1Secret of True Devotion to Mary St. Louis DeMontfort

8/3/2019 1Secret of True Devotion to Mary St. Louis DeMontfort

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5/10/11 3:ecret of True Devotion to Mary St. Louis DeMontfort

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The Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is at Hand!

The New 'Order of The Family of the Incarnate Word', officially commissioned by Rome in1997 to begin it's public mission is now aggressively working to sanctify the modernChurch. The mission of this new order is a direct response to the Holy Father's explicitdirective for the Church of the 21'st Century to sanctify the culture. Among the most

important devotions that this new order uses to bring about the Triumph of the ImmaculateHeart of Mary is the fearless preaching of the "True Devotion to Mary" advanced by St.Louis DeMontfort. The Holy Father himself has explicitly recommended that modern-dayCatholic's become familiar with the mystical theology of St. Louis DeMontfort.

The following rendition of 'The Secret of Mary' has been appended for the year 2003 byDavid Hughes expressly for modern day Catholics. The template of the text is DeMontfort's'Secret of Mary'. It has been abbreviated and appended to include mysteries unknown evento DeMontfort himself. We strongly encourage every viewer to print, and to read, and to reread, the following article. The spiritual tools have been given to us in a new and clear wayIf we incorporate this most necessary devotion into our daily lives, with the devotions of

Fatima and the Divine Mercy, we will perfectly participate in bringing about the long awaitetriumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary prophesied by Our Lady at Fatima. The time of thfulfillment of that prophecy is now at hand.

The Secret of Mary The Way to Divine Union

By Saint Louis DeMontfort (Appended by David Hughes)

One must will to become the total possession and property of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Th

requires us to adopt the soul of Mary as the spiritual chapel for the prayers and offerings oour own soul.

The secret requires that, for the rest of our lives, we perform all of our actions as slaves olove for Mary and that we trust her entirely for everything. The chief difficulty is to enter inthe spirit of this devotion, which requires adopting an interior dependence on Mary. I havmet many people who, with admirable zeal, have set about exteriorly practicing this holy

devotion to Jesus through Mary, but I have met only a few who have actually understood ttrue secret of its interior spirit of total dependence, and fewer still who have persevered in

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it. (See Num. 44)

Chapter One

1. Here is a great secret chosen soul, which the most High God taught me himself. I have not foun

it in any book, ancient or modern. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, I am confiding it to you with thiscondition:

You must not, under any circumstances, let the knowledge of this secret make you idle or inactive. The knowledge of this secret could be harmful to your soul if you respond to it withdisdain or contempt.

What I am about to reveal may, at first, not seem fitting. This is because of the higher things of God are not easily received by the minds of human beings. Such is the mystery of the cross, whicconfounds the wisdom of this world. Only those who are chosen will able to fully comprehend howimportant this secret really is. However, if you begin to make use of this secret in the ordinary

actions of your daily life, you will soon come to understand its extraordinary value.

2. Before you read any further, kneel down and devoutly say a prayer. Ask God to help youunderstand and appreciate this secret, which is really given by him. You must prepare your soul ifyou would profit from this secret. You may certainly pray that God deliver you from any deceptionand that he illumine your mind with a spirit of discernment. Any illumination that comes from Godalways has a good effect upon the soul. Pray that God give you the grace of discernment, that yomay understand what I am about to teach you.

Chapter Two

The Necessity of Having a True Devotion to Mary

(The Grace of God is absolutely necessary.)

3. Chosen soul, you are the living image of God. You have been redeemed by the precious bloodof Jesus Christ. Through the merits of Christ, and through your baptism, you have been spirituallyadopted by God as his own child. Now, God wants you to become holy like he is in this life, andglorious like he is in the next life.

Above all else, growth in the holiness of God is your most important vocation. To take your vocation to holiness seriously, you must realize why God called you into existence in the first placWhy are you here? What is the purpose of your life? You were created to know, to love, and toserve God in this life, and to be forever happy with him in heaven. This may seem simple. But, it iimportant that you clearly understand why God even called you into existence! From the foundatioof the world God chose you in Christ, to share in Christ's own divine inheritance. You were calledinto existence to become, as it were, an eternal mirror of Jesus Christ himself. Though you willalways retain your own individual personality, your eternal soul will become a mirror of the divine






Eternal Word.

People of this world do not understand, nor do they care, that they are called to holiness. They donot realize that it is only in the search for holiness that we find the true meaning of our own lives.Whatever other vocations in life we may have, we can only gain true satisfaction in our earthlyachievements and successes, by striving to accomplish God's primary will for us. That is why,above all else, holiness is our most important vocation.

Knowing that we are called to holiness, we must understand exactly what that means for us. Weare not angels. We are earthly human creatures. As human beings, we are called to glorify God inour bodies. The apostle says: "I beg you my brothers to appreciate God's mercy! Behave inway that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies to God as a holy sacrifice that is truly pleasing to him." (Romans 12:1) All of our thoughts, all of our words, all oour spontaneous utterances, all of our postures and gesticulations, all of the actions of our bodieseverything we do, everything we suffer or undertake should lead us towards the goal of holiness. We are resisting God's will, if we refuse to strive to accomplish the primary purpose for which he created us. Even now, God is keeping us in existence only for this purpose!

What a marvelous transformation is possible for us! Lives that seem to be without meaning can betransformed into story's of heroic achievement. Ignorant souls can grow into the fulness of divinewisdom. Souls fouled by sinful impurities may be transformed into noble souls which redeem theworld. Frustration can be changed into satisfaction, failure into success, anger into joy! In fact, weare called to such holiness that our souls can be transformed by a mystical divine union with Godso that we become as perfect as it is possible for us to become in this life.

Sadly, this transformation is not only difficult but, it is impossible for a mere creature to bring itabout. God, however, can easily accomplish this in you by giving you his sanctifying grace in anextraordinary manner. Only God's infusion of sanctifying grace into our souls will accomplish thehigh purpose to which we are called. This, however, is a work that only God himself can bring

about. The very creation of the universe is not as great an achievement for God, as is theperfection of of the soul of a human being. God desires that we love him as much as it ispossible for us to love him, and he desires to love us as much as it is possible for him tolove us! This is why God wills holiness for you above all things. Through holiness, we not only finthe joy of intimate union with God, but we also find the perfection of every other aspect of our human lives.

4. Chosen soul, how can you bring this transformation about? What steps will you take to reachthe glorious vocation to which God is calling you? The ordinary means of holiness and salvationare known to everybody. They are found in the teachings of Jesus, and by the teachings of theapostles in the epistles of the Bible. The masters of the spiritual life have explained them; thesaints have practiced them and shown how essential they are for those who wish to be saved andto attain perfection. The ordinary means to achieve holiness are: unreserved faith in Jesus Christ,sincere humility, prayerful lives, love of God and neighbor, self-denial, abandonment to DivineProvidence, and obedience to the will of God in all things. But how is it possible to really attain tothe full measure of this?

5. The grace and help of God is absolutely necessary for us to attain this transformation into the fstature of Jesus Christ. We know that grace is given to all, but it is not given to all in the the





same measure. I say not in the same measure, because God does not give his graces inequal measure to everyone. In his infinite goodness he always gives more than sufficient graceto each. But the response of the soul to God's grace determines how he will progress. A personwho responds to great graces should perform great works, while a person who responds to lessergraces will perform lesser works. Our actions should correspond to the graces given to us by Godif we faithfully respond to them. Because we almost always respond inadequately to the graceswhich God gives to us, we must find a means by which he will continue to pour out his graces into

our souls, in spite of our unworthiness.

TO FIND THE GREATEST GRACES OF GOD, WE MUST FIND MARY!

6. It all comes to this: we must discover a simple means to consistently obtain the greatest gracefrom God, which are needed to enable us to become truly holy. It is precisely how to do this that wish to teach you. You must discover the secret of Mary if you would consistently obtain thgreatest graces from God.

7. Let me explain:

(1) Mary alone was given the most sublime grace that God could give to any mere human creatuBecause God chose her to be the mother of his only begotten Son, the Eternal Word at time of hiIncarnation, God infused her soul with every grace possible. She required every grace imaginableto be a worthy vessel to conceive, to sustain, and to bear within her body the Eternal Son of God the divine person of Jesus Christ. The primary reason for of the creation of the whole universitself, began within the womb of Mary. "All things were created for him." (Col. 1:16) ThroughMary, and in Mary, God accomplished the greatest, most sublime work of his entire creation. Thegreatest work of God came into existence in Jesus Christ himself. Christ alone glorifies, and lovesalmighty God to the greatest extent possible for any created being.

In Jesus Christ, through the hypostatic union, God became man. In the Incarnation of the Eterna

Word, the earthly matter of a human body, and the created soul of a man assumed the verynature of divinity itself! This is a mystery and a miracle beyond human or angelic understandingIn Christ, God actually turned created matter into God!

First, the created soul of Christ glorifies God through love more perfectly than can any othercreated being.

Second, in the Incarnation, God who is immaterial and eternal, became incarnate, thatmeans: made flesh. This means that God himself became material. In Christ, the infiniteand eternal God himself became matter! Thus, in Christ, God does not only exist as purespirit in eternity, but God also exists as a creation within his own creation, confined by

time and space.

