The Spirituality of St Louis de Montfort
St Louis de Montfort (1673-1716) is renowned for his treatise on True Devotion to Our Blessed Lady. Here is a summary of part of his work:
Christ came into the world through the Blessed Virgin Mary and it is through her that He must reign in the world. Her humility was so profound that she desired to be hidden from herself and the world so that only God would know her. God took great pleasure in her singular humility and concealed from the eyes of men those perfections and exemplary virtues He had bestowed upon her. In deference to her humility, she would work no miracle, speak only when necessary and be spoken of by the Evangelists only to make Christ better known and understood. However, the reality is that Mary is the Masterpiece of God, the admirable Mother of the Son, the Faithful Spouse of the Holy Ghost and the Sanctuary of the Blessed at Trinity where no creature can enter except by special privilege.
The Saints have declared that Mary is the earthly paradise in the new Adam, the divine world of God where He has hidden His only Son and all His precious treasures, that she is so holy and pure as to be beyond measure. According to St Bonaventure, the angelic choirs continually praise her; “ holy, holy, holy Mary, Mother of God and virgin.” (Psalter. Majus B. V.) The whole world is filled with her glory, Protectress of kingdoms, Patroness of cathedrals and churches, the Mother of religious orders and congregations. Sinners have the greatest confidence in her and even the Devils in hell fear and respect her. Let us say with the Saints, “of Mary there is never enough.” (True Devotion, 10 ) and concur with the Holy Ghost, the Spouse Mary; “all the glory of the king’s daughter is within.” (Ps. 44, 14). Mary is the miracle of miracles (St John Damascene; Oratio 1a de Nativitate, T. D. 12 ) in the order of grace, of nature and glory, the worthy Mother of God. If Christ is not known, it is because Mary is not known. That Christ may be known and His reign come into the world through an increase of devotion to Mary.
Having said all this in praise of Mary, we must remember that in comparison to God she is nothing, for He alone is; “He who is” (Exod., 3, 14). God is entirely free in the instruments He uses to attain His end. But having begun His work of redeeming the world through Mary, we may conclude that He will bring to perfection that work also through Mary, since there is no change in God.
God freely chose to become Man through Mary, the Holy Ghost coming upon her when she pronounced her meritorious ‘Fiat’. The Father made her fruitful so as to produce the God -Man and all His members. It is clear that through the submission of Christ to Mary His mother in all things, He was procuring immense glory for His heavenly Father more than by leading a public life and working stupendous miracles. Christ’s first miracle of grace, the sanctification of the Baptist, is worked through Mary, as is the first miracle of nature, at the wedding feast of Cana; “whatever he tells you do it.” He will continue His miracles by Mary till the end of time. The most fruitful union possible, that of the Holy Ghost and the Blessed Virgin, has produced a perfect man, Jesus Christ, and this same union continues to produce Christ’s members in the Church. The more the Holy Ghost finds Mary in the soul, the more He comes there to form Christ, always drawn by the holiness of His spouse. This formation of the members of Christ’s mystical body is a mystery of grace unknown even to the most learned and spiritual of Christians.
God wishes to make use of Mary for the sanctification souls. The Saints call Mary the treasure house of the Lord from which the whole Church is enriched. The Father has communicated to His Son the fullness of His being and similarly, Christ communicated to His mother all He has by merit. Do we not say that Christ has by nature what Mary has by Grace? In heaven Christ remains as much the Son of Mary as He was on earth and nothing pleases Him more than to grant her requests which are always humble and conformed to His will, and for this reason always heard. Her prayers are all-powerful with God in response to her profound humility. Mary has been charged to form Saints to fill the vacant thrones of the apostate angels; she is, “Sovereign of heaven and earth, General of His armies, Keeper of His treasures, Dispensatrix of His graces, worker of His wonders, restorer of the human race, Mediatrix of men, destroyer of the enemies of God and loyal companion of His greatness and His triumphs.” (True Devotion, 28)
God the Father desires to form children for Himself by Mary till the end of the world. As in the natural order we have a father and mother, so in the spiritual world there is a Father who is God and a Mother who is Mary. Whoever has not Mary for their Mother has not God for their Father. True devotion to Mary is therefore a sign of predestination and to have little or no devotion towards her, is the sign of the reprobate such as heretics, idolaters and atheists , etc. “God the Son wishes to form Himself and so to speak, to becoming incarnated every day through His blessed mother, in His members; to her He says, “let thy inheritance be in Israel” ( Eccl. XXIV, 13). “This Man and that man is born in her” (Ps. 86, 5), meaning that the God - Man is born of her and an ordinary man, the child of God and Mary by adoption. As grace follows nature, the same mother must necessarily give birth to the Head and the members. St. Augustine admirably summarises this sublime doctrine by teaching that to be conformed to the image of the Son of God, all the predestinate are whilst in this world, hidden in the bosom of the Blessed Virgin, where they are protected, nourished, cared for and developed, by this good Mother, until after death - called by the Church the birthday of the just - until she brings them forth to a life of glory. (True Devotion, 33).
