WHO WAS SAINT LOUIS DE MONTFORT?

by Dick Sohm

Saint Louis de Montfort is one of Our Lady’s greatest apostles. Pope John Paul II came to this understanding while he was a student in the seminary. He was having difficulty with the issue of devotion to Our Lady, perhaps fearful that devotion to Mary would in some way take attention away from devotion and consecration to Jesus. Then Pope John Paul II read Saint Louis de Montfort’s very popular and compelling book, True Devotion to Mary. His conversion experience was so powerful that he spent his pontificate speaking about Marian Spirituality, culminating in his greatest legacy to Catholics: The Luminous Mysteries or the Mysteries of Light, in which he detailed five new mysteries of the Rosary. One hundred years from now, The Luminous Mysteries will almost certainly be viewed as the crowning achievement of his pontificate.

Today, every person has the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II and, like he, commit to a fervent devotion to Mary.  Saint Louis de Montfort’s astounding explanation of Mary's place in theology and in our spiritual lives underscores the reason dedication to Mary is completely Christ-centric.  Mary leads us to Jesus because he is always with her. Saint Louis de Montfort understood the numinous relationship between Mary and Jesus. It is a truism to say, “To Jesus through Mary.” Mary, the first apostle and the first Christian, is the easiest road to Jesus Christ.  It took the inspiration of a saint, like Saint Louis de Montfort, to realize that Jesus and Mary are inseparable and that all devotion to Mary is automatically a devotion to Jesus Christ. Who could possibly know Him better? Mother and Son are linked by a love that we can only imagine. On a human level, we all know of the profound relationship between mother and son. On a divine level, the profundity is beyond our comprehension. We have Saint Louis de Montfort to thank for the enlightening revelation of the love between Jesus and his mother, Mary. For his unique insight into Marian Spirituality, Saint Louis de Montfort has been thought of as a “Doctor of the Church.”

Who was Saint Louis de Montfort? He was ordained in Paris, France, in 1700 and died in 1716. He was an itinerant preacher dedicated to a life of poverty. Saint Louis de Montfort had trouble with some bishops because of his zeal but was appointed by the pope as an “Apostolic Missionary” to give parish missions. Saint Louis de Montfort was a charismatic preacher and was immensely popular with the people. He claimed to be able to convert even the worst sinners if he were only able to touch them with the Rosary. He founded the Montfort Order of the Company of Mary (Montfort Missionaries) and the Daughters of Wisdom, as well as the Brothers of Saint Gabriel. Saint Louis de Montfort is best known for his writings about Our Lady. Through the ages, his ability to convert people to Mary and Jesus is repeated with almost every new reader of his masterpiece, True Devotion to Mary. It affects every reader who is alive in faith, just as it affected Pope John Paul II when he was a seminarian. The continued popularity of his writings shows the working of the Holy Spirit in the teachings of this unique apostle of Mary.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSECRATION BY TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY

Saint Louis de Montfort, as a missionary par excellence, knew that theology was a means to an end, not the end itself. He had no interest in becoming a theologian, although he could have easily done so.  His writings reflect that fact. Saint Louis de Montfort wanted the whole world to love Jesus as Mary loves Jesus, and as he himself had learned to love Jesus.

As a missionary, Saint Louis de Montfort was interested in converting people from sin and leading them to the Holy Trinity. “Le Bon Pere de Montfort” did not have much time to spare during his short stay in a parish. He needed catalysts - spiritual agents that worked in a mysterious way to speed up the conversion process. True devotion to Mary was the catalyst - the shortest and surest path to Jesus Christ and the Holy Trinity. The other catalysts were the Rosary and the consecration which included a renewal of baptismal vows. These spiritual, devotional gems worked miracles. Thousands were converted. Millions have since read True Devotion to Mary and have consecrated their whole beings to Jesus through Mary, while continuing their vocations and family obligations.

WHY THE TOTAL CONSECRATION?

Why would any person want to give all they have to Jesus through Mary? Like the rich young man in the gospel story, most people become frightened when asked to give up everything and follow Jesus. Saint Louis de Montfort leads us to Jesus through Mary and shows us how easy it is to consecrate our lives and still fulfill our daily obligations of living a life in this world. The consecration is like bungee jumping off a spiritual bridge. We are fearful about jumping even though we know the bungee cord will save us and we will enjoy the great exhilaration of the bounce. If your spiritual life is in the doldrums, the consecration is designed to jump-start your whole being into another level of existence. By surrendering everything, you gain everything - holiness, happiness, peace, success, freedom, and love. Like all catalysts, we will never fully know the consecration's secret for speeding up the process of coming close to Jesus; however, we have the testimony of all those consecrated around the world that it works. We also have the testimony of Pope John Paul II.

In most prayers, we are asking God for something we feel we desperately need. In the consecration, we ask for nothing. Instead we place everything, including any benefits from our good works, in the hands of Our Mother, the mother of Jesus, to do whatever needs to be done. In that instant, we experience the perfect freedom of love. If we trust the bungee cord and enjoy the exhilaration of the bounce, imagine the experience when you trust the Lord and His Blessed Mother, ask for nothing, and thereby receive everything. Our Lady showed us the way to trust when the angel delivered the unexpected message of the coming of the Lord. Our Lady jumped into the invisible arms of the Holy Spirit and showed us how to give birth to Jesus Christ in our lives by our total consecration. The Rosary, our spiritual bungee cord, binds us to Jesus and Mary throughout the rest of our lives. It doesn’t get any easier than this in the spiritual life.

How do you prepare for your consecration? There is a 33-day preparation booklet distributed by Montfort Publications that you can follow. There are new books, such as Jesus Living in Mary and Jesus Redeeming in Mary, as well as the classics, True Devotion to Mary, Secret of Mary, God Alone, and The Secret of the Rosary, to help you navigate the path established 300 years ago by Saint Louis de Montfort. The books are available at Montfort Publications - www.montfortmissionaries.com. After your consecration, you can then register with the Montfort Fathers in Bayshore, NY. At least once a year, and on the same day, you should renew your 33-day consecration. Once your spiritual life is in orbit, the Marian orbit around Jesus, there is plenty of support available to keep you as close to Jesus as you ever will be in this life.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

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