Thus, the greatest creative feat possible for God is accomplished in the person of Jesus Christ. Inthe person of Christ, God is more perfectly glorified than by the rest of his entire creation. This iswhy, before all time began, the Incarnation of the Eternal Word was God's first and primarycreative intention. It is also for this reason that God gave Mary every grace possible, so as tomost fittingly bring forth Christ into creation. It is first in Mary, that the primary glorification of God's creation is performed. Thus, it was also firstly through Mary that the grace of salvation





comes to the entire human race. No patriarch or prophet, or any other holy person of the Old Lawwas ever given such grace by God!. Untold, unimaginable graces were given to Mary as specialprivileges because she was chosen from the foundation of the world to conceive, to bear, and tobring forth God himself into the creation. She is the Theotokos: the 'God Bearer'.

8. (2) In Jesus Christ, Mary gave human existence to the author of all grace. Because she is the

human mother of the source of all grace, she is called the � Mother of Grace� .

9. (3) God the Father, from whom comes every perfect gift and every grace, himself gave Maryevery grace when he gave her his Son. When the angel Gabrielle first came to her, he said: "Haifull of grace!" . This means that her soul was filled with every grace that it was capable of beingfilled with at that time. She herself confesses: "My soul magnifies the Lord ... the Almighty hasdone great things for me!" (Luke 1:47-49) St. Bernard says, "the specific will of God for Marwas manifested to her in Jesus himself."

10. (4) In the new dispensation of grace to the world through Christ, God also chose Mary to be ttreasurer, the administrator and the dispenser of all his graces. The sanctifying grace which bringabout our spiritual adoption as children of God, passes to us through her soul as through a crysta

clear channel. Thus, everyone who is a member of the mystical Body of Christ is spiritually bornboth of God and of Mary - just as Jesus was. Through Christ, the salvation and grace of God isavailable to all men. Man's personal response of faith establishes his spiritual adoption and life inGod. But, the sanctifying of graces of God gained by the sacrifice of Christ, come to us through thspiritual mediation of Mary. This is why the Church calls her the "Mediatrix of Grace."

11. (5) As in the natural life a child must have a father and a mother, so in the supernatural life of grace, a child of the Church must have God for his Father and Mary for his mother. If a man pridehimself on having God for his Father but does not give to Mary the tender affection of a child, hehas made a presumptuous error. The grace of the Holy Spirit, through which a Christian becomesmember of the mystical Body of Christ, always comes from God through Mary. Those who despis

her, or who do not acknowledge her as their spiritual mother, can never grow into the fulness of thstature of Jesus Christ. To despise Mary is to despise the glass from which radiates the Light of tWorld. To despise Mary is to despise the fountain from which flows the water of eternal life. ThougGod definitely loves all such souls, they grieve him greatly! They erect within themselves greatobstacles of resistance which makes them incapable of receiving the full out-pouring of the HolySpirit. Mary is their mother in grace whether they acknowledge her or not. In so far as a souldespises Mary, they are unknowingly rejecting the fulness of the light of truth.

The Church says of Mary: "You alone have destroyed every heresy in the whole world." Thismeans that when souls fully accept Mary as their own mother, and as the Mother of Grace, and athe Mother of the Church, every other heresy which may have contaminated their souls isdestroyed.

12. (6) With Christ as the head, the members of the mystical body of Christ make up the Church.Since Mary produced the head of the elect, Jesus Christ, so also does she produce the mysticalmembers of that head, who are all true Christians. A mother does not conceive a head withoutmembers, nor members without a head. If anyone, then, wishes to become a full member of themystical body of Jesus Christ, and to consequently be filled with the same grace and truth, he mube formed by the Holy Spirit through Mary: just as Jesus himself was. Mary is the living vessel of





the Holy Spirit. God has enabled her to communicate the Holy Spirit in abundance to the membeof the mystical body of Christ, who are her spiritual children. To the elect: "The Spirit and theBride say: Come! Let everyone who listens, answer!" (Rev. 22:17)

13. (7) In the new dispensation of grace, the Holy Spirit continues to produce every day, in amysterious but very real manner, the souls of the elect in her and through her. These souls makeup the mystical body of Christ.

14. (8) Mary received from God a unique dominion over souls which enables her to nourish themand make them more and more godlike. St. Augustine went so far as to say that even in this worldall the elect are enclosed in the womb of Mary, and that their real birthday is when this good mothbrings them forth to eternal life. Just as an infant draws all its nourishment from its mother, whoprovides for the child according to its needs, so do the elect draw spiritual nourishment andstrength from Mary.

15. (9) It was to Mary that God the Father said, � Dwell in Jacob� , that is, dwell in my elect w

are typified by Jacob. It was to Mary that God the Son said, � My dear Mother, your inheritance

is in Israel � , that is, in the elect . It was to Mary that the Holy Spirit said, "Place your roots in

my elect" . Whoever, then, is chosen and predestinate will have the Blessed Virgin living withinhim, and he will let her plant in his very soul the roots of every virtue, but most especially deephumility and ardent charity.

16. (10) Mary is called by St. Augustine, and indeed is, the �living mold of God�. In her the Godman himself was formed in his human nature without losing any feature of the Godhead. In her, bthe grace of the Holy Spirit, all men can be made godlike as far as their human nature is capable it.

A sculptor can make a statue or a life-like model in two ways: (i) By using his skill, strength,experience and good tools to produce a statue out of hard, shapeless matter; (ii) By making a cas

of it in a mold. The first way is long and involved and prone to all sorts of accidents. It only needsone faulty stroke of the chisel or hammer to ruin the whole work. The second way is quick andeasy. Using a mold is almost effortless and it produces perfect results. But, the mold itself must bperfect in every way and true to life. Equally important is that the material used to make the imagebe easy to handle and that it offer no resistance.

17. Mary is the great mold of God. Through her God fashioned by the Holy Spirit the human naturof Jesus Christ, who is true God by the hypostatic union. Now, through her he also fashionsthrough grace, men who are images of his Son. No godly feature is missing from this mysticalmold. Everyone who casts himself into it and allows himself to be molded will acquire every featurof Jesus Christ with little pain or effort: as befits his weak human condition. He will take on a faithflikeness to Jesus with no possibility of distortion, for the devil has never had, and never will have,any access to Mary, in whom there is not the least stain of sin.

18. Dear friend, what a difference there is between a soul brought up in the ordinary way toresemble Jesus Christ by people who, like sculptors, rely on their own skill and industry, and a sothoroughly tractable, entirely detached, most ready to be molded in her by the working of the HolySpirit. What blemishes and defects, what shadows and distortions, what natural and humanimperfections are found in the first soul, and what a faithful and divine likeness to Jesus is found i





the second!

19. There has never been, and there will never be, either in God�s creation or in his mind, a mecreature in whom he is so honored as he is in the Blessed Virgin Mary. Not all the the saintstogether, nor all the cherubim and the highest seraphim in heaven, can equal the glory bestowedupon the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is because her soul was singularly created to be th

vessel of the Holy Spirit. Mary is God�s garden of Paradise. She his own unspeakable world, int

which his Son entered to do wonderful things: to tend it, to perfect it, and to take his delight in it.

God created a world for the way-farer, that is the one we are living in now. He created a secondworld, Heaven, which is not only very real, but it has most certainly existed from beginning of thecreation. What it consists in is unimaginable to men on earth, but it is certain that the Angels andthe Saints will occupy it in perfect happiness for all eternity with God.

God created a third, spiritual world for himself: which he named Mary. She is a spiritual worldunknown to most mortals here on earth. No one can begin to fathom the depth, or the beauty, or the power, or the complexity of the spirit of even an angel, like a Cherubim or Seraphim. It is evenmore impossible for men to comprehend the unfathomable perfection's of the soul of Mary, or the

soul of Christ. Christ is one person with the Eternal Word in all it's fullness, while Mary is the Bridof the Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit dwells within her in all his plenitude, her soul is a trueCity of God . She is the true New Jerusalem in whom God dwells in his fullness: "coming downfrom heaven like a beautiful bride adorned for her husband." (Rev. 21:2)

Even the angels and saints in heaven find the depth, and breadth, and beauty of the the virtues othe soul of Mary incomprehensible. They remain in a state of holy, perpetual awe at the exquisiteperfection's of the seemingly infinite virtues of her soul. Her soul is the most perfect living image oGod after Christ's own soul. The Soul of Christ is one person with the Eternal Divine Word. Mary'ssoul was created singularly to be the primary vessel of the Holy Spirit. God exalted Mary so far above the angels, and so vast and incomprehensible is her being, that God has called her his

chosen world. Upon seeing Mary, all of heaven exclaims:�Holy, holy, holy�. Mary's being isexalted above every other being, except for Jesus Christ himself. Though all of God's universe wacreated for Christ, Mary was singularly created to be the most dearly beloved created companionfor Christ. Thus, her soul, as the singular vessel of the of the Holy Spirit, is a divine mirror of thesplendor of Christ's own. Those who despise Mary are bound by invincible ignorance. They haveno idea who, or what they are resisting. Her soul contains the fullness of the glory of the HolySpirit, and her being is exalted by grace to the right hand of Christ himself.

20. Happy, indeed sublimely happy, is the person to whom the Holy Spirit reveals the secret of Mary! Happy is he who begins to meditate on the true knowledge of her. How blessed is the pers

to whom the Holy Spirit opens the mysteries of this enclosed garden! How favored is the person twhom the Holy Spirit gives access to this sealed fountain, where they can drink deep draughts of the living waters of grace. In her, they will find only light and grace.

