"...such an abuse of devotion to her is a horrible sacrilege..."

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MariaChristi

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Continuing the description of “Presumptuous devotees” in St. Louis de Montfort’s treatise on "True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin":
…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?
  2. I declare that such an abuse of devotion to her is a horrible sacrilege and, next to an unworthy Communion, is the greatest and the least pardonable sin, because devotion to our Lady is the holiest and best after devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
I admit that to be truly devoted to our Lady, it is not absolutely necessary to be so holy as to avoid all sin, although this is desirable. But at least it is necessary (note what I am going to say), (1) to be genuinely determined to avoid at least all mortal sin, which outrages the Mother as well as the Son; (2) to practice self-restraint in order to avoid sin; (3) to join her confraternities, say the Rosary and other prayers, fast on Saturdays, and so on.
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Come Holy Spirit, enable us to understand Jesus’ words: "This is why I speak to them in parables, because ‘they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.’ Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see.’ " (Mt 13:13 -14 )
 
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Dear ioannes_pius,

Thanks for your “heart” to let us know you read and appreciated this excerpt from St. Louis de Montfort’s treatise on “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”. By God’s Grace, let us continually thank Him for His Grace to “see” and to “understand” more of His Truth through the wisdom He shares with us, often through our saints.

One of the reasons (as I’ve shared often) I appreciate St. Louis de Montfort so much is his love for God’s Word in Scripture and his love for the writings of the saints. He sought wisdom and God showed Him in a special way the “Seat of Wisdom” as Mary is called. If you have not read the entire treatise on True Devotion to Mary, I encourage you to click on the title and read the online version, slowly and prayerfully.

Many have not understood St. Louis de Montfort, it seems to me, but it can be because they have read him “out of context”. His Words can seeem to “hard” to some but Jesus also spoke “hard words” we need to hear. Please let us pray for one another, for the Church and for all those in most need of God’s Mercy.
 
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May we instead be “sweetly enlightened in all truth”, as St. Bonaventure says:
O Lady, in thy strength our heart shall rejoice: and in the sweetness of thy name our soul
shall be consoled.
From thy throne send us wisdom: by which we shall be sweetly enlightened in all truth.
Give us grace to abstain from carnal desires: that the light of thy grace may arise in our
hearts.
How sweet are thy words, O Lady, to them that love thee: how sweet is the shower of thy
graces.
I will sing unto thy glory and honor: and in thy name I will glory forever.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
https://d2wldr9tsuuj1b.cloudfront.n...re-The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary.pdf
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Dear patricius,

Thanks for your “heart” and for another excerpt from St. Bonaventure’s “Psalter of the Blessed Virgin”.

Yes, as “Queen of Heaven” and the “Seat of Wisdom” Mary is always with her Son Who is KIng of Heaven and Earth, and is Eternal Wisdom. “Where the Mother is, there is the Son” as Pope St. John Paul II said.

St. Bonaventure does well in asking Mary for Wisdom for she will bring Him to all who ask for Him, Jesus Who is Wisdom – and we will be sweetly enlightened in all Truth as He promised !
 
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Dear Stephie,

Thanks for your “heart” also. It is always an encouragement to find another person who is reading and pondering the Truth God gave to St. Louis de Montfort, enabling St. Louis and other saints as well, to write for the Church and for all who are seeking God’s Truth in all He does – especially in God’s Choice of Mary and His Plan to send Jesus to us through her. Please let us pray for one another to continue to grow in our Love for Him through Mary and for grace to help others know Mary better that they may draw closer to Jesus and through Jesus to the Father – remembering that it is more humble to go before the Lord with an Intercessor! 🙂
 
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This is a tough one.
For myself I see it as my own responsibility to avoid mortal sin, and if I don’t, then to get to confession right away. I trust in the mercy of God, and at the same time, I have my responsibility to do what He asks of us.

It’s harder when I think about family and friends who have died with absolutely NO sign of repentance. One family member enticed others out of the Church when she left and didn’t have last rights. Another family member died while apparently harboring an open grudge and resentment to his own children and planned to “punish” them by cutting them out of the will. Which he talked about within the week of his death.

I pray for them both every day.
 
Dear OScarlett,

Thanks for your reply – while we are primarily responsible for our own sins, it is true that our desires to help others avoid mortal sins can be even “tougher”. It seems to me however, that in both cases, earnest prayer is needed for without grace, we can do nothing.

When friends and relatives die, we really cannot know for sure their final moments with the Lord. Their last thought could have been be one of repentance like the “Good Thief, St. Dismas” whom Jesus forgave moments before His death and told him that he (Dismas) would be with Him in Paradise. We can pray that even those we may “suspect” could have died in mortal sin, might have repented before their last breath. It really is a mystery.

Like yourself, I too pray for all my relatives and friends who have died – that they may reach or have reached the Lord in heaven – even as I continue to pray that I too will persevere to the end in the Faith, Hope and Charity given me at Baptism, to the end of my days on this earth, especially through the intercession of our Mother Mary and reach heaven too.

Please let us continue to pray for one another and for all those in most need of God’s Mercy.
 
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