Behold Thy MotherA Publication of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Ghost

Winter 2009 Volume 11 Issue 31

Veni Sancte Spiritus per Mariam! 2

Missionary Sisters of the Holy Ghost1914 S. Fawn Drive • Spokane Valley, WA 99206

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Dear Readers,

Many people, over the years, have asked us to explain the Holy Slavery of Love astaught by St. Louis Marie de Montfort. We have tried our best, however, we run in toa brick wall, so to speak, with a number of them, as Mary gives us great crosses to bearonce we become her slave, and they do not want anything negative in their lives.

In the day and age we are living in, we find that the problem lies in the fact that peopleare steeped in behavioral psychology, which says that we should not have anythingnegative in our lives. “Think positive” they say, and “run from anything that willbring stress to your life.” Well, the cross brings stress, but it is a loving stress thatMary knows will bring about a positive result, that of yours and my sanctification,which is what our end goal must be. In real life, we need negatives and positives tosurvive. Try a little test and you will see the result. Two positive ends of a magnetwill repel one another, a positive and a negative will attract. So it is with God, thenegative cross, brings positive sanctity.

People today will get involved in Yoga, which is the liturgy of the Hindu religion,whether in prayer form or exercise, to release stress, yet they refuse to turn to Mary, whois their life, their sweetness and their hope, who will bring a taste of heaven throughthe heaviest cross-filled days. She is our God-given “stress relief” and leaning on her,she makes the crosses easy to bear.

Holy Slavery is very misunderstood, and many people again say that slavery is such anegative word. Simply put, it is very positive, it is a renewal of our Baptismalpromises to renounce Satan, his pomps and works, and to take Christ for our sovereignMaster in all things. Once we understand this, there is nothing to fear, putting yourselfin the hands of Mary is a very positive action with a peaceful result.

Many people say, “Well I cannot take Holy Slavery, as that would be leaving Jesus outof the picture.” St. Louis very clearly explains that you are actually a slave of Jesusthrough the hands of Mary, so if it bothers anyone, just say you are a slave of Jesus andthat is the same as a slave of Mary.

The final argument we have heard over and over is the fact that True Devotion to Marywas hidden, as St. Louis predicted, for many years. When it was found, doubters voicedabroad that they were not sure it was actually written by St. Louis etc., etc., etc. Wehope by the time you finish reading this issue, that this doubt will be amply cleared upby the praises of the Holy Fathers, and you will run to the arms of your Mother.

My prayers and the prayers of our Sisters are with you. We thank you for your prayersand for your support.

In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,

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Morning Offering(In the spirit of Holy Slavery)

O Jesus, through the ImmaculateHeart of Mary, in reparation for mysins, I offer Thee all my prayers,works, joys and sufferings of thisday and of my entire life, for all theintentions of Thy Most Sacred Heart,in union with the Holy Sacrifice ofthe Mass validly and licitly offeredthis day throughout the world, theinfinite graces and merits thereof tobe dispensed in accord with ThyDivine Will for the salvation ofsouls, the conversion of sinners, andthe special intention recommendedfor this month:

Intentions for:

January: Sanctification of homeand family, truly Catholic mar-riages.February: The spread of the trueCatholic Faith through the spreadof devotion to Mary.March: An increase in pious andholy religious vocations.April: For all of the missionaryendeavors throughout the worldand unity among the members ofthe Church Militant.

O, Jesus Living In Mary

O Jesus living in MaryCome and live in

Thy servants,In the spirit ofThy holiness,

In the fulness ofThy might,

In the truth ofThy virtues,

In the perfection ofThy ways,

In the communion ofThy mysteries,Subdue everyhostile power

In Thy spirit, for the gloryof the Father. Amen.

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Growing up in the 1960’swas an experience that onlythose who went through itcould actually comprehend.This decade was one of totalunrest. Vatican Council IIwas opened in 1962, the

No Room for Doubt...Our Lady

WantsTotal Consecration

Confirmed by a Carmelite priest

in the 1960’sTaken from the thoughts of

Rev. Mother Marie de Montfort, CMSS

entire Catholic Church wasturned upside down, Presi-dent John F. Kennedy wasassassinated in 1963, theMass and Sacraments werechanged between 1967 and1969, our Baltimore Cat-echisms were taken away in1967 and replaced, the nextyear, with books that con-tained beautiful 8x10 pic-tures of Senator RobertKennedy, who was assassi-nated in 1968, and the civilrights leader, Martin LutherKing Jr., who was assassi-nated that same year. TheSisters took off their habits in1968, teenagers by thehundreds were going ondrugs and running awayfrom home, and the VietnamWar was going on right inthe midst of all of thischange and confusion.Darkness seemed to comeover the Church and thefamous song that chanted,“We’re on the Eve of De-struction” was heard every-where. Was there anyhope? Through all of this dark-ness and chaos, there came aflickering light that shone sobright that it lit the 60’s onfire. It was the glow of themessage of Our Lady ofFatima. Fatima was spoken

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of everywhere, as Pope PiusXII stated in 1950 that thetime for doubting this mes-sage was over and now wasthe time for action. Rosariesin her honor were prayedpublicly, processions wereformed and people began tofollow what Our Lady askedfor to bring about worldpeace: prayer, reparation,modesty, amendment of lifeand study of the faith. Among Mary’s Apostlesduring that time was a veryfervent priest by the name ofFr. Bernard Kunkel. Fr.Kunkel worked very hardwith his Marylike Crusade ofModesty throughout the1960’s, and brought aboutthat much needed guide forwomen and girls, to fulfill therequest of Our Lady. Shetold the children that fash-ions would be introducedthat would gravely offendher Son. The MarylikeCrusade was that beacon oflight, to fulfill what she askedfor to bring balm to the Heartof her Son. Around the mid 1960’s amovement swept across ourstate that seemed to light afire of love in the hearts ofmany. I can remember goingfrom house to house partici-pating in the “Block Rosary.”