These will find that the infinitely holy and exalted God is at the same time infinitely merciful andgenerous. God understands the weaknesses of men, and he wishes to compensate for their weaknesses. God is everywhere. He exists everywhere, even in hell. Though now he reignsthrough the merciful scepter of Christ, there is no place where God can be more present in mercyto his needy creatures, or more sympathetic to human weakness, than in Mary. Everywhere else,





Christ is the Bread of the strong, or the Bread of angels, but living in Mary he is the Bread of hismost chosen children.

21. Let us not imagine, then, as some misguided teachers do, that because Mary is a simplecreature, she would be a hindrance to union with God. Far from it! At first it might seem to us thatadopting a total dependence on Mary might in in some way hinder us from obtaining the fulloutpouring of God's grace. But, in reality the effect of dependence on Mary is just the opposite. It

will be to your great surprise that the more you depend upon Mary, the more you will be filled withsupernatural graces. It is innocent ignorance that causes one to imagine that reliance on Mary is aunnecessary step in attaining the graces of God. Only experience can teach what riches are founin the shift of souls spiritual dependency onto Mary, and by the practice of this devotion. As SaintAugustine says: "understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, do not try to understand that you may believe, but rather believe so that you may understand."

Mary was created only for God's glory! Bringing glory to God is Mary's greatest delight! Perfect lovof God is her highest end, and only for his service and his pleasure was she created. To the soul'great surprise, Mary opens the flood-gates of God's mercy on anyone who entrusts himself to herShe has no desire to keep even one soul for herself. To the contrary, she takes great interest, and

maternal delight in flooding souls with divine graces, so that they will glorify God's mercy! Sheworks most diligently, and with the greatest maternal care, to quickly lead every single soul into thholiness of union with God. The trusting soul, who depends upon Mary, will suddenly find that thepresence of God is surrounding him in a manner he never knew before. Dependence upon Mary not an obstacle: quite to the contrary, it is an amplifier of divine grace. Mary is the wonderful echoof God. The more a person joins himself to Mary, the more effectively she unites him to God. Wh

we say�Mary�, she re-echoes�God�. Her soul magnifies the Lord. (Luke 1:47) No one calearn this until he actually begins to practice the secret of this devotion.

When, like St. Elizabeth, we call Mary blessed on earth, she immediately gives the honor toGod in his holy presence in heaven. Just as she she did on earth, when Elizabeth, "filled with

the Holy Spirit said: 'you are blessed above all among women'." she immediately confessed:"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior! He has looked withfavor on his lowly servant, and holy is his name!" (Luke 1:42-46) If misguided souls, so sadlyled astray by the devil, even in their prayer-life, knew how to discover Mary, and to discover Jesuthrough her, and to discover God through Jesus, they would never have stumbled into suchspiritual errors, nor would they or suffer such terrible and embarrassing falls. The saints tell usthat when we have once found Mary, and through Mary Jesus, and through Jesus, God the

Father, then we have discovered every good. When we say � every good � , we except

nothing. �Every good� includes every grace, continuous friendship with God, every protectionagainst the enemies of God, possession of truth to counter every falsehood, endless benefits, the

favor of God in our material lives, and unfailing headway against the hazards we meet on the wayto salvation, and finally every consolation and joy amid the bitter afflictions of life.

22. This does not mean that one who has discovered Mary through a genuine devotion is exemptfrom crosses and sufferings. Far from it! One is tried even more than others are, because Mary, aMother of the living, gives to all her children splinters of the tree of life, which is the Cross of Jesus. But while meting out crosses to them she gives the grace to bear them with patience, andeven with joy. In this way, the crosses she sends to those who trust themselves to her are rather





like sweetmeats, i.e.�sweetened� crosses rather than�bitter � ones. If from time to time theydo taste the bitterness of the chalice from which we must drink to become proven friends of God,the consolation and joy which their Mother sends in the wake of their sorrows creates in them astrong desire to carry even heavier and still more bitter crosses.

A TRUE DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN IS INDISPENSABLE

23. The difficulty, then, is how to arrive at the true knowledge of the most holy Virgin and so to fingrace in abundance through her. It is very true that God, who is absolute Master, can give thegraces which he now ordinarily dispenses through Mary, directly. It would be rash to deny that notonly can he dispense his grace directly but he always did so in the past, and he also sometimesdoes so now. For example, God directly illumined the Magi, the wise men from the east. So too dihe directly sanctify all the saints of the old testament; especially Moses, St. John the Baptist, andSt. Joseph. However, St. Thomas assures us that now, a new order of dispensation of grace hasbeen established by the divine Wisdom for the Church, which is the mystical body of Christ. Now,God ordinarily imparts his graces to men through Mary.

Therefore, if we wish to go to him, and to seek union with him, we should use the same means th

he used in coming down from heaven to us. He chose to become dependent upon Mary, when hisdivine nature assumed our human nature. Only after Christ assumed dependence upon Mary in hhuman nature, did he begin to impart his graces of salvation to men. Now, our human naturesshould be re-assumed into his divine nature by the very same means which he chose to unitehimself to us: dependence upon Mary. Clearly the very first means that Jesus himself used to unithimself to us, was through a complete dependence on his mother. Christ himself points us to howtrue devotion to Mary begins. This is not just a passing observation! It is an essentialprinciple! Beginning with absolute dependence on Mary, we begin to perfectly imitate Jesus Chrhimself. What he did by his total dependence in body and soul within Mary, we must now imitate ispirit. We must permit ourselves to be formed to his likeness within her, by submitting ourselvesinteriorly to a total dependence upon her. This is how we begin to become perfect members of the

mystical body of Christ.

WHAT PERFECT DEVOTION TO MARY CONSISTS IN

Some true devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary:

24. There are indeed several true devotions to our Lady. I do not intend to discuss those that arefalse.

25. The first consists in fulfilling the duties of our Christian state, avoiding all mortal sin, performinour actions for God more through love than through fear, praying to our Lady occasionally, and

honoring her as the Mother of God, but without our devotion to her being exceptional.

26. The second consists in entertaining for our Lady deeper feelings of esteem and love, of confidence and veneration. This devotion inspires us to join the confraternities of the Holy Rosarand the Scapular, to say the five or fifteen decades of the Rosary, to venerate our Lady's picturesand shrines, to make her known to others, and to enroll in her sodalities. This devotion, in keepinus from sin, is good, holy and praiseworthy, but it is not as perfect as the third, nor as effective indetaching us from creatures, or in practicing that self-denial necessary for union with Jesus Christ





27. The third devotion to our Lady is one which is unknown to many and practiced by very few.This is the one I am about to present to you now.

THE PERFECT PRACTICE OF TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY

What it consists in:

28. Chosen soul, this devotion consists in a total surrender of one's whole self in order to becomethe absolute possession, and the perfect instrument of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We must abandoourselves to dependence upon Mary as Christ himself did within her womb. For us, it must be atotal abandonment of ones own self, and all that one possesses, both materially and spiritually.One must will to become the total possession and property of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Finally, thiwill require us to adopt her own spirit as the spiritual chapel of our own soul.

To accomplish this, one must not only adopt the the spirit of a trusting child, or the heart a perfectservant. To effect this we must become willingly become for her, as it were, a slave of loveWe must totally give up all that we would call our own, and consecrate and dedicate ourselves tothe Blessed Virgin Mary: with the aim of always serving her as slaves of love. This secret require

that, for the rest of our lives, we perform all of our actions as slaves of love for Mary, andthat we depend upon her entirely for absolutely everything. In the future we serve AlmightyGod by doing everything for Mary, with Mary, in Mary, and through Mary.

29. We should choose a special feast-day on which to give ourselves totally to her. Then, willinglyand lovingly, under no constraint we consecrate and sacrifice to her unreservedly our body andsoul. We give to her our material possessions, such as our house, our family, and our income.Most especially we offer even the inner possessions of our soul, namely, our merits, gracevirtues and the value of our sacrifices and sufferings. We give her the value of all of our good actions, so that she herself may dispose of them to the greatest glory of God and thesalvation of souls.

30. Notice that in this devotion we sacrifice to Jesus through Mary what is most dear to us, that isthe right to dispose of ourselves, of the value of our prayers, and our acts of self-denial and our sufferings. We even offer her full possession of any heavenly glory we might attain in this life, sothat nothing that we might call our own remains. We hope to become her full possession andproperty in time and in eternity. In fact, we even beg her - implore her - to take us as her own

possession. To even hope that Mary might actually call us �her own� for all eternity is an honothat we do not deserve, nor could we ever deserve. How fortunate is the soul, which Mary actuallreceives as her own - to guide, to nourish, and to instruct!

Knowing what a most special honor it actually is to truly become the possession of the MostBlessed Virgin; we still approach her with absolute confidence! She wills to receive us because shdesires that we glorify God to the greatest possible extent. Thus, we leave to her the right todispose of all the value of our prayers, sacrifices, and good deeds. After having done this, butwithout going so far as making a vow, we cease to claim merit for any good deed we might do. OuLady now may use the value of our good deeds to help bring about the conversion of a sinner, orperhaps to provide the necessary grace to obtain the salvation of a dying soul. We do not bury outalent, so that we may return it to the master when he asks for it back. No, we have given it to thewisest banker, who will return it to him with interest. For us, this is the wisest investment we can





make, and God will reward us for being wise stewards.

