"With Mary..."

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Continuing to learn from St. Louis de Montfort’s words on “Special interior practices for those who wish to be perfect” in his treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin:

With Mary

1. We must do everything with Mary, that is to say, in all our actions we must look upon Mary, although a simple human being, as the perfect model of every virtue and perfection, fashioned by the Holy Spirit for us to imitate, as far as our limited capacity allows. In every action then we should consider how Mary performed it or how she would perform it if she were in our place. For this reason, we must examine and meditate on the great virtues she practised during her life, especially:

1. Her lively faith, by which she believed the angel’s word without the least hesitation, and believed faithfully and constantly even to the foot of the Cross on Calvary.

1. Her deep humility, which made her prefer seclusion, maintain silence, submit to every eventuality and put herself in the last place.

1. Her truly divine purity, which never had and never will have its equal on this side of heaven.

And so on for her other virtues.

Remember what I told you before, that Mary is the great, unique mould of God, designed to make living images of God at little expense and in a short time. Anyone who finds this mould and casts himself into it, is soon transformed into our Lord because it is the true likeness of him.

Saturday is “Mary’s Day” in a unique way for Catholic Christians, and has been for centuries, so may this Saturday in September be a day of great growth in holiness for all of us.

 

[Gertabelle]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Continuing to learn from St. Louis de Montfort’s words on “Special interior practices for those who wish to be perfect” in his treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin:

Saturday is “Mary’s Day” in a unique way for Catholic Christians, and has been for centuries, so may this Saturday in September be a day of great growth in holiness for all of us.

Thank you for this beautiful reflection to start my day!

God bless you!

 

[MariaChristi]

Thank you for this beautiful reflection to start my day!

God bless you!

Dear Gertabelle,

Thanks for your reply and encouragement. The Holy Spirit worked so mightily in St. Louis de Montfort in his day, and in St. John Paul II and in Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta in our own time, it can give us great courage to trust in His continuing work today.

You may have seen this picture in another thread I posted but I keep a copy n my desk as a reminder that Mary is with me, and all her children, as she was with Mother Teresa:
http://www.mcpriests.com/03spirituality/images/christ_mother.jpg
Bl. Mother Teresa in a vision she shared with Fr. Langford, MC, saw herself as a child of 9 or 10, with Mary standing behind her. Both facing Jesus Crucified. This is an artist’s rendition of the vision. Mother told Fr. Langford that she didn’t think she could have gone through the darkness God permitted in her life, had she not had the presence of our Lady.

Mother encouraged all her sisters to make the 33 day preparation and consecration to Jesus through Mary. As St. John Paul II did, Mother Teresa took De Montfort’s True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary very seriously. I believe both of them lived their consecration to Jesus through Mary. By God’s Grace, may we do the same.

 

[Gertabelle]

I just picked up a copy of 33 Days to Morning Glory. I will have to wait a month to start in order to do the consecration on a Marian feast. Seems like a waste of time to me, honestly. I wish there weren’t such an emphasis on doing the consecration on a Marian feast. I can’t think of a good reason to wait for grace, you know.

So I’m going to spend this month grappling with the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola. Seems like God’s plan for me anyway

Meanwhile, I invite my dear Mother to join me in “the tangle of my mind” these days.

God bless you!

 

[Todd977]

1. We must do everything with Mary, that is to say, in all our actions we must look upon Mary, although a simple human being, as the perfect model of every virtue and perfection, fashioned by the Holy Spirit for us to imitate, as far as our limited capacity allows.

Lest some object and say that Jesus Christ, not Mary, is “the perfect model of every virtue and perfection,” it should be noted that St. Louis de Montfort’s remarks were qualified and were limited to mere human beings and Jesus Christ is excluded from this consideration because He is not a mere human being but rather a divine person with a human nature.

 

[MariaChristi]

Lest some object and say that Jesus Christ, not Mary, is “the perfect model of every virtue and perfection,” it should be noted that St. Louis de Montfort’s remarks were qualified and were limited to mere human beings and Jesus Christ is excluded from this consideration because He is not a mere human being but rather a divine person with a human nature.

Dear Todd,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, of course, Jesus is the perfect example of every virtue but St. Louis is pointing to Mary as “a simple human being” whom the Holy Spirit fashioned for us to imitate as simple human beings ourselves, and the saint adds with great wisdom “as far as our limited capacity allows”.