I can remember going fromcity to city with my motherand attending lecture afterlecture throughout theDetroit, Michigan area from1965 through 1969. I heardmen of all ages, both priest,religious and lay, speak ofthe wonderful message ofpeace, the “Peace Plan fromHeaven”, as they called it,the message of Our Lady ofFatima. None struck me somuch though, as the onegiven by a Carmelite priest. So many people wereasking, “If Our Lady askedus to consecrate ourselves toher, and there are so manyconsecrations to Mary,which consecration was shereferring to?” Very calmly,yet emphatically, thisCarmelite priest said, “I wasprivileged to speak person-ally to Sr. Lucia, and I posedthis exact question to her.”Without hesitation she said,“Father, Our Lady asked forthe total consecration ac-cording to Louis Marie deMontfort.” “There was nodoubt,” he said, “Our Ladyhad spoken, and I wasconvinced that True Devo-tion to Mary according toLouis Marie de Montfort,was the most pleasing wayto go to the heart of God,

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and to safeguard yourself inthis day and age of utterturmoil.” I remember going homeand asking my mother whySr. Lucia did not refer toLouis de Montfort as a saint.My mother told me that hewas not canonized when OurLady was speaking to Lucia,and she was merely repeatingOur Lady’s words. That wasthe only question in my mind,as the other was totallycleared up. Our Ladywanted Slaves of Love,according to the method St.Louis Marie de Montfort setdown in his outstandingbook, “True Devotion toMary.”

These were the same wordsof Pope Pius IX. He stated,years before, that True Devo-tion, according to Louis Mariede Montfort, was the “best”and “most acceptable”devotion to Mary. It wassealed in my mind forever.The Pope had spoken andGod, Himself, through thevoice of His mother, had setdown the fact that this wasthe devotion most pleasing toHim. Why would a Catholicnot choose it, and why wouldthey look at any other meansto consecrate themselves toMary? If you know some-thing is most pleasing to theMother of God, why wouldyou settle for something lessacceptable? Why give yourheavenly mother the silver ofanother consecration, whenshe asked for the gold of totalconsecration? Mary does notwant half of our heart, shewants our entire heart, so shecan present it to AlmightyGod as a worthy gift, fit forthe King of Kings. I can remember, during thequestion and answer sessionthat followed this lecture,how many people thankedthis Carmelite priest forclearing up the one doubtthey had about Fatima.Father said, “Why look for

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Tributes to De Montfort’sTrue Devotion to Mary

Popes, Cardinals, Theologians, Saints and pious Laymen

sing the praises ofTrue Devotion to Mary.

Taken fromThe Catechism of True Devotion

POPES

Pope Pius IX declaredthat Saint Louis DeMontfort’s devotion to Maryis best and is the most ac-ceptable to Our Lady. Leo XIII granted a Ple-nary Indulgence to thosewho make Saint Louis DeMontfort’s Act of Consecra-tion to the Blessed VirginMary. On his death bed herenewed the Act himself andinvoked the aid of SaintLouis De Montfort whom hehimself had beatified in1888. Pius X: “I heartily recom-mend True Devotion to theBlessed Virgin Mary, soadmirably written by BlessedDe Montfort, and to all who

read it, I grant the ApostolicBenediction.” In his famous Encyclical“Ad diem illum” where PiusX clearly sets forth the doc-trine of the universal media-tion of Mary, he not only usesthe thoughts and words ofSaint De Montfort, but inplaces even quotes himdirectly. Pius X himselfconfessed this to FatherLhoumeau, Superior Generalof the Company of Mary. Benedict XV: “The Bookon True Devotion to theBlessed Virgin is small in size,but of high authority andunction. We rejoice that ithas been so widely spread....May it spread still more, andever revive the Christianspirit in an ever-increasing

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any other form of consecra-tion, when the Mother ofGod, herself, recommendedthis one and clearly statedthat it was the one Godwanted. Peace can come tothe world, if we consecrateourselves to Mary and as herslaves, fight for the Kingdomof Christ, by being faithful toher message of prayer, repa-ration, modesty, amendmentof life and study our faith, sowe can grow to love and liveit every single day of ourlives.” I have never forgotten thispriest, even though it wasover forty years ago when Iheard this message. It was sostriking to hear about theexact devotion Our Ladyasked for, and to have alldoubts cleared up. I have always wanted togo back and have him con-firm this in writing for all thedoubters I have met over theyears, but I have been unsuc-cessful. He is probably deadby now, yet he knows whathe said, and I know in myheart what he said, Godwanted devotion to theImmaculate Heart of Maryestablished through theworld, and wanted people toconsecrate themselves to heraccording to total consecra-

tion, as set down by the now,SAINT Louis Marie deMontfort. I have been aSlave of Mary for thirty-fouryears and have treasuredevery moment, knowing thatI have chosen the goldenpath to the Heart of Jesusthrough Mary, all because aCarmelite priest asked Luciato answer a simple questionhe had about Fatima. Thankyou, Father, and my prayersof thanksgiving are with you,wherever you are. If I neverget to see you on this earthagain, may we meet ineternity as fellow Slaves ofLove.

De Montfort’s ClassicTrue Devotion to Mary,

a bookinspired bythe HolyGhost to layout the planfor people tofind aneasy, shortand sure way to savetheir souls.

$9.00 each

A must for all those whoare truly serious about

their spiritual life.

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number of souls.” Pius XI: “Not only am Iaquainted with it (TrueDevotion) but I have prac-ticed it since my youth.” Onanother occasion this samepontiff acknowledged toCardinal Charost, late Arch-bishop of Rheims, that heknew its contents almost byheart. Pope Pius XII: “The forceand unction of the wordsof Mary’s servant (DeMontfort), have not onlytouched, but have captivatedand converted many souls.”