31. By this devotion we place our merits in the hands of our Lady: but only that she may preserveincrease and embellish them. Strictly speaking, merit for increase of grace and glory cannotbe handed over to any other person. But we do give her all the value of our prayers and goodworks, inasmuch as they have intercessory merit, and value for the atonement of sins. We give heour spiritual merits, that she might distribute and apply them according to the greatest needs of th

Church, and to the greatest glory of God. If, after having thus consecrated ourselves to our Lady,we wish to rescue a sinner, or to assist a friend by prayer, or to help a soul in purgatory by givingan alms, or by performing an act of self-sacrifice, we must humbly request it of our Lady, abidingalways by her decision: which of course remains unknown to us. We can be sure that the value ofour actions will be dispensed by her in the most productive possible way. This is certain, becausenow even the graces of God himself are being distributed through her. She cannot fail to apply ouhumble merits for his greatest glory and in accordance with his most perfect will. We ourselvescould never act with such merciful wisdom as the Mother of the Church, who is at every momentthe mediatrix of graces. Moreover, she intercedes constantly before God to obtain forgiveness anmercy for her children, and for all mankind.

32. I have said that this devotion consists in adopting the status of a slave with regard to Mary. Wmust remember that there are three kinds of slavery. There is, first, slavery based on nature. Allmen, good and bad alike, are slaves of God in this sense. The second is the slavery of enforcedcompulsion. The devils and the damned are slaves of God in this second sense.

The third is a slavery of love. This is a slavery of free choice. This slavery of love is the kind choseby one who consecrates himself to God through Mary. This is the most perfect way for humanbeings to give themselves to God. Our souls thus become adorned by double garments! As thepossessions of Christ through Mary, our souls become embellished by the merits of both Jesus anMary! Only thus may our souls become as beautiful before God, and as pleasing to him, as it ispossible for them to become.

33. There is a vast difference between a servant and a slave! A servant can demand wages for hiservices, but a slave can demand no wage. A servant is free to leave his employer when he likesand serves him only for a time. But a slave belongs to his master for life, and has no right to leavehim. A servant does not give his employer a right of life and death over him, but a slave is so totathe property of his master, that his master can put him to death without fearing any action by thelaw.

It is easy to see then, that no human dependence is so absolute as that of a person who is a slavby enforced compulsion. Strictly speaking, no man should be so absolutely subjected to another man, or so completely subservient to any one, except to the Creator. Therefore, we do not find thikind of slavery among true Christians, but only among heretics, Muslims and pagans.

34. But happy, very happy indeed, will the generous person be who, after having shaken off thetyrannical slavery of the devil through Christian baptism, prompted by love, consecrates himself entirely to Jesus through Mary as their slaves of love.

The excellence of this practice of devotion





35. I would need much more enlightenment from heaven to describe adequately the surpassingmerit of this devotional practice. I shall limit myself to these few remarks:

1. In giving ourselves to Jesus through Mary's hands, we imitate God the Father, who gave us hisonly Son through Mary, and who imparts his graces to us only through Mary. Likewise we imitateGod the Son, who by giving us his example for us to follow, inspires us to go to him using the sammeans he used in coming to us, that is, through Mary. Again, we imitate the Holy Spirit, who

bestows his graces and gifts upon us through Mary. � Is it not fitting,� remarks St. Bernard,� that grace should return to its author by the same channel that it was conveyed to us? �

36. 2. In going to Jesus through Mary, we are really paying honor to Jesus, for we are showingthat, because of our sins, we realize that we are unworthy to approach his infinite divine holinessdirectly on our own merit. Devotion to Mary results from a full appreciation of the absolute dignity the divinity of the person of Jesus Christ, who is Incarnate God, and who contains within his ownperson the plenitude of God. We are showing that we trust in Mary, his holy Mother like her children, and and that we are confident that we really are his brothers. In humility, we choose herbe our advocate with Christ, who is himself not only our only Mediator with God, (by his very divine nature), but who is also the awesome judge, the true sanctifier of our souls, and the rewa

and joy of all men and angels.

This devotion also requires the humility of the realization that all things were created for Christ.We approach Jesus knowing that "all things were created through him, all things were createfor him, he is before all else that is. Now the Church is his body and he is it's head. He holdthe primacy in everything, and all perfection resides in him." (Col. 1:17-19) Because "all things were created for him" , and "he holds the primacy in everything" , it is wise that we napproach his awesome judgment seat alone. As the children of his mother Mary, we mayapproach now him as our brother; but we must always profoundly humble ourselves before himbecause he is the Creator of the Universe, our God, and our Judge. Because all things werecreated for him, we ourselves were created by him - and for him. This should make us not onlysupremely grateful, but also completely humble. Mary herself also approached Jesus with theprofound humility of a creature before her creator, even though she knew she was his humanmother. In short, we are practicing the very same humility which Mary practiced.

37. 3. Consecrating ourselves in this way to Jesus through Mary implies placing our good deeds iMary's hands. Now, although these deeds may appear good to us, in reality they are oftendefective. They are tainted by pride, or smug presumption, and in truth they are not worthy of Gowho is himself eternally perfect, all-pure, and all powerful. He dwells in inaccessible splendor andmajesty. Before him, the sun itself lacks brightness. It is folly to attempt to stand before theawesome God, or even before Christ Jesus the Lord, trusting in the value of our own faith and

merit. "Many will say to the Son of Man on that day, but Lord - did we not perform miraclesand cast out demons in your name? But he will say to them, away with you - you workers oiniquity - I have never known you!" He would not say that to them, if they were all dressed upand presented to him by his beloved mother, or if they were standing behind her, dressed as her children. These would be the adopted children of his own mother who have cultivated their love fohim through her, as his own brothers and sisters for their whole lives!

Just because one imagines that he enjoys the full favor of Christ does not, in any way, mean thathe actually does so. We are warned by the apostle that many false prophets have gone out into th





world, and that they will deceive many. How many of these deceived ones stand before Christ asthey themselves possess the fulness of truth? In reality, many of them are deceived themselves,and they go about deceiving others. It is certain that, because of all the division between Christianthemselves, many Christians DO NOT in fact enjoy the fulness of the light of Christ: even thoughthey believe that they do so.

This is obvious because of the countless various sects of Christians, who all hold and teach very

different doctrines. It is precisely the sin of omission of presumptuously refusing to even consider the implications of this, that will bring about their own condemnation. The faith of many,deteriorates into pridefull presumption. "Even the devils have such faith." (James 2:19) Thosewho cling to their presumption with delight, and with damnable obduracy (hardness of heart) are igrave danger. If they intentionally cling to this haughty and smug presumption: "They areshamelessly looking after only themselves. They are like clouds blown about by the wind who bring no rain, or barren trees that when uprooted are twice dead. They are like shootinstars, destined for an eternity of black darkness." (Jude 1:12)

Let us pray, then, to our dear Mother and Queen, that having accepted our poor present of ourselves, she may purify us, sanctify us, beautify us, and so adorn us with the merits of her Son

make us worthy of God. Any good our own souls could produce is of less value to God our Fathein winning his friendship and favor, than a worm-eaten apple would, if it were presented by adisheveled peasant to his King as payment for the rent of his farm. But, what if that peasant werewise and if he enjoyed the esteem of the Queen? If he were to first present his apple to Queen,would she not, out of kindness to the poor man and out of respect for the King, remove from theapple all that was maggoty and spoiled, place it on a golden dish, and surround it with flowers?Could the King then refuse the apple? Would he not accept it most willingly from the hands of his

Queen who is now showing the King such loving concern for that poor man? � If you wish to

present something to God, no matter how small it may be,� says St. Bernard, � place it in

the hands of Mary to ensure its certain acceptance.�

38. Dear God, how everything we do comes to so very little! But let us adopt this devotion andplace everything in Mary's hands. When we have given her all we possibly can, emptying ourselvcompletely to do her honor, she far surpasses our generosity and gives us very much for very littleShe enriches us with her own merits and virtues. She places our gift on the golden dish of her charity and clothes us, as Rebecca clothed Jacob, in the beautiful garments of her first-born andonly Son, Jesus Christ, which are his merits, and which are at her disposal. Thus, as her servanand slaves, stripping ourselves of everything to do her honor, we are clad by her in doublegarments - namely, the garments, adornments, perfumes, merits and virtues of both Jesusand Mary. This magnificent embellishment is imparted to the soul of the slave of love who hasemptied himself, and is resolved to remain in that state.

39. 4. Giving ourselves in this way to our Lady is a practice of charity towards our neighbor of thehighest possible degree, because in giving ourselves to Mary, we give her all that we hold mostdear, and we let her dispose, as she knows what is best for our neighbor, and for the greatest gloof God.

40. 5. By adopting this devotion, we all put our graces, merits and virtues into safe keeping bymaking Mary the depository of them. It is as if we said to her, "See, my dear Mother, here is thegood that I have done through the grace of your dear Son. I am not capable of keeping it,





because of my weakness and inconstancy, and also because so many wicked enemies areassailing me day and night. Alas, every day we see cedars of Lebanon fall into the mire, aneagles, which had soared towards the sun, become birds of darkness. A thousand of thejust are falling to the left and ten thousand to the right. But you, most powerful Queen, holdme fast lest I fall. Keep a guard on all my possessions lest I be robbed of them. I entrust alhave to you, for I know well who you are, and that is why I confide myself entirely to you.You are faithful to God and man, and you will not suffer anything I entrust to you to perish

You are powerful, and nothing can harm you or rob you of anything you hold."

