J.M.J. It seems that fitting that today, when many are beginning the preparation period of thirty-three days leading to the Act of Consecration Ad Iesum Per Mariam--"To Jesus Through Mary"--on Saturday, August 15th, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we hear from Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716), the architect of the "Total Consecration" to Jesus through Mary.
"60. Having spoken briefly of the necessity of devotion to the Blessed
Virgin, I must now explain what this devotion consists in. This I will do with God's help
after I have laid down certain basic truths which throw light on the remarkable and sound
devotion which I propose to unfold.
(. . . . )
"105. After having explained and condemned false devotions to the
Blessed Virgin we shall now briefly describe what true devotion is. It is interior,
trustful, holy, constant and disinterested.
"106. First, true devotion to our Lady is interior, that is, it
comes from within the mind and the heart and follows from the esteem in which we hold her,
the high regard we have for her greatness, and the love we bear her.
"107. Second, it is trustful, that is to say, it fills us with
confidence in the Blessed Virgin, the confidence that a child has for its loving Mother.
It prompts us to go to her in every need of body and soul with great simplicity, trust and
affection. We implore our Mother's help always, everywhere, and for everything. We pray to
her to be enlightened in our doubts, to be put back on the right path when we go astray,
to be protected when we are tempted, to be strengthened when we are weakening, to be
lifted up when we fall into sin, to be encouraged when we are losing heart, to be rid of
our scruples, to be consoled in the trials, crosses and disappointments of life. Finally,
in all our afflictions of body and soul, we naturally turn to Mary for help, with never a
fear of importuning her or displeasing our Lord.
"108. Third, true devotion to our Lady is holy, that is, it leads
us to avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of Mary. Her ten principal virtues are: deep
humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer, constant self-denial,
surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience, angelic kindness, and heavenly wisdom.
"109. Fourth, true devotion to our Lady is constant. It strengthens
us in our desire to do good and prevents us from giving up our devotional practices too
easily. It gives us the courage to oppose the fashions and maxims of the world, the
vexations and unruly inclinations of the flesh and the temptations of the devil. Thus a
person truly devoted to our Blessed Lady is not changeable, fretful, scrupulous or timid.
We do not say however that such a person never sins or that his sensible feelings of
devotion never change. When he has fallen, he stretches out his hand to his Blessed Mother
and rises again. If he loses all taste and feeling for devotion, he is not at all upset
because a good and faithful servant of Mary is guided in his life by faith in Jesus and
Mary, and not by feelings.
"110. Fifth, true devotion to Mary is disinterested. It
inspires us to seek God alone in His Blessed Mother and not ourselves. The true subject of
Mary does not serve his illustrious Queen for selfish gain. He does not serve her for
temporal or eternal well-being but simply and solely because she has the right to be
served and God alone in her. He loves her not so much because she is good to him or
because he expects something from her, but simply because she is lovable. That is why he
loves and serves her just as faithfully in weariness and dryness of soul as in sweet and
sensible fervor. He loves her as much on Calvary as at Cana. How pleasing and precious in
the sight of God and His holy Mother must these servants of Mary be, who serve her without
any self-seeking. How rare they are nowadays! It is to increase their number that I have
taken up my pen to write down what I have been teaching with success both publicly and in
private in my missions for many years."
--Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, 60, 105-110.
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