CARDINALS

Cardinal Vaughn: “I haverecommended his ‘TrueDevotion to the BlessedVirgin’ to the clergy of thisdiocese as I recommended itsome years ago to the clergyof the diocese of Salford: andI distributed copies of it to thepriests who attended the firstSynod which was held inWestminster. I should beglad to see it in the hand ofevery priest, as experiencehas taught me the power ofthis most persuasive treatisein propagating a solid devo-tion to the Blessed Mother ofGod... In our humble judge-ment no one can do better

than spread the knowledgeof this golden treatise ondevotion to our BlessedMother.” Cardinal Mercier: “Notonly do I greatly esteem theTrue Devotion according toBlessed De Montfort, but formany years I have tried mybest to put it into practice.”This same Cardinal ad-dressed a pastoral letter tothe clergy and laity of hisarchdiocese on the subject ofMontfort’s True Devotion tothe Blessed Virgin urgingthem to embrace it. Cardinal O’Connell: “Itis my happy privilege torecommend to everyone,following therein the ex-ample of our late Holy Fatherof blessed memory, Pius X,

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True Devotion to the BlessedVirgin. I have known thisform of devotion for manyyears and I never hesitated torecommend it to those whomthe grace of God seemed tobe at work, drawing them toa deeper and more intensespiritual life. As rector of theAmerican college in Rome, Iproposed and taught it to theseminarians as an excellentmeans of acquiring theholiness of the priestly ideal.It was with my encourage-ment that there was formedamong them a Blessed DeMontfort Society.” Cardinal Lauri: “Thisbook is a masterpiece.” Cardinal De Berulle:Founder of the Oratory inFrance and whose memory isheld in veneration through-out all France, was mostzealous in spreading thisdevotion in that country.

THEOLOGIANS

Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.:“Any one who willinglyallows himself to be con-ducted in his prayers and inall phases of his life by MaryMediatrix will attain truehumility which will drawupon him the grace of con-templation and of divine

union.” He then adds,quoting from De Montfort,Without a great love for her,a soul will attain union withGod only with extremedifficulty.” “One of the best means ofspreading throughout theChristian people a devotionto Mary the universalMediatrix, and of making thefull important and the fullcompass of this title... is tobroadcast the admirabledoctrine of Blessed DeMontfort... Those whopropogate this devotion andthose who love it have intheir lives a sign of predesti-nation.” Tanquerey: “It is an actof holy abandonment, of selfsurrender excellent in itselfand containing, moreover,acts of the highest virtues,religion, humility and confid-ing love. ...By this act we glorify Godand Mary in an unparalleledmanner.... We thereforeinsure our individual sanctifi-cation and a third fruit of hisAct of Consecration to Maryis the sanctification of hisneighbor.... It may be saidthat this Act of Consecration,if rightly made and correctlyrenewed, is of even greaterworth than the Heroic Act.”

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Lemkuhl: “What can betruer than these principles ofBlessed De Montfort? And ifthey be true what can bemore desirable, in these ourtimes, in which indifferencefor Christ and His Churchhas spread throughout theworld, than to possess in thisdevotion to Mary so excellenta means to lead souls backagain to Christ?” The Examinee of theHoly Office whose duty itwas to investigate DeMontfort’s work to be surethat it contained nothingcontrary to Faith, had this tosay: “I must begin by con-fessing the impression madeon me by reading the pre-cious writing of this vener-able servant of God. I haveexperienced an interiorunction, a peace and aconsolation which the writ-ings of highly favored ser-vants of God, of servants ofGod endowed with light andsanctity of an extrardinarykind are known to frequentlyproduce.... This impressionwas profound and sweet tothe highest degree.

SPIRITUAL WRITERS

Father Faber: “I cannotthink of a higher work or a

broader vocation for anyonethan the simple spreading ofthis devotion of Grignion DeMontfort. Let a man try it forhimself and his surprise atthe graces it brings with itand the transformation itcauses in his soul, will soonconvince him of its otherwisealmost incredible efficacy as ameans for the salvation ofmen, and for the coming ofthe kingdom of Christ. Oh, ifMary were but known, therewould be no coldness to Jesusthen!... I would venture towarn the reader that oneperusal will be very far frommaking him a master of it. IfI may dare to say so, there isa growing feeling of some-thing inspired and super-natural about it as we go onstudying it; and with that wecannot help experiencing,

12

after repeated readings of it,that its novelty never seemsto wear off, nor its fullness tobe diminished nor the freshfragrance and sensible fire ofits unction to abate.” Father Price (co-founderof Maryknoll): “I celebratethis day (25th anniversary ofhis ordination to the priest-hood), by consecratingmyself to you as Blessed DeMontfort recommends.” Dom Chautard (author ofThe Soul of the Apostolate):“Obliged to limit myself andstill wishing to offer myconfreres in the Apostolate asort of summing up of theadvice of St. Bernard tobecome true children ofMary, I think I cannot dobetter than to invite them toread carefully the solid andprecious volume - The Spiri-tual Life according to theteaching of Blessed GrignionDe Montfort.”

OUSTANDING CATHOLIC LAYMEN

Frank Duff (founder of theLegion of Mary): “DeMontfort’s book has a placeof its own in the church.There is nothing else quitelike it. In its doctrine it iseminently theological and

profound.... It is certain thateveryone who studies TrueDevotion will fall beneath itsspell, for the book has every-thing. It has style, it hasfervor, it has intense convic-tion, solidity, soaring elo-quence, the air of authorityand inspiration... Nowa-days, there is no competentwriter on the subject ofMARY who does not paytribute to the True Devotionand its influence onMariology.