�When you follow Mary you will not go astray; when you pray to her, you will not despair; whenyour mind is on her, you will not wander; when she holds you up, you will not fall; when sheprotects you, you will have no fear; when she guides you, you will feel no fatigue; when she is on

your side, you will arrive safely home� (Saint Bernard). And again,�She keeps her Son fromstriking us; she prevents the devil from harming us; she preserves virtue in us. Like a wise bankeshe stores our merits for us lest we loose them all by dashing them to the ground by an act of mortal sin and incurring the judgment of God. No, even if we sin, she retains our merits for us,because we have already given them to her. Though we ourselves may fall, she holds thevalues of our good action, our merits, safe! She retains them, and prevents them from being

lost or devalued by sin.� These words of St. Bernard explain in substance much of what I havetried to say. If I had only this one motive to impel me to choose this devotion, namely, that othe preservation of my merits, and keeping me in the grace of God and increasing thatgrace within me, my heart would burn with longing for it!

41. This devotion makes the soul truly free by imbuing it with the liberty of the children of God.Since we lower ourselves willingly to a state of slavery of love for Mary our dear Mother, she out

gratitude, opens wide our hearts enabling us to walk with giant strides in the way of God�scommandments. She delivers our souls from weariness, sadness and scruples. It was this verydevotion that our Lord himself taught to Mother Agnes de Langeac, a religious who died in the od

of sanctity, as a sure way of being freed from the severe suffering and confusion of mind thatafflicted her.�Make yourself,� he said,�my Mother's slave and wear her little chain.� She diso, and from that time onwards her troubles ceased.

42. To prove that this devotion is authoritatively sanctioned, we need only recall the bulls of thepopes and the pastoral letters of bishops recommending it, as well as the indulgences accorded tit, the confraternities founded to promote it, and the examples of many saints and illustrious peopwho have practiced it. But I do not see any necessity to record them here. (Editors note: PopeJohn Paul II has explicitly recommended this devotion to the Church, and all the writings of St.Louis DeMontfort.)

3. The interior constituents of this consecration and its spirit:

43. I have already said that this devotion consists in performing all our actions with Mary, in Mary,through Mary, and for Mary.

44. It is not enough to give ourselves just once as a slave to Jesus through Mary; nor is it enoughto renew that consecration once a month or once a week. That alone would make this just apassing devotion. It would not raise the soul to the level of holiness which it is capable of reachingIt is easy to enroll in a confraternity; it is easy to make an act of consecration, or to say every day





the few vocal prayers prescribed. The chief difficulty is to enter into the spirit of this devotion, whicrequires adopting an interior trustful dependence on Mary, total confidence in her, and the ardentdesire to act, and to behave in such a way that we really do honor her as a slave of love. To thisend, we strive to honor and obey Christ as King. Thus, we actually do keep his commandments aslaves of love through Mary. I have met many people who, with admirable zeal, have set aboutexteriorly practicing this holy devotion to Jesus through Mary, but I have met only a few who haveactually understood the secret of its interior spirit of total dependence, and fewer still who have

persevered in it. This dependence upon Mary consists in a living trust that she deeply caresfor us, and in the understanding that all of God's sanctifying graces are passed to usthrough her soul. This dependence is a pure and child-like confidence that Mary loves usdeeply and that she is assisting us through every hour of every day. We understand thatshe fully cooperates and participates with the Father, with her Son, and with the Holy Spiritto provide for all our needs. Back to Top (Click here for more essentials.)

Act with Mary

45. The essential practice of this devotion is to perform all our actions with Mary. We adopt her asthe model for all we to do, and we constantly seek to please her in all things. We consciously act

as her faithful slaves of love. In acting in such a manner so as to please her, we are actually actinwith her. She consciously surrounds us with her presence as we undertake our prayers, or our duties, and we are sheltered within her - as within a spiritual bubble. Her soul will become the livinchapel of our own soul, and everything we do - we do with Mary. Because we are no longer on ouown, everything we do, we do with Mary.

46. Before undertaking anything, we must forget self and abandon our own views. We mustconsider ourselves as a mere nothing before God, as being personally incapable of doing anythinsupernaturally worthwhile or anything conducive to our salvation. We then have recourse to our Lady, intentionally adopting her intentions as our own to the best of our ability. Certainly we do noalways know exactly what her specific intention is, but that does not matter for we are serving her

unconditionally as slaves of love. By adopting Mary's spirit, we supernaturally adopt the intentionsof Jesus in a far more perfect manner than if we acted without her. We have consecrated ourselveto be an instrument in Mary's hands, for her to act in us and do with us what she pleases, for thegreater glory of her Son; and through Jesus for the greater glory of the Father. This is the way wepursue our interior life. We make our spiritual progress precisely by cultivating total confidence inher, and dependence on her, and strive to always act with her spirit; for we always know to someextent how she would act.

This is not to say that we do not practice the continuous prayer to God, or adoration of Jesus.Rather, we strive always to imitate Mary in her spirit of continual prayer to God. We unceasinglyadore the Lord, offering our constant petitions to his Most Sacred Heart, and to the Mercy of Godfor the salvation of souls.

Mary's was a spirit of constant prayer to God. The goal of becoming dependent upon Mary, andacting with her is to allow her own spirit of constant prayer to God, to become our own. We attempto imitate her in all we do, especially in constant petitions to God, or acts of resignation to his willbecause we are seeking to imitate her. We interiorly shift the idea of our own independent identityto a total interior dependence on Mary. Her soul then, will become the chapel of our own. Mary'ssoul is a chapel of constant prayer, constant worship, constant intercession, constant reparation f







all mankind. We must also, as St. Peter Julian Eymard teaches us to do, seek to imitate Mary'sown habit of continual adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, which Mary herself practicedin this life. That is why he calls her: "Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament." Her adoration of Jesus the Blessed Sacrament, and her acts of Eucharistic reparation in this life were unceasing. By actinwith her, we imitate her spirit of constant prayer and her works of mercy.

Act in Mary

47. 2. We must always act in Mary. This means that we must gradually acquire the habit of interiorly recollecting ourselves so that we are ever more conscious of being surrounded by her presence. We act in her, because we are surrounded by her. She has now covered us with themantle of her constant protection. We cultivate within our souls an idea, or a spiritual image of Mary. We act as if we are within her. Her soul must become, as it were, the Chapel of our Soul where we offer up our prayers to God without fear of being ignored. She will become aa Tower of David for us, in which we can seek safety from all our enemies. Living in her ignites aburning lamp in us, lighting up our inmost soul. She will inflame us with love for God. Her spirit wilbecome a sacred place in which we can repose and contemplate God in her company.

Finally, Mary will be the only means we will use in going to God, because she herself is the Chapof our Soul. She herself will always be our active intercessor before Christ for everything we needWhen we receive Jesus in Holy Communion we will place him in Mary that he may take his delighin her soul and not primarily in our own. If we do anything at all, it will be in Mary, and in this wayMary will help us to forget ourselves everywhere and in all things. If the devil entices us to pride, wimmediately ignore his praise, and acknowledge that any good thing we do is in no way our own.We deflect his compliments by rejecting them as lies. We immediately rebuke proud thoughts byconfessing that any good that may exist in us comes from God though Mary, and belongs entirelyto Mary.

Act through Mary

48. 3. We now never go to our Lord except through Mary, for we are always using her intercessioand her favored station to approach him. Since her soul is now the Chapel of our own, our prayealways go through her. Because we are now covered by the mantle of her protection, andsurrounded by her love as if we are in a bubble, we necessarily approach Jesus through Mary. Shis more than just our intercessor with Christ. We do not go through her only as if she were ourmessenger; rather we go through her precisely because we are already within her. Shesurrounds her beloved children with the spirit of her own holiness, so let us never forget our childlike dependence upon her when we approach our Blessed Lord. Indeed, we must frequently askMary to intercede for us, and ask her to pray to her Son for us. In this way also, with Mary as ointercessor, do we offer up our prayers through her. Every petition we offer to God will nowaccompany the merits of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which was pierced by such a sword that iendured nothing less than a martyrdom of sorrow.

Act for Mary

49. 4. We must perform all our actions for Mary. This means that, as slaves of this noble Queen,we always work with serving her constantly in mind. We always intend to promote her interests anto acknowledge her high renown. We are always conscious of offering our merits to Mary, and we





make this the first aim in all our acts: though the glory of God must always be our finalintention. In everything we must renounce self-love, because more often than not, without our being aware of it, selfishness sets itself up as the end of all we work for. We should often repeat

from the depths of our heart: � Dear Mother, it is to please you that I go here or there, that I d

this or that, or that I suffer this pain or this injury.�

50. Beware, chosen soul, of thinking that it is more perfect to direct your work and intentio

straight to Jesus or straight to God. Without Mary, your works and your intentions will be of lesvalue, since they will not be adorned by the beauty of the virtues of the soul of your Queen. If youalways go to God through Mary, your work itself will become Mary's work, and consequently it willbe most noble and most worthy in the eyes of God.

