Wk 3 - Day 1 - seeking to understand Jesus Christ better

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We have come to the final week of our journey:

1. During the third week they should seek to understand Jesus Christ better. They may read and meditate on what we have already said about him. They may say the prayer of St. Augustine which they will find at the beginning of the second part of this book. Again with St. Augustine, they may pray repeatedly, “Lord, that I may know you,” or “Lord, that I may see.” As during the previous week, they should recite the Litany of the Holy Spirit and the Ave Maris Stella, adding every day the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus.

Notice, St. Louis de Montfort offers some things we “may do” such as reading what he has already written or praying the prayer of St. Augustine, or pray repeatedly, “Lord that I may know You” or “Lord that I may see”. He uses the words, "they should recite…the Litany of the Holy Spirit, and the Ave Maris Stella adding every day the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus.

Some books may include many more suggestions for reading, for prayers, and for spiritual exercises which may be good for some persons, but I have found that people can get discouraged because they cannot keep up with all the suggestions. In recent years I have stayed with only what St. Louis himself wrote, and have found De Montfort’s simpler method, far better for me I hope this has been a good way for you to make the journey as well.

May the Holy Spirit continue to work His Perfect Work in each of us, giving us all the graces we need through Mary to undersand Jesus better than we have ever understood Him before today. I will post the prayer of St. Augustine below in case anyone wishes to pray it, for it is beautiful, but I have linked the three prayers, above which St. Louis de Montfort tells us we “should” pray.

1. So that I may obtain from Your mercy a genuine devotion to your blessed Mother and spread it throughout the whole world, help me to love You wholeheartedly, and for this intention accept the earnest prayer I offer with St. Augustine and all who truly love You.

Prayer of Saint Augustine

O Jesus Christ, you are my Father, my merciful God, my great King, my good Shepherd, my only Master, my best helper, my beloved friend of overwhelming beauty, my living Bread, my eternal priest. You are my guide to my heavenly home, my one true light, my holy joy, my true way, my shining wisdom, my unfeigned simplicity, the peace and harmony of my soul, my perfect safeguard, my bounteous inheritance, my everlasting salvation.

My loving Lord, Jesus Christ, why have I ever loved or desired anything else in my life but you, my God? Where was I when I was not in communion with you? From now on, I direct all my desires to be inspired by you and centred on you. I direct them to press forward for they have tarried long enough, to hasten towards their goal, to seek the one they yearn for.

O Jesus, let him who does not love you be accursed, and filled with bitterness. O gentle Jesus, let every worthy feeling of mine show you love, take delight in You and admire You. O God of my heart and my inheritance, Christ Jesus, may my heart mellow before the influence of Your Spirit and may you live in me. May the flame of your love burn in my soul. May it burn incessantly on the altar of my heart. May it glow in my innermost being. May it spread its heat into the hidden recesses of my soul and on the day of my consummation may I appear before You consumed in Your Love. Amen.