SAINTS WHO HAVEPRACTICED

TRUE DEVOTION

As True Devotion wasknown before the time ofSaint De Montfort, weshould not be surprised tofind many of the great Saintsof the Church finding Jesusthrough Mary by the slaveryof love. A few can bementioned: Saints Ephrem,Bonaventure, Anselm,Bernardine, Leonard of PortMaurice. After De Montfortthe greatest slave of Jesus inMary is Saint Alphonsus.But it is in the last centuryespecially that we find truefollowers of De Montfort’sDevotion. Blessed PeterEymard, the Apostle of the

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Eucharist, knew no betterway of adoring Jesus in theEucharist than by becoming aslave of Mary. The SaintlyCure of Ars was a ferventadvocate of True Devotion toour Lady. Saint Gabriel was amodel for all seminarians inhis love for Mary. By meansof this slavery to Mary hereached the highest sanctityafter five years in thePassionist seminary. Perhapsthe most inspiring story of allthe Saints of our Lady is thestory of the Little Flower andBlessed Theophane Venard.Therese in her monastery andTheophane in his Missionwere both slaves of our Ladyand bound themselves together as brother and sister in theservice of Mary. The results of both of their lives stand as adivine approval to this secret of grace that they found in TrueDevotion to Our Lady.

Tributes to De Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary

$1.25 each

Popes, Cardinals, Theologians, Saintsand pious Laymen sing the praises ofTrue Devotion to Mary.It is the exact devotion that will leadus out of the crisis we are in todaywith the Church and the world. Marygave a peace plan from heaven andasked for everyone to consecratethemselves to her. The popes haverecommended this over and over, nowis the time to listen. in booklet form

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On TheTotal Consecration

To Mary

Adapted From:“The Holy Slavery of Love”

by Fr. Patrick J. Gaffney, S.M.M.

Theological Foundationsof Total Consecration

During most of his sixteenyears of priesthood, St. Louistraveled throughout thecountryside of WesternFrance, preaching missionsand retreats. He was not aprofessional theologian. Thepulpit was his rostrum, the

crowded church his class.Although his writings arerelatively numerous, wecannot expect to find asection devoted to ascholastic explanation of totalconsecration to Our Lady.However, even though hewrote particularly “for thepoor and the simple,” hisbooks and pamphlets arefounded on solid theologicalprinciples which a seriousstudy of his works clearlybrings to light.

In a very general sense, itmay be said that St. Louis deMontfort bases his “HolySlavery” upon the role whichMary plays in the entire workof salvation. “That grandLord, always independentand sufficient unto Himself,never had nor has now anyabsolute need of the BlessedVirgin. . . Nevertheless . . .having willed to commenceand to complete His greatestworks by the most BlessedVirgin ever since He createdher, we may well think Hewill not change His conductin the eternal ages.” OurLady is, therefore, “theinseparable companion of Hislife, of His death, of His glory,and of His power in heavenand upon earth.”

However, what is the

15

precise privilege, thataspect of her redemptive roleupon which St. Louis buildshis consecration? It appearsto be her “complete spiritualmaternity,” i.e., hermotherhood of menconsidered with its implicitconsequence, her authorityand dominion over thehearts of men. Since Mary’sspiritual maternity is,according to St. Louis deMontfort, deduced from herMotherhood of the Redeemerand her office as Co-Redemptrix, we will firstconsider these two privilegesas the radical foundations of“Holy Slavery”; we can thenconsider the proximatefoundation of totalconsecration, the “completespiritual maternity.”

The Radical Foundations Of Total Consecration:

Mother of The Redeemerand Co-Redemptrix

Not only is the DivineMaternity the fundamentalmystery of Mary in St. Louis’teaching, but it is also theprincipal foundation of herspiritual maternity of men.“If Jesus Christ the Head ofmen is born in her, . . . themembers of this Head mustalso be born in her by a

necessary consequence. . . theHead and Members are bornof the same Mother.” Basinghimself on the unity of Headand Members throughChrist’s capital grace whichexisted at the very firstmoment of the Incarnation,St. Louis — and St. Pius Xafter him — declares that byconceiving Christ theRedeemer, Mary by that veryfact spiritually conceives allthose who with Him formbut one Mystical Body.

However, Mary’s spiritualmaternity is also based uponher co-redemptive action,which, therefore, forms apart of the foundation of St.Louis’ total consecration. OurLady’s role in the redemptionmay be considered both atthe Incarnation and atCalvary; St. Louis insists onthe Blessed Mother’scooperation in both thesephases of the one act ofredemption.

Our Lady’s part in theredemptive Incarnation isconsidered principally undertwo aspects by St. Louis: hermerit of the Incarnation, andher consent to become theMother of God. De Montfortexplicitly teaches that thepatriarchs were unable tomerit the Incarnation, for

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“their cries, their prayersand their sacrifices had notenough force to attract theEternal Wisdom, yet OurLady did merit this “grace ofgraces”: “there was foundonly Mary who by thesublimity of her virtuesattained to the very throneof the Divinity and who hasmerited this infinitetreasure.” Our Lady hastherefore merited not onlythe acceleration of thecoming of the God-Man —which the Patriarchs of theOld Testament could also do— but the Incarnation itself.Although not explained bySt. Louis, we can wellpresume that he is referringto a “de congruo” merit, “inordine executionis.”

However, Mary is “Co-Redemptrix” in an evengreater sense because herconsent was necessary inGod’s plan for theIncarnation to take place:“The Eternal Wisdomdesired to become man inher, provided that she giveher consent.” St. Louistherefore calls Our Lady avictim with Christ at thevery moment of theIncarnation: “Their hearts,united by strong and closeties, are offered both

together to be two victims tohold back the chastisementwhich our crimes merit.” DeMontfort can thereforeconclude: “In this mystery[the Incarnation] the electhave received their birth.Mary, united with Jesus,chose them in advance, tohave part in their riches, theirglory, and their power.”Already at this first phase ofthe Redemption, Mary, theNew Eve, “has turned God’smaledictions into a blessing”for us.