51. Beware of harming yourself by endeavoring to experience pleasure in your prayers and gooddeeds. Try to pray and act always with some of that pure faith which Mary had when she lived onearth, for she will share this with you. You do not need to concern yourself with raptures or ecstasies. The greatest mystical theologians of the Church treat such things with the gravestcaution. In fact, St. John of the Cross advises any soul who believes that it experiences a mysticaexperience to reject it immediately. If it is from God, it will always have the good effect that God

desires. But, if it is not from God, (which often they are not), you will have put no stake or value inthem at all. By immediately dismissing any mystical experience, God's grace will always sanctifyyour soul in spite of your cautious humility, while the devils false pleasures will be constantlyrejected. Slave of love, let your sovereign Queen enjoy the clear sight of God, the raptures, thedelights, and the satisfactions and riches of heaven. Content yourself with a pure faith, which maybe accompanied by repugnance, distractions, weariness and dryness. Let your prayer be:

� Whatever Mary my Queen in heaven wills, I say: Amen! So be it! � We cannot do better than this for the time being.

God will not be slow in showering you with consolations, even if you do not seek them. And whenyou do experience his heavenly consolations, receive them always with holy fear. For if God givesyou consolation today, it is only to strengthen you to be able to suffer more grievous crosses or afflictions tomorrow. When those afflictions come, and they surely will, be certain that thoseagonies also will soon pass, and that God will again refresh you. As we become stronger, our consolations may become less frequent. But our faith, and our habits of prayer, especially thehabit of the affective prayer of love, should remain lively. By persevering in love, and byhabitually performing acts of love, even when we feel no consolation, our soul will soon be purifiedunto perfection. The saints teach that developing the habit affective prayer , (the prayer of pureloving, intentionally adopting a disposition of ardent love of God; which power resides only in thewill ,) is by far the most effective means to attain union with God! Learning to practice theaffective prayer of love, is more edifying to our souls than are years of fasting or strict

mortification.

52. Should you not savor immediately the sweet presence of the Blessed Virgin within you, do nobe surprised, or torment yourself wondering why you do not experience her heavenly sweetness.This grace is given only rarely, and even if God in his great mercy favors a soul with such a graceit is most probable that one will quickly lose it: except if the soul has acquired the virtue of practicing habitual affective prayer, and is thus permanently aware of her sweetness throughrecollection.





The effects that this devotion produces in a faithful soul

53 Experience will teach you much more about this devotion than I can tell you, but if you remainfaithful to the little I have taught you, you will acquire a great richness of grace that will surprise yoand fill you with delight. Do not imagine that heavenly contemplations are far off, for contemplatiois as simple as passively looking at any picture and allowing it to fill you with meaning.Contemplation occurs when you passively behold a divine mystery. Doing this, you may often the

come to a realization. These realizations are called illuminations. You could in fact becontemplating why you do not seem to contemplate. When you realize something new, you areenjoying an illumination, which is a fruit of contemplation. Contemplation occurs within every soulthat quiets itself to passively ponder anything. Contemplation consists in passively reflecting onsomething, pondering it, and allowing your soul to absorb whatever meaning it contains. If you areillumined by God, you may realize some obvious truth that you overlooked before. Sometimes youmay be puzzled by some new question that presents itself to you.

Spiritual contemplation involves passively looking at some truth and allowing God to infusewhatever realization he wishes you to have. These new realizations, these illuminations arefruits of contemplation. It is as easy as this when it comes to contemplating the mysteries of God.

is called 'Heavenly Contemplation' when one ponders the being of God, any of the divinemysteries, or the articles of faith, or the significance of some divine event or heavenly truth. Theheavenly contemplations that devotion to the Blessed Virgin will afford you are so common andplenteous that you may not even be aware that you have been so quickly granted the grace of heavenly contemplation.

Meditation, on the other hand, is not so passive. Meditation occurs when one actively applieshimself to reconstructing an event in ones mind, and engaging in an interior dialogue about it, so ato reflect upon it's meaning. Meditation is more like proposing a situation as a puzzle, and thentrying to discern the significance of the events. Meditation is more active because it involvescreating a mental construct and searching for meaning. Then, one might contemplate the meanin

of the mental construct which he has created while meditating. But, meditation always involvesintellectually applying oneself in an active quest to search for significance. Contemplation, on theother hand, is passive. It is simply watching and wondering at the spectacle of God, or a divinemystery of a truth that pertains to him. If one wonders at God, or a spiritual or heavenly truth, thenone is engaged in heavenly contemplation. The fruits of contemplation may be consolations,(satisfying feelings of love) or insightful realizations (illuminations). Contemplation is so simple ththe very act of contemplation itself may evade you. The Lord may have blessed you with it inabundance.

However, there will be times when your mind seems to remain blank. At such times one peerspainfully into darkness, and receives no consolations, or enjoys no realizations. This might last fodays or weeks, and one may come to feel there is no meaning to anything in life at all. Everyaspect of life itself may feel tedious. (This must be contrasted to physical or mental depression -though often they are indeed one and the same thing. Consulting a physician to combat depressiowill not obstruct ones growth in holiness, and may it in fact be helpful. But, in the long run there isno way to eliminate suffering in this life. While mental health is always important, men try in vain tpermanently escape the cross.) Spiritual crosses, whether they originate in the body or the soul apart of life itself. Everyone on earth endures great suffering. This will continue to be true at everystage of life. For a zealous beginner, feeling deprived of contemplation may seem to be a cross.





But it is more likely that they will learn what contemplation is, before they experience the dryness being deprived of it.

Interior Practices

It is in these states of spiritual dryness, where one may pursue the greatest strides in the spirituallife! Here is the souls opportunity to continue to affectively love God, even in this darkness. Then,

rather than experiencing the illumination of the intellect, one may then experience the union of thewill. Like a blind man who feels the face of a stranger to learn his features, so does the soul whopractices the affective contemplation of love, (though in darkness), come to an even deeper encounter with God through the effect of love. It is the practice of this affective contemplation of love in darkness, which precedes the mystical union of the soul with God. The practice of constanaffective prayer, (the prayer of pure love of the will), is the quickest and surest way to divine unionOne need not be illuminated by lofty raptures, to enter into a state of pure love of God. Trueheavenly wisdom consists in intuitively knowing what most pleases God in every situation. The sowho loves him, will most certainly try to please him. The soul who intuitively always recognizes hoto please God will flee from sin as if from fire, but habitually loves, and strives to please God. Thesoul favored with such a permanent state has attained what is called the mystical divine union.

54. Let us set to work, then, dear soul, through perseverance in the living of this devotion byseeking to adopt the spirit of Mary as our model. Let us seek to please her, and in her, Mary's souwill glorify the Lord in us. Soon, her spirit will be within us to rejoice in God our Savior. "Do notthink that there is more glory and happiness dwelling in Paradise, the 'bosom of Abraham', than idwelling in the bosom of Mary where God has set up his throne in light inaccessible." (AbbotGuerric)

55. This devotion faithfully practiced produces countless happy effects in the soul. The mostimportant of them is that it establishes, even here on earth, Mary's own spiritual life within the souIn a manner of speaking, Mary's soul becomes identified with the soul of her servant. Indeed whe

by an unspeakable but real grace, Mary most holy becomes Queen of a soul, she works untoldwonders within it. She is a great wonder-worker, especially in the interior of souls. She works thein secret, unsuspected by the soul, as knowledge of her action might destroy the beauty of her work. So, if you are depending upon Mary, and persevering in your prayers, and attempting to lovGod with affection, whether you feel him or not, rejoice in the knowledge that Mary is secretlyforming Christ within you.

56. As Mary is everywhere the fruitful Virgin, she produces in the depths of the soul where shedwells a purity of heart and body, a singleness of intention and purpose, and a fruitfulness in good

works. Do not think, dear soul, that Mary, the most faithful of all God�s creatures, who went as fas to give birth to a God-man, remains idle in a receptive soul. She causes Jesus to livecontinuously in that soul, and that soul to live in continuous union with Jesus. If Jesus is equally thfruit of Mary for each individual soul as for all souls in general, he is even more especially her fruitand her masterpiece in the soul where she is present.

57. To sum up then, Mary becomes singularly important to the soul that wishes to serve JesusChrist. She enlightens the mind with her pure faith. She deepens the heart with her humility. Sheenlarges and inflames the heart with her charity, and makes it pure with her purity. She herself makes it noble through her motherly care. But why dwell any longer on this? Experience alone w





teach you the wonders wrought by Mary in the soul. These wonders are so great that the wise andthe proud, and even a great number of devout people, find it hard to believe them.

58. As it was through Mary that God came into the world the first time in a state of self-abasemenand privation, may we not say that it will be again through Mary that he will come the second timeFor does not the whole Church expect him to come and reign over all the earth and to judge theliving and the dead? No one knows how and when this will come to pass, but we do know that

God, whose thoughts are further from ours than heaven is from earth, will come at a time and in amanner least expected, even by the most scholarly of men and those most versed in HolyScripture, which gives no clear guidance on this subject. (As is evidenced by the countlessarguments about it.)

59. We are given reason to believe that, towards the end of time and perhaps sooner than weexpect, God will raise up people filled with the Holy Spirit and imbued with the spirit of Mary.Through them Mary, Queen most powerful, will work great wonders in the world, destroying sin ansetting up the kingdom of Jesus her Son upon the RUINS of the corrupt kingdom which is this greearthly Babylon. (Rev. 18:20) These holy people will accomplish this by means of this verydevotion, of which I have only traced the main outlines. It suffers from my incompetence.