Perhaps someone who did not read the paragraph carefully might misunderstand, but if one reads the whole treatise: True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary , St. Louis de Montfort makes it clear whenever he is speaking of Mary it is as a simple human being. Jesus is God, the Divine Second Person of the Blessed Trinity who has both a human nature and a Divine nature. Mary is a human person with only a human nature and so she is our human example, the perfect model, for us simple human beings.

1. We must do everything with Mary, that is to say, in all our actions we must look upon Mary, although a simple human being, as the perfect model of every virtue and perfection, fashioned by the Holy Spirit for us to imitate, as far as our limited capacity allows.

Not only in paragraph 26O does St. Louis make it clear Mary is “our example as a simple human being” but he stresses this early in his treatise in Chapter One:

…14. With the whole Church I acknowledge that Mary, being a mere creature fashioned by the hands of God is, compared to his infinite majesty, less than an atom, or rather is simply nothing, since he alone can say, “I am he who is”. Consequently, this great Lord, who is ever independent and self-sufficient, never had and does not now have any absolute need of the Blessed Virgin for the accomplishment of his will and the manifestation of his glory. To do all things he has only to will them.

1. However, I declare that, considering things as they are, because God has decided to begin and accomplish his greatest works through the Blessed Virgin ever since he created her, we can safely believe that he will not change his plan in the time to come, for he is God and therefore does not change in his thoughts or his way of acting.

The more I read this little treatise , the more I am grateful to God for the gift of Mary in my life. I encourage anyone who has not read it to prayerfully take up this little book, prayerfully and trust the Holy Spirit to teach you the Truth of Jesus more completely through Mary.

 

[MariaChristi]

I just picked up a copy of 33 Days to Morning Glory. I will have to wait a month to start in order to do the consecration on a Marian feast. Seems like a waste of time to me, honestly. I wish there weren’t such an emphasis on doing the consecration on a Marian feast. I can’t think of a good reason to wait for grace, you know.

So I’m going to spend this month grappling with the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola. Seems like God’s plan for me anyway

Meanwhile, I invite my dear Mother to join me in “the tangle of my mind” these days.

God bless you!

Dear Gertabelle,

Have you read De Montfort’s “True Devotion”? I read 33 Days to Morning Glory and while I appreciate the author’s attempt to use modern examples and readings, I find the original by St. Louis De Montfort, better for me.

In both books, however, it is only a “suggestion” to make your Act of Consecration on a Marian Feast. My first Act of Consecration was made on June 10 - I knew of no special Feast of Mary on that day. It was an ordinary school day, but I’m grateful to the Dominican Sister who explained it to us as teenagers and members of a Junior Legion of Mary, and invited us to consecrate ourselves.

Not too long ago a friend gave me a book that gives a feast of Our Lady for every day of the year, so if you choose a date, let me know and I’ll look up the date for you. I discovered June 10 is the Feast of Our Lady of Cranganor (India).

Now I choose to renew my Consecration not only on June 10, but on Marian Feast days, especially March 25, Feast of the Annunciation. If you feel strongly that you do not want to wait, I would say go ahead and begin. Again, I would follow what St Louis suggests for the 33 days in “True Devotion”. Some other books add additional prayers and suggested readings and practices beyond what St. Louis De Montfort wrote. I found it a blessing to simply stay with the saint’s words and method for the 33 days.

In these days following my renewal of Consecration on Sept. 15, I continue to ponder his words on how to live the words I prayed. May the Holy Spirit guide you and Mary our Mother hold you always in the “Crossing of her arms” close to Jesus.

 

[Gertabelle]

Dear Gertabelle,

Have you read De Montfort’s “True Devotion”? I read 33 Days to Morning Glory and while I appreciate the author’s attempt to use modern examples and readings, I find the original by St. Louis De Montfort, better for me.

In both books, however, it is only a “suggestion” to make your Act of Consecration on a Marian Feast. My first Act of Consecration was made on June 10 - I knew of no special Feast of Mary on that day. It was an ordinary school day, but I’m grateful to the Dominican Sister who explained it to us as teenagers and members of a Junior Legion of Mary, and invited us to consecrate ourselves.