St. Louis de Montfort alsoinsists on Mary’s cooperationin the very formal act ofredemption, Christ’s deathupon Calvary. We maydistinguish in this final act ofthe redemption a doubleaspect: the suffering anddeath of Christ on the Crosswhich forms the materialelement, and the willingacceptance of His Passionand Death, His obedience toHis Father even to the deathof the Cross, which make upthe formal and principalelement. According to DeMontfort, Our Ladycooperated in both theseaspects. Our Blessed Mother’sparticipation in the materialelement of the Redemption isclearly explained by the saint

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when speaking of theintense sufferings of OurLady caused by the Passionof her Son and offered forthe human race. Her role inthe formal element is statedin the True Devotion: “He[Jesus] glorified Hisindependence and HisMajesty in depending on thisadmirable Virgin, in Hisconception, in His Birth andHis presentation in thetemple, in His hidden life ofthirty years, up to His Death,where she had to assist, inorder that He make with herbut one and the samesacrifice and in order to beimmolated by her consent tothe Eternal Father, as Isaacof old was offered byAbraham’s consent to thewill of God. It is she who hasnursed Him, nourished Him,supported Him, raised andsacrificed Him for us.” Sostrong are these words thatthey appear to affirm theproximate and immediatecooperation of Our Lady inthe objective redemption.

We, therefore, belong toChrist and to Mary as aresult of the redemption. Shehas redeemed us with Christand hence she, too, hasacquired rights over theentire human race.

The ProximateFoundation of Total

Consecration: The CompleteSpiritual Maternity

Because Our Lady is theMother of Christ theRedeemer, because she is thecompanion of Jesus in thework of redemption, she canbe called, and truly is, theMother of Men. St. Louisclearly deduces this privilegefrom Mary’s Maternity of theHead of the Mystical Bodyand also from her share inthe redemption. It is uponthis privilege of the spiritualmaternity that St. Louis deMontfort has formally builthis edifice of totalconsecration. Basing himselfupon the role which OurLady plays in the

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sanctification of men,Montfort often considersMary’s maternity of men asthat of a woman with child:“all the predestinate . . . arein this world, hidden in thewomb of the Blessed Virgin,where they are guarded,nourished, brought up, andmade to grow by that goodMother until she has broughtthem forth to glory after theirdeath, which is properly theday of their birth.”

Yet in this prerogative ofOur Lady’s actual spiritualmaternity is containedimplicitly her dominion overthe souls of men. For sinceshe is the “true Mother” ofmen and the members of theMystical Body are in this life“hidden in Mary’s womb,”

she has received a greatauthority over the souls ofthe elect in order toaccomplish her task asspiritual mother: “For shecannot make her residence inthem as God the Fatherordered her to do, and astheir mother, form, nourish,and bring them forth intoeternal life . . . she cannot, Isay, do all these things unlessshe has a right and adomination over their soulsby a singular grace of theMost High.” Mary istherefore the Mother of Men;yet, as De Montfort insists, atender Mother with greatauthority, a Mother who isthe Queen of the hearts ofher children whom she isnourishing with grace. This“complete” maternityappears to be the veryfoundation of St. Louis’“Holy Slavery of Love.” Theconsecration will be theformal recognition that wehave a Mother, a Motherwho has true authority overus in order to form us intoChrist: “Mother andMistress”; it will be theformal recognition that weare her children, yet so muchher children that we dependcompletely upon her as achild yet unborn: children

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and slaves.That this is truly the

foundation of “Holy Slavery”can be seen from the first 37numbers of the True Devotionwhere St. Louis summarizesMary’s role in the subjectiveredemption as a Mother withchild, a Mother withauthority. Moreover, he seesin the story of Rebecca andJacob the Biblical figure ofthis devotion, for Mary, asRebecca, is a Mother wholoves her children, nurtures,protects, and defends them.Although the example usedis no longer a woman withchild, nonetheless, herspiritual maternity withauthority is clearly broughtout. St. Louis’ Hymn, TheDevout Slave of Jesus in Mary,constantly extols the “devoutslave” as a “child at thebreast” in total dependenceon his mother, “in whomand through whom it doesall things.” And in the veryAct of Consecration, DeMontfort declares: “I choosethee today for my Motherand Mistress,” and he callsthe consecrated souls:“children and slaves,” againexpressing Our Lady’sspiritual Maternity with theexplicit reference to herauthority over the hearts of

her children in order to carryout her task as Mother.

The solid theologicalfoundation for St. Louis deMontfort’s “Holy Slavery ofLove” is therefore, radically,the Divine Maternity and theCo-Redemption. He has,however, “formally based hisHoly Slavery of Love . . . onthe spiritual maternity of theBlessed Mother.”

The Consecrationof St. Louis

St. Louis de Montfort’stotal consecration is theadequate recognition of the“complete” maternity ofMary over the souls of men.The essential part of hisformula of consecrationclearly brings this out: “Inthe presence of all theheavenly court, I choose theethis day for my Mother andMistress, I deliver andconsecrate to thee, as thyslave, my body and soul, mygoods, both interior andexterior and even the valueof all my good actions, past,present and future, leavingto thee the entire and fullright of disposing of me andall that belongs to me,without exception, accordingto thy good pleasure, for thegreater glory of God in time

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and in eternity.” St. Louis’consecration embraces,therefore, “(1) our body, withall its senses and its members,(2) our soul, with all itspowers, (3) our exteriorgoods of fortune, whetherpresent or to come, (4) ourinterior and spiritual goods,which are our merits and ourvirtues and good works, past,present, and future . . . wegive her all that we have inthe order of nature and inthe order of grace and allthat may become ours in thefuture in the orders ofnature, grace and glory; andthis we do without reserve ofso much as one farthing, onehair or one least good action;we do it also for all eternity.”