Exterior practices

60. Besides interior practices, which we have just mentioned, this devotion has certain exterior practices that must not be omitted or neglected. These practices include adoration of Jesus in theBlessed Sacrament, frequent reception of Holy Communion, (or acts of Spiritual Communion),frequent acts of trust in God's mercy, praying the Rosary, abandoning oneself to the divineprovidence in daily life, reading and meditating on spiritual books, performing fasts andmortifications, giving alms to the poor, and practicing the works of mercy, all done in the service oMary as a slave of love.

Consecration and its renewal

61. The first is to choose a special feast-day to consecrate ourselves through Mary to Jesus,whose slaves of love we are making ourselves. This is an occasion for receiving Holy Communioand spending the day in prayer. At least once a year on the same day, we should renew the act oconsecration.

Offering of a tribute in submission to the Blessed Virgin

62. The second is to give our Lady every year on that same day some little tribute as a token of oservitude and dependence. This has always been the customary homage paid by slaves to their

master. This tribute could consist of an act of self-denial, or an alms, or a pilgrimage, or a fewprayers. St. Peter Damian tells us that his brother, Blessed Marino, used to give himself physicaldiscipline in public on the same day every year before the altar of our Lady. This kind of zeal is nrequired, nor would we counsel it. But what little we give to our Lady we should at least offer withheart that is humble and grateful.

A Special Celebration of the Feast of the Annunciation





63. The third practice is to celebrate every year with special fervor The Solemnity of theAnnunciation of our Lord on March 25. This is the distinctive feast of this devotion and was choseso that we might honor and imitate the total dependence, and entrustment to the Blessed VirginMary which the Eternal Word himself accepted on this very day. On this day God totally entrustedthe body of his Son to Mary's loving care. On this day, God became man; and Mary became theMother of God. On this day we recall both the Incarnation of God, and the Divine Maternity of Mar

The Saying of the Little Crown or the Magnificat

64. Another practice is to say every day, without the obligation of sin, the prayer entitled�The

Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin�, which comprises three Our Fathers and twelve Hail Marys, oto pray daily the Magnificat in honor of Our Lady, which is the only Canticle of Praise recorded inthe Scriptures composed by our Lady herself. In the Magnificat we thank God for favoring us in thpast, and we beg further blessings from him in the future. One special time when we shouldremember to say this prayer is during thanksgiving after Holy Communion. A person so scholarly Gerson informs us that our Lady herself used to recite this prayer herself after receiving HolyCommunion in the early days of the Church. A person who says the Little Crown, or the Magnificaeach day as a special token of his total consecration to Mary, along with the other prayers require

by the duty of his state in life, will soon be imbued with the fruits of this most excellent devotion.

The wearing of a medal, or a blessed chain.

65. The fifth is the wearing of a blessed Medal around the neck. The Miraculous Medal given to SCatherine Laboure, also called the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, is most suitable for thispurpose. Our Lady herself promised great graces to those who would wear it. It is the firstsacramental given to the Church to have ever been granted extraordinary promises of bothsanctifying and actual grace from heaven. It should also be noted that all the privileges andpromises of the Brown Scapular have been commuted to the Miraculous Medal by the Holy See, wearing the cloth Scapular is difficult or impractical. (If it is possible, the cloth Brown Scapular

should also be worn, for today it is the primary symbol of one's consecration to the ImmaculateHeart of Mary. One should be properly enrolled in the Confraternity of the Brown Scapular by aPriest using the Book of Blessings to gain its full merits and indulgences.) The other external signlike wearing the Miraculous Medal, or the even wearing a blessed chain on the arm, on the foot, oabout the body, might symbolize the great zeal of one who sincerely practices this devotion. Stricspeaking, these practices could be omitted without affecting the essential nature of the devotion,but it would be foolish to despise the graces offered to those who will wear sacramentals, whichare themselves sources of protection and grace.

66. Here are the reasons for wearing these external signs:

We publicly show our esteem for the Blessed Virgin.

If we wear a special blessed chain, or a medal, they remind us bound by chains of love.

Finally, wearing an external sign, such as the Miraculous Medal, itself brings down gracesupon the soul, through the promise of Our Lady, and it helps us to recall that we aredependent on Jesus and Mary. People who have become the slaves of love of Jesus andMary value these external signs so much that they are unhappy if they are not permitted to





wear them publicly.

External signs, like the Brown Scapular and the Miraculous Medal are more valuable and moreglorious than the necklaces of gold and precious stones worn by emperors: because they are theillustrious insignia of Jesus and Mary. Not only do they signify the bonds uniting us to them, butbecause they are holy sacramentals, great graces and protections are given to those wear them.

It should be noted that if chains are worn about the body, other than the neck, and are not of silvethey should for convenience� sake at least be made of iron. If one chooses to wear them, theyshould never be laid aside at any time so that they may be with us even to the Day of Judgment.Great will be the joy, glory and triumph of the faithful slave on that day when, at the sound of thetrumpet, his bones rise from the earth still bound by such medals or chains of holy bondage, whicto all appearance will not have decayed. This thought alone should convince a devout servant ofOur Lady never to take off his medal, or chain, however inconvenient it might be.

The Act of Consecration

Introductory Prayer to Jesus

Most loving Jesus, permit me to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for your kindness in givingme to your holy Mother through the devotion of holy slavery, and so making her my advocate toplead with your Majesty on my behalf, and to make up for all that I lack through my owninadequacy.

Alas, O Lord, I am so wretched that without your dear Mother I would probably be lost. Yes, Lord always need Mary when I dare to approach you. I need her to calm your indignation, for I commitmany offenses against you almost every day. I hope that with her help, I might be saved from thesentence of eternal punishment that I may deserve. I hope that she will turn to you, speak to you,pray to you, and approach you on my behalf: for I know that she is pleasing to you. I hope that sh

will help save my soul, and the souls of others. I need her powerful help so that I might be able todo your holy will, and to seek your greater glory in everything I do.

Oh that I could proclaim to the whole world the mercy which you have shown to me! Oh that thewhole world would know how ardently I desire to belong to her as you do! If only I could offer youadequate thanks for such so great a gift that you have given her to me to be my mother also!Should I not in return belong entirely to her? If I did not love your own beloved Mother, howungrateful would I be! My dear Savior, send me death rather than I should be guilty of such alapse, for I would rather die than not belong to Mary. Like St. John the Evangelist at the foot of the Cross, I have taken her times without number as mymother, and just as often I have given myself to her. But if I have not done so as perfectly as you,dear Jesus would wish, I hope to do so now according to your desire. If you still see in my soul orbody anything that does not belong to this noble Queen, please pluck it out and cast it far from mebecause anything of mine which does not belong to Mary is unworthy of you.

67. Holy Spirit, grant me all these graces. Implant in my soul the tree of true life, which is Mary.Foster it and cultivate it so that it grows and blossoms and brings forth the fruit of life in abundancHoly Spirit, give me a great love and longing for Mary, your exalted spouse. Give me a great trustin her maternal heart and a continuous access to her compassion, so that with her you may truly





form Jesus, great and powerful, in me until I attain the fullness of his perfect age. Amen.

TOTAL CONSECRATION TO MARY

68. Hail, Mary! most beloved daughter of the eternal Father! Hail, Mary! most admirable mother ofthe Son! Hail, Mary! most faithful spouse of the Holy Spirit! Hail, Mary, Mother most dear; Ladymost lovable; Queen most powerful! Hail, Mary, my joy, my glory, my heart and soul. You are all

mine through God�s mercy, but I am all yours in justice. But I do not yet belong sufficiently to yoand so once again, as a slave who loves his Queen, I give myself completely to you, reservingnothing for myself. I consecrate to you my body and my soul, my whole life, my death, and myeternity. Especially, I give you the value and merits of all my good actions, past, present, and tocome. I give you the entire and full right to dispose of me, and everything that belongs to me,according to your good will and pleasure.

If you still see anything in me that has not been given to you, please take it now. Make yourself thcomplete owner of all my faculties and capabilities. Destroy in me everything that is displeasing toGod. Uproot it and bring it to nothing! Implant in me all that you deem to be good; improve it andmake it increase in me. May the light of your faith dispel the darkness of my mind! May your dee

humility replace my pride. May your heavenly contemplation put an end to the distractions of mywandering imagination. May your continuous vision of God fill my memory with his presence. Maythe burning love of your heart inflame the coldness of mine. May your virtues take the place of msins. May your merits be my adornment, to make up for my unworthiness before God. Finally, modearly beloved Mother, grant, if it be possible, that I may have no other spirit but yours to knowJesus and his divine will. May I have no soul but yours to praise and glorify the Lord. May I have nheart but yours, so that I might love God as purely and as ardently as you love him.

69. I do not ask for visions or revelations, for sensible devotion or even spiritual pleasures. It is yoprivilege to see God clearly in perpetual light. It is your privilege to savor the delights of heavenwhere nothing is without sweetness. It is your privilege to triumph gloriously in heaven at the righthand of your Son without further humiliation, and to command angels, men, and demons, withoutresistance on their part. It is your privilege to dispose at your own choice of all the good gifts of God without any exception.

