heavily influenced by the French School of Spirituality and that of the 17th and 18th centuries; that said, his approach to Marian consecration was quite unique in its expression, even for the matrix out of which it emerged, and he is in many ways the exemplar of a Mariacentric spirituality. Some people find it very helpful in their spiritual lives. Others do not. As I have had occasion to say on other threads, that is why the Church has many different treasure houses from which to draw and leaves the faithful to make choices among many charisms. In many cases, a person can draw from many. There are instances, however, where there are aspects all but irreconcilable.

One does have to read even the writings and examples of the saints with care – and always in light of the mind of the Church and of sound theology. That is why the admonition of the Council Fathers in paragraphs 66 and 67 of Lumen Gentium are very important. Unfortunate things happen when the caution of the Council Fathers is not observed.

Thank you Father. As always, your responses are seasoned with salt and informative.