As H. Boudon before him,

St. Louis explains themeaning of consecrating ourinterior and spiritual goods:“In this consecration. . . wegive her all the satisfactory,impetratory, and meritoriousvalue of our good actions; inother words, thesatisfactions and the meritsof all our good works. Wegive her all our merits,graces, and virtues — not tocommunicate them to others,for our merits, graces, andvirtues are, properlyspeaking, incommunicable,but we give them to her tokeep them, augment them,and embellish them for us. . .Our satisfactions, however,we give her, to communicateto whom she likes, for thegreatest glory of God.” St.Louis de Montfort himselfconcludes: “By this devotion,we give to Jesus Christ in themost perfect manner —inasmuch as it is by Mary’shands — all that we can giveHim.”

Following Cardinal deBérulle, St. Louis insists thatthis consecration is “aperfect renewal of the vowsand promises of HolyBaptism,” because in thisconsecration we reaffirmwhat was promised inBaptism: to renounce Satan,

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the sea.”“With Mary” means

imitation, accomplishing ouractions as Mary would, wereshe in our place: “We must inall our actions regard Maryas an accomplished Model ofevery virtue and perfectionwhich the Holy Ghost hasformed in a pure creature forus to imitate according to ourlittle measure.”

The practice “in Mary” isfounded upon St. Louis’repeated statement that weare in this world “hidden inthe womb of Mary.” Wemust, therefore, “becomeaccustomed little by little torecollect ourselves interiorlyand thus try to form withinus some idea or spiritualimage of Mary. She will be,as it were, the oratory of oursoul in which we offer up allour prayers to God.”

“For Mary” does not mean“that we take her for the lastend of our services, for that isJesus Christ alone; but wetake her for our proximateend, our mysterious means,and our easy way to go toHim . . . we must work for norecompense. . . except thehonor of belonging to sosweet a Queen and thehappiness of being unitedthrough her to Jesus her Son

by an indissoluble tie, in timeand in eternity.”

Approvals ofSt. Louis’ Doctrine

Hidden in a trunk formany years, as St. Louishimself had prophesied, theTreatise on True Devotion wasfound only in 1842 at theMotherhouse of the MontfortFathers, Vendée, France.Together with the otherwritings of Montfort, it wassent to Rome for carefulscrutiny in view of hisproposed beatification. Thefirst reaction of the Promoterof the Faith was a stingingcondemnation: “the devotionwhich the pious authorproposes and upholds . . .could never be approved bythe Church; . . . every sign ofapprobation orcommendation of thiswriting must be avoided byall means.” However, othercensors appointed by Romeclearly answered allobjections against the TrueDevotion, and in 1853 it wasofficially declared to be freefrom all error and in no wayan impediment to Montfort’scause for beatification.

This approval of theCongregation of Rites hasbeen re-echoed by bishopsand theologians of the

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his pomps and works, andto take Christ for oursovereign Master in allthings. The consecration is,St. Louis points out, a perfectrenewal, for it adds threemodalities to the promises ofBaptism: “. . . in Baptism weordinarily speak throughanother . . . but in thisdevotion we do it ourselves,voluntarily, knowing whatwe are doing; . . . in holyBaptism, we do not giveourselves to Jesus throughthe hands of Mary, at leastnot in an explicit manner;and we do not give Him thevalue of our good actions.We remain entirely free afterBaptism, either to applythem to whom we please orto keep them for ourselves.But by this devotion we giveourselves to Our Lordexplicitly by the hands ofMary and we consecrate toHim the value of all ouractions.” However, St. Louis is notcontent with the mere recitalof an act of consecration: “Itis not enough to have givenourselves once as slaves toJesus through Mary, . . . it isnot very difficult to enroll ina confraternity nor topractice this devotion insofaras it prescribes a few vocalprayers every day; but the

great difficulty is to enterinto its spirit. Now its spiritconsists in this, that we beinteriorly dependent uponMary.” This interior spirit oftotal consecration to Mary,St. Louis sums up in theformula, “to do all ouractions through Mary, withMary, in Mary, and forMary; so that we may dothem all the more perfectlythrough Jesus, with Jesus, inJesus, and for Jesus.”Although differingsomewhat in his explanationof this formula in his Secret ofMary and True Devotion,these interior practices areparamount in the living ofthe Montfortianconsecration.

To do all our actions“through Mary” impliesrenouncing our owndispositions and trying to doeverything with theintentions of the Mother ofGod: we must “deliverourselves to the spirit ofMary to be moved andinfluenced in the manner shechooses. We must putourselves in her virginalhands, like a tool in the graspof a workman, like a lute inthe hands of a skillful player.We must lose ourselves andabandon ourselves to her,like a stone one throws into

Church, as Francis Parisi forSt. Louis de Montfort and hisworks is well known. In theDe tuto decree for Montfort’scanonization, the saint’s TrueDevotion is spoken of as ashorter path to perfection,and in the homily deliveredon the day of thecanonization, the HolyFather declared the saint’sdevotion to Our Lady to be“flagrans, solida, ac recta.”On the following day,addressing the pilgrims whohad come to Rome for thecanonization, the HolyFather spoke of St. Louis asthe guide “who leads you toMary and from Mary toJesus; . . . he is incontestablyone of those who haveworked the most ardentlyand the most efficaciously tomake Mary loved andserved.” And addressinghimself especially to themembers of the communitiesMontfort founded, the Pope,alluding to the Mariandoctrine of St. Louis,declared: “Remain faithful tothe precious heritage whichthis great saint has left you inlegacy! A magnificentheritage, worthy of beingcontinued by you, and ofdevoting yourselves to it andsacrificing yourselves for it

without ever counting yourstrength or your life.”

Bishops and theologiansalike have repeated thesepraises of the SovereignPontiffs. The firstInternational MarianCongress, held at Fribourg in1902, was eloquent in itspraise of St. Louis deMontfort: “Considering thatthe devotion to the BlessedMother according to Blessedde Montfort is a magnificentsynthesis of the mostdeveloped Marian theology;that it is the most perfectform of cult to the BlessedMother; that it harmonizesso well with the actualmovement of Catholic pietyand that it seconds itpowerfully; that it answersthe present-day needs and

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offers in the present strife aspecial and providential help,the Congress defers to thedesires expressed by a greatnumber of cardinals, bishops,and theologians, andformulates the wish that thisdevotion be propagatedamong the faithful andprincipally among the clergyand religious institutes.” TheMarian Congress of Rome(1904) repeated similar praisefor St. Louis, as did theMarian Congresses ofEinsiedeln (1906), Trier(1912) and the specialMarian-MontfortianCongress held at Barcelonain 1918.