Such, most holy Mary, is the excellent portion that the Lord has given you, and which will never betaken from you This gives me great joy. As for my portion here on earth, I wish only to have a shain your portion, that is, to have true faith without seeing or tasting, to suffer joyfully without theconsolation of men, to die daily to myself without flinching, to work gallantly for you even until deawithout any self-interest, as your eternal slave of love. The only grace I beg you in your kindness tobtain for me is that every day and moment of my life I may say this threefold Amen:

Amen, so be it, to all you did upon earth; Amen, so be it, to all you are doing now in heaven; Ameso be it, to all you are doing in my soul. In that way, you might raise me up to the full stature of Jesus Christ in this life, and you alone will glorify Jesus within me throughout my whole life andthroughout eternity. I am all thine, Immaculate One, in time and in eternity. Amen.

(Editors note: Souls who are already familiar with this devotion are well advised to read th





section below with great care.) IV. THE CARE AND GROWTH OF THE TREE OF LIFE

HOW BEST TO CAUSE MARY TO LIVE AND REIGN IN OUR SOULS

A. The holy slavery of love.

The Tree of Life

70. Have you understood with the help of the Holy Spirit what I have tried to explain in thepreceding pages? If so, be thankful to God. It is a secret of which very few people are aware. If you have discovered this treasure in the field of Mary, this pearl of great price, you should sell allyou have to purchase it. You must offer yourself to Mary, happily lose yourself in her, come to relupon her for everything, and strive to please her as a slave of love to thus to find God within her.

If the Holy Spirit has planted in your soul the true Tree of Life, which is the devotion that I have juexplained, you should see carefully to its cultivation, so that it will yield its fruit in due season. Thidevotion is like the mustard seed of the Gospel, which is indeed the smallest of all seeds, butnevertheless it grows into a big plant, shooting up so high that the birds of the air, that is, the soulof the elect, come and make their nest in its branches. They repose there, shaded from the heat othe sun, and safely hidden from beasts of prey.

B. How to cultivate it.

Here is the best way, chosen soul, to cultivate it:

71. (1) This tree, once planted in a docile heart, requires fresh air and no human support. Being o

heavenly origin, it must be uninfluenced by any creature, since a creature might hinder it from risinup towards God who created it. Hence you must not rely on your own endeavors or your naturaltalents or your personal standing, or too much on the guidance of men. You must resort primarily Mary, and strive to rely solely on her for help.

72. (2) The person in whose soul this tree has taken root must, like a good gardener, watch over and protect it. For this tree, having life is capable of producing the fruit of life; so it must be tendedwith enduring care and attention. A soul that desires to be holy will make this devotion to Jesusthrough Mary it's chief aim and occupation.

73. Whatever is likely to choke this tree, or in the course of time prevent its yielding fruit such as

trite friendships, bad company, or time-wasting habits, must be cut away and rooted out. Thismeans that by self-denial and self-discipline you must sedulously cut short and even give up vanepleasures, and cut off endless useless dealings with other creatures. In other words, you mustcrucify your emotions for a time until you have really come to rely upon Mary in everything, keep acareful guard over your tongue, and strive to engage in fasts or other little mortifications of thesenses.

74. (3) You must guard against grubs doing harm to the tree. These parasites are self-love, andthe love and quest for fine things. These eat away the green foliage of the Tree and frustrate the





fair hope it offered of yielding good fruit; for love of self is incompatible with love of Mary.

75. (4) You must not allow this tree to be damaged by destructive animals, that is, by sins, for theymay cause its death simply by their contact. They must not be allowed even to breathe upon theTree, because their mere breath, that is, even venial sins, are most dangerous, especially if we donot trouble ourselves about them. Relationships of sin, or constant occasions of impurity must beintentionally torn out by the roots. There is no way to untie the bonds of sinful, or useless

relationships. Rather, like they are bonds which, like the Gordian Knot, cannot be untied, they onbe severed by being cut with the knife, and then they must be forever discarded.

76. (5) It is also necessary to water this Tree regularly with your Communions, frequentConfession, Masses and other public and private prayers. Otherwise this devotion can not bear fruit. If you ever find that your devotion is slipping away, quickly begin a Novena to the BlessedVirgin for the grace of holy desire. Immediately begin praying on your knees with your handsclasped every day, and implore the Blessed Mother to rekindle the flame of her own holy devotiowithin you. Woe to the person who abandons the path of perfection and slips into luke-warmnessor the impurity of sin! If once one embraces this devotion, and then turns back to sin, that soul is igrave jeopardy. Frequent confession, reception of holy communion, or acts of spiritual communio

fervent prayer, and constant acts of confidence in God's mercy, and the reading of pious books arthe only ways to avoid the hazard of the slippery slope into tepidity.

77. (6) Yet you need not be alarmed when the winds blow and shake this tree, for it must happenthat the storm-winds of temptation will threaten to bring it down, and snow and frost tend tosmother it. By this we mean that this devotion to our Blessed Lady will surely be called intoquestion and attacked. But as long as we continue steadfastly in tending it, we have nothing tofear. (Back to top.)

C. Its lasting fruit: Jesus Christ

77. Chosen soul, provided you thus carefully cultivate the Tree of Life, which has been freshlyplanted in your soul by the Holy Spirit, I can assure you that in a short time it will grow so tall thatthe birds of the air will make their home in it. It will become such a good tree that it will yield in duseason the sweet and adorable Fruit of honor and grace, which is union with Jesus, who hasalways been and will always be the only fruit of Mary. If one will fully practice this devotion withoutreserve, pray one's daily prayers, apply oneself diligently to the duties of ones state in life, practicfasts and mortification, and learn to constantly utter ejaculatory prayers of praise and thanks givinthe mystical divine union of the soul with God can occur in about two years. Instead of scramblingup the mountain of perfection, descend into the valley of humility - where you will find the Lordwaiting for you with his most intimate love.

Happy is that soul in which Mary, the Tree of Life is planted. Happier still is the soul in which shehas been able to grow and blossom. Happier again is the soul in which she brings forth her fruit.But happiest of all is the soul that savors the sweetness of Mary's fruit and preserves it up till deaand then beyond to all eternity. Amen.

�Let him who possesses it, hold fast to it.�






Editors note:

Of all the graces one should pray for, the most important of all is humility. As Jesus said to SaintFaustina: "Only the humble soul is capable of receiving my grace. I favor humble souls withconfidence, which is itself the channel from which they may fetch graces from the font of my mercy." St. Therese the Little Flower said that rather than to climb the mountain of perfectionher way was to descend into the valley of humility, where she found Jesus waiting for her with ope

arms. God can not fill the pridefull, grasping soul with his greatest graces. Only the soul thatrecognizes it's own self love, and constantly prays to be delivered of it, and attains to true humilitycan receive the fullness of divine grace. Beginners might ask for holy desire. Young people mightask for purity of mind and body. Adults might ask for patience. Everyone should ask for the grace love God with one's whole heart. And everyone should constantly practice acts of trust andconfidence in the mercy of God - for trust in God's mercy is the very channel through which hisgraces flow. But no one who is tainted by pride and self love can attain much of any of the greatecharisms or graces of God. Thus, humility above all else must be prayed for constantly. From truehumility comes all wisdom, all confidence, all love, and all virtue. It is humility that makes the soumost like Mary herself.

"Replace my heart with thine, Oh Immaculate Virgin, and most of all grant me the grace of true humility! Help me every day to recognize my own nothingness, and to admit my ownpowerlessness, so that I may confidently depend upon you, and place my trust in you toobtain God's mercy for me in everything."

This article has been transliterated, abridged, and significantly appended by David R. Hughes to b

more easily understood by a first time reader. Original phrases have altered to respect modernsympathies. St. Maximillian Kolbe's theology of Total Consecration to Mary, has been interpolatedwith DeMontfort's theology in this document. (BACK TO TOP.)

It should be noted that neither the Miraculous Medal, nor the devotion to Our Lady of the BlessedSacrament promoted by Saint Peter Julian Eymard, was actually known to Saint Louis DeMontforat the time he wrote the original document. Eymard's theology draws on DeMontfort's concepts ofimitation of Mary in his attempt to promote adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The Franciscanconcepts of affective contemplation, and The Total Consecration to Mary relying specificallyupon the use of the Miraculous Medal were actually promoted by others, including Saint

Maximillian Kolbe and his Knights of the Immaculata.

In this authors opinion, the article posted above will be actually more understandable to themodern reader than the original document. If one wishes to absorb the real meaning of the spirit oDeMontfort, one should print THIS document, and read it slowly and reflectively. This article alsopresents the most current mariological principals accepted by the Church. The reader should beaware, however, that Pope John Paul II has specifically recommended that the modern Churchbecome familiar with the writing and theology of St. Louis DeMontfort. Pope John Paul II hasstrongly encouraged the Church to read DeMontfort. No other Pope has so publicly encouraged






the Church to immerse itself in the theology of St. Louis DeMontfort.

For documents which are more literal transcriptions of DeMontfort's originals, go to:

Official Act of Total Consecration to Mary by St. Louis DeMontfort

(From "True Devotion to Mary")

Online Version of DeMontfort's Secret of Mary.doc (Viewable by browsers associated with MS Word).

or

DeMontfort's Secret of Mary.doc (.ZIP)

or

DeMontfort's Secret of Mary.wps (MS Works 4.0 .ZIP) or, for the full un-edited 67 page version of:

"TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY" by St. Louis DeMontfort, go to:

TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY.DOC (Viewable by browsers associated with MS Word 97 or later).

or

TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY.DOC (.ZIP)

or

TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY.DOC (MS Word Version 6.0 .ZIP)

or

TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY.wps (MS Works 4.0 .ZIP) E-Mail David Hughes

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