God the Holy Ghost wishes to reproduce continually images of His masterpiece Jesus Christ, always through His fruitful spouse and especially towards the end of time when Mary will form great Saints and Apostles to establish the reign of Jesus and Mary in the world. Mary is “the inseparable Spouse of the Holy Ghost (True Devotion, 36 ) Who will never repudiate Mary because she has always been faithful and fruitful and ever will be.
From these two fundamental principles;
1) that Mary was necessary to God for the Incarnation and
2) that she is necessary to God for the salvation and sanctification of men, follow two very important consequences.
Firstly, that Mary is the Queen of our hearts. If God has said, “dwell in Jacob,” that is in the elect, she must have a certain power and control over the members of Christ, otherwise she could not be Mother to us. If she was given power by the Father over His Son Jesus Christ “and he was subject to them,” it is a lesser thing for God to give Mary power and dominion over her spiritual and adopted children, not just concerning their bodies, but more importantly, over their souls. Christ is King by nature and Mary Queen by Grace and as Christ’s Kingdom is essentially interior and within, so Mary’s Kingdom is chiefly in the interior of man. Let us all say with the Saints that Mary is the Queen of our hearts.
In the second place, if Mary was necessary to God in the economy of salvation (according to a hypothetical necessity because He willed it), she is even more necessary to souls for attaining their supernatural end. All the Fathers of the Church concur in teaching that devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is a sign of predestination. “To be devout to thee O Blessed virgin, is an arm of salvation that God gives to those whom He wishes to save” (St John Damascene, True Devotion, 41). If devotion to Mary is universally necessary just to get to heaven, it is even more necessary for all those called to a special perfection and high degree of holiness. No one can acquire a close union with God without a very close union with the Blessed Virgin and a great dependence on her help.
It is clear that Mary found grace and holiness without the help of any other creature and has attained to a degree of sanctity that is almost inconceivable. To the plenitude of grace she possessed at the moment of the Annunciation, was added another when she became the Mother of God, so that she is truly and effectively the Dispensatrix of God’s grace to whomsoever she wishes to make a Saint and guide to heaven despite all obstacles. (True Devotion, 44) Mary will especially form great Saints and Apostles towards the end of the world who will be entirely devoted to her and sustained and protected by the Mother of God, will by their words and example, bring very many to love and serve Jesus Christ through devotion to her . (True Devotion, 46-48; 55-59)
God wishes to make His Mother more known in these latter times, because He desires to reward her humility, be glorified in her, His masterpiece of grace and fulfil her role as the Morning Star who heralds the rising of the Sun and dawning of the Day. Jesus Christ came through Mary the first time and His second coming must also be through Mary, though in a different manner. (True Devotion, 50) Mary must in the latter times particularly show her power, her mercy and her grace, as she engages in a decisive battle against all the enemies of God both visible and invisible. “I will put enmities between thee and the Woman, thy seed and her seed; She shall crush thy head and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.” (Gen. 3, 15) There is no love lost between Mary and Lucifer and it hurts him more to be overcome and defeated by a humble handmaid of God than if he were to be crushed by God himself. (True Devotion, 51-52)
“What Lucifer lost by pride, Mary won by humility. What Eve damned and lost by disobedience, Mary saved by obedience. Eve by obeying the serpent, lost with herself all her children and delivered them into his power. Mary by her perfect fidelity to God, saved with herself all her children and servants and consecrated them to his Divine Majesty.” (True Devotion, 53)
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