Not too long ago a friend gave me a book that gives a feast of Our Lady for every day of the year, so if you choose a date, let me know and I’ll look up the date for you. I discovered June 10 is the Feast of Our Lady of Cranganor (India).

Now I choose to renew my Consecration not only on June 10, but on Marian Feast days, especially March 25, Feast of the Annunciation. If you feel strongly that you do not want to wait, I would say go ahead and begin. Again, I would follow what St Louis suggests for the 33 days in “True Devotion”. Some other books add additional prayers and suggested readings and practices beyond what St. Louis De Montfort wrote. I found it a blessing to simply stay with the saint’s words and method for the 33 days.

In these days following my renewal of Consecration on Sept. 15, I continue to ponder his words on how to live the words I prayed. May the Holy Spirit guide you and Mary our Mother hold you always in the “Crossing of her arms” close to Jesus.

Thanks for the encouragement!

I think I’m going to wait until October or November to begin. My son’s and my birthdays are in November, and I think it would be absolutely lovely to be preparing for consecration during that time. Actually, I think I’ll invite my son (who’ll be turning 12) to join me in this – maybe for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception! That’ll be a crazy time for us, as my son has six Christmas concerts at a major Denver theater. Doing the consecration then would be a wonderful preparation for the Nativity of Our Lord.

I did read part of St Louis’s book, but felt really unconnected to it Perhaps that’s why Our Lord brought this other book to my attention.

Anyway, I appreciate your comments so very much. Through this interaction I came to the idea of asking my son to join me – what a gift you have given us!

God bless you!

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks for the encouragement!

I think I’m going to wait until October or November to begin. My son’s and my birthdays are in November, and I think it would be absolutely lovely to be preparing for consecration during that time. Actually, I think I’ll invite my son (who’ll be turning 12) to join me in this – maybe for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception! That’ll be a crazy time for us, as my son has six Christmas concerts at a major Denver theater. Doing the consecration then would be a wonderful preparation for the Nativity of Our Lord.

I did read part of St Louis’s book, but felt really unconnected to it Perhaps that’s why Our Lord brought this other book to my attention.

Anyway, I appreciate your comments so very much. Through this interaction I came to the idea of asking my son to join me – what a gift you have given us!

God bless you!

Dear Gertabelle,

Thanks, dear sister in Jesus and Mary, for your reply. Many persons have felt “unconnected” to St. Louis de Montfort, perhaps because he wrote in the 1700’s and his way of expressing the truth is different from our “modern” ways. I know others have found the book, “33 Days to Glory” a better way for them.

The important thing is always the “heart” of anyone who desires to love Jesus and Mary more. If we ask the Lord to purify our hearts, He will! He told us to ask, seek and knock, in order that we may receive, find, and have the door opened for us.

Your son is young, but I wasn’t much older when I made my Act of Consecration. I was about 15 years old. If he feels he is not ready, then keep praying for him that the Lord will guide him into the complete Truth.

One thing I might add, however, is the story of Servant of God Frank Duff, founder of the Legion of Mary. In sharing his own experience of reading “True Devotion”, he wrote that he didn’t think much of it, the first time he read it, but a friend kept encouraging him to read it again. I think Mr. Duff read it about 6 times before he exclaimed: “This is true!”

If you’d like to read the story in his own words it can be read HERE. I hope Frank Duff will be canonized soon. Also two younger Legion of Mary members whose causes have been introduced: Venerable Edel Quinn, a young woman sent to Africa as a Legion envoy and Servant of God Alphonsus Lamb, a young man sent to Latin America as Legion envoy. We need more canonized lay men, women, and children for our modern world to see we are ALL called to holiness.

 

[Gertabelle]

In my parish’s bulletin this morning I saw that a woman is forming a group to begin the 3 days in November so we can make our consecration on Dec 8 – God certainly seems to be working here!

God bless you!

 

[MariaChristi]

In my parish’s bulletin this morning I saw that a woman is forming a group to begin the 3 days in November so we can make our consecration on Dec 8 – God certainly seems to be working here!

God bless you!

Yes, God is always working good! (cf Romans 8:28). How beautiful to see by faith also, how He works consistently through Mary! (I’m assuming you meant 33 days not 3, right?)

Thanks for sharing this good news, Gertabelle. God bless you too!