Father Faber summed upthe praises of the Church forthe writings of St. Louis —and in particular for the TrueDevotion —when he wrote:“I would venture to warn thereader that one perusal willbe very far from making himthe master of it. If I may dareto say so, there is a growingfeeling of something inspiredand supernatural about it, aswe go on studying it; andwith that we cannot helpexperiencing that its noveltynever seems to wear off, norits fullness to be diminished,nor the fresh fragrance andsensible fire of its unctionever to abate.”

St. Louis insists thatthis consecration is “aperfect renewal of thevows and promises ofHoly Baptism,”

because in thisconsecration we

reaffirm what waspromised in Baptism:

to renounce Satan,his pomps and works,and to take Christfor our sovereign

Master in all things.

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Leo XIII granted a PlenaryIndulgence to those who makeSaint Louis De Montfort’s

Act of Consecrationto the Blessed Virgin Mary.On his death bed he renewed the

Act himself and invoked the aid ofSaint Louis de Montfort

whom he himself had beatified in 1888.

� �

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True Devotion to theBlessed Virgin

Taken from:Mary’s Conferences

by Mother Mary Potter

Some people, after theyhave read what has beenwritten about this devotion,say they are still in a cloudabout how to practice it.They would willingly adoptwhat so many saints andholy people recommend asso glorious to God, so benefi-cial to their neighbors, ofsuch incalculable service tothemselves. But what arethey to do? They have madethe offering, and yet perceiveno difference in themselves.They feel not within themthe grand effects described inthe True Devotion of SaintGrignon de Montfort, ThePath of Mary, and otherworks upon the devotion. They need patience. Theseed is sown when a soul hasonce given itself to Mary bythe solemn act of consecra-tion. It will gradually sproutand bring forth leaves,blossoms, and finally fruit,fruit which God Himself willdelight in. What the soul hasprincipally to do is to leaveroom for this seed to grow,not to plant over it; to water

it, to tend the little sproutwhen it appears, to use everynatural means, and so,gradually, to cause to fructifythe seed sown within it. Aswith the virtues, when wemust perform acts in order toacquire the habit of virtue, sowith this devotion. Letpeople first resolve, but notgenerally and vaguely, toperform all they do in unionwith Jesus and Mary. Theymust enter into particularswith themselves. They mayresolve to make so manydistinct acts before theirmidday examination, andagain so many before thenightly examen. We may, and shall prob-ably, forget these little acts.They may be troublesome tomake. It will be an effort tomake them. Never mindwhen we find we haveforgotten them. Let uscommence again, and incourse of time we shall moreeasily remember. They mayindeed be changed into ahabit. We may find ittroublesome -- never mind.We must remember nothingever really good is donewithout trouble. Let us butpersevere in this constanthabit of making little acts.We may have to continue

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them one year, or two, orthree, or more, before thattime comes when the soulreally lives more in Jesus andMary than in itself. That isthe time when the soul uses(if I may so speak) the heartof Jesus more than its own,and when Mary has suchpossession of that soul thather loves are its loves, herwishes its wishes. ThenMary, having completepower over that soul, canmake use of it to act, speak,write as she wishes. It has been observed, in awork upon this devotion, thatas the evil spirits can takepossession of persons, influ-ence them, and speak bythem, so in a contrary way

Mother Mary PotterFoundress

of the Congregation of the Little Company of Mary,

and author of The Path of Mary

which perfectly explainsTrue Devotion to Mary.

can the sweet spirit of Mary(which is indeed the spirit ofGod) live in us, act in us,work by us. Mother, comedwell, take root within us.We should not be overanx-ious to see how we areprogressing. Let us gosteadily forward, makinglittle daily acts, increasingthem when we find we keepfaithfully the resolution toperform so many in a day.Our angel guardian will helpus if we ask him. He willremind us, and soon we shallnot need reminding, for ourunion will have become sostrong, so real, that ourthoughts and desires will bethe thoughts and desires ofMary.

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Excerpts fromFather Faber’s

Prefaceto

True Devotionto Mary

Feast of the Presentation of Our Blessed LadyNovember 21, 1862

It was in the year 1846 or 1847,at St. Wilfrid’s that I first studiedthe life and spirit of the VenerableGrignion De Montfort; and now,after more than fifteen years, itmay be allowable to say that thosewho take him for their master willhardly be able to name a saint orascetical writer to whose grace

and spirit their mind will be moresubject than to his. There are few men in theeighteenth century who havemore strongly upon them themarks of the man of Providencethan this Elias-like missionary ofthe Holy Ghost and of Mary. Hisentire life was such an exhibitionof the holy folly of the Cross thathis biographers unite in alwaysclassing him with St. Simon Saloand St. Philip Neri. Clement XImade him a missionary apostolicin France, in order that he mightspend his life in fighting againstJansenism, so far as it affected thesalvation of souls. Since theApostolic Epistles it would behard to find words that burn somarvelously as the twelve pagesof his prayer for the Missionariesof the Holy Ghost, to which Iearnestly refer all those who findit hard to keep up under theirnumberless trials the first fires ofthe love of souls. It was on the 12th of May, 1853,that the decree was pronouncedat Rome declaring his writing tobe exempt from all error whichcould be a bar to his canoniza-tion. In this very treatise on theveritable devotion to our BlessedLady, he has recorded thisprophecy: “I clearly foresee thatraging brutes will come in fury totear with their diabolical teeththis little writing and him whomthe Holy Ghost has made use ofto write it; or at least to envelop itin the silence of a coffer, in orderthat it may not appear.” Never-

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theless, he prophesies both itsappearance and its success. Allthis was fulfilled to the letter. Theauthor died in 1716, and thetreatise was found by accident byone of the priests of his congrega-tion of St. Laurent-sur-Sevre in1842. The existing superior wasable to attest the handwriting asbeing that of the venerablefounder, and the autograph wassent to Rome to be examined in theprocess of canonization. All those who are likely to readthis book love God, and lamentthat they do not love Him more; alldesire something for His glory --the spread of some good work, thesuccess of some devotion, thecoming of some good time. Oneman has been striving for years toovercome a particular fault, andhas not succeeded. Anothermourns, and almost wonderswhile he mourns, that so few ofhis relations and friends havebeen converted to the Faith. Onegrieves that he has not devotionenough; another that he has across to carry which is a pecu-liarly impossible cross to him;while a third has domestictroubles and familyunhappinesses which feel almostincompatible with his salvation;and for all these things prayerappears to bring so little remedy. But what is the remedy that iswanted? What is the remedyindicated by God Himself? If wemay rely on the disclosures of thesaints, it is an immense increase ofdevotion to our Blessed Lady; but,

remember, nothing short of animmense one. Jesus is obscured because Maryis kept in the background.Thousands of souls perishbecause Mary is withheld fromthem. It is the miserable, unwor-thy shadow which we call ourdevotion to the Blessed Virginthat is the cause of all these wantsand blights, these evils andomissions and declines. Yet, ifwe are to believe the revelations ofthe saints, God is pressing for agreater, a wider, a stronger, quiteanother devotion to His BlessedMother. I cannot think of a higherwork or a broader vocation foranyone than the simple spread-ing of this peculiar devotion ofthe Venerable Grignion DeMontfort. Let a man but try it forhimself, and his surprise at thegraces it brings with it, and thetransformations it causes in hissoul, will soon convince him of itsotherwise almost incredibleefficacy as a means for thesalvation of men, and for thecoming of the kingdom of Christ.Oh, if Mary were but known,there would be no coldness toJesus then! Oh, if Mary were butknown, how much more wonder-ful would be our faith, and howdifferent would our Communionsbe! Oh, if Mary were but known,how much happier, how muchholier, how much less worldlyshould we be, and how muchmore should we be living imagesof our sole Lord and Saviour, herdearest and most blessed Son!

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The Act of Consecration

Consecration to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom,

through the Blessed Virgin Mary

O Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom! O sweetest and most adorable Jesus! True Godand true man, only Son of the Eternal Father, and of Mary, always virgin! I adoreThee profoundly in the bosom and splendors of Thy Father during eternity; and Iadore Thee also in the virginal bosom of Mary, Thy most worthy Mother, in the timeof Thine Incarnation. I give Thee thanks for that Thou hast annihilated Thyself, taking the form of aslave in order to rescue me from the cruel slavery of the devil. I praise and glorifyThee for that Thou has been pleased to submit Thyself to Mary, Thy holy Mother, inall things, in order to make me Thy faithful slave through her. But, alas! Ungratefuland faithless as I have been, I have not kept the promises which I made so solemnlyto Thee in my Baptism; I have not fulfilled my obligations; I do not deserve to becalled Thy child, nor yet Thy slave; and as there is nothing in me which does notmerit Thine anger and Thy repulse, I dare not come by myself before Thy most holyand august Majesty. It is on this account that I have recourse to the intercession ofThy most holy Mother, whom Thou has given me for a mediatrix with Thee. It isthrough her that I hope to obtain of Thee contrition, the pardon of my sins, and theacquisition and preservation of wisdom. Hail, then, O Immaculate Mary, living tabernacle of the Divinity, where the EternalWisdom willed to be hidden and to be adored by angels and by men! Hail, O Queenof heaven and earth, to whose empire everything is subject which is under God.Hail, O sure refuge of sinners whose mercy fails no one. Hear the desires which Ihave of the Divine Wisdom; and for that end receive the vows and offerings which inmy lowliness I present to thee. I, (Name), a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy hands the vows of myBaptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to JesusChrist, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to bemore faithful to Him than I have ever been before. In the presence of all the heavenly court I choose thee this day for my Mother and Mistress.I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior andexterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to theethe entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception,according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God, in time and in eternity. Receive, O benignant Virgin, this little offering of my slavery, in honor of, and inunion with, that subjection which the Eternal Wisdom deigned to have to thymaternity, in homage to the power which both of you have over this poor sinner, andin thanksgiving for the privileges with which the Holy Trinity has favored thee. Ideclare that I wish henceforth, as thy true slave, to seek thy honor and to obey thee inall things. O admirable Mother, present me to thy dear Son as His eternal slave, so that as Hehas redeemed me by thee, by thee He may receive me! O Mother of Mercy, grant methe grace to obtain the true Wisdom of God; and for that end receive me amongthose whom thou lovest and teachest, whom thou leadest, nourishest and protectestas thy children and thy slaves. O faithful Virgin, make me in all things so perfect a disciple, imitator and slave ofthe Incarnate Wisdom, Jesus Christ thy Son, that I may attain, by thine intercessionand by thine example, to the fullness of His age on earth and of His glory in Heaven.Amen.

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St. Louis’ Hymn, The Devout Slave of Jesus in Mary,constantly extols the “devout slave” as

a “child at the breast”in total dependence on his mother,

“in whom and through whom it does all things”

The consecration will be the formal recognitionthat we have a Mother,

a Mother who has true authority over us in order to form us into Christ:

“Mother and Mistress”, it will be the formal recognition

that we are her children, yet so much her children

that we depend completely upon her as a child yet unborn: children and slaves.

And in the veryAct of Consecration,

De Montfort declares: “I choose thee today for my Mother and Mistress,”

and he calls the consecrated souls: “children and slaves...”