“Mary is the safest, easiest, shortest, and most perfect way of approaching Jesus,” said Saint Louis de Montfort, whose feast day is April 28th, which is the same day he passed away 310 years ago in 1716 at the age of 43. It’s a good time of year to remember Saint Louis de Montfort because his feast day falls just a few days before the start of May, the month of Mary, and he was so instrumental in elevating devotion to our Blessed Mother.
Louis de Montfort grew up in a large farming family in France’s northwestern region of Brittany. When he was twelve years old, he began attending the Jesuit College of St. Thomas Beckett in the nearby City of Rennes. There, he discovered the work of a local priest preaching missions promoting consecration and entrustment to Mary. Louis began to dream of following in that priest’s footsteps to spread Marian devotion.
Arriving in Paris to study theology at the Sorbonne, Louis found that he lacked adequate funds for lodging, so he lived among the city’s poor while going to school. Louis already had a profound love for the poor and desired to preach missions to them. His first-hand experience living among them led him to fulfill that calling, and also to grow in compassion for others.
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Shortly before entering seminary, Louis became very ill and had a harrowing experience before finally recovering and entering the Little Saint-Sulpice seminary, run by the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice. Working as seminary librarian, Louis immersed himself in books about devotion to our Blessed Mother, which prepared him for the work he would do as a priest promoting what he called “total consecration to Jesus through Mary.”
Louis went on to preach missions throughout northwestern France and became known as “the good Father from Montfort.” He was also a prolific writer, composing poetry for translation into religious songs, and he wrote books, including “True Devotion to Mary,” which remained unpublished and unknown until being discovered more than a century after his death. When it was finally published in 1842, “True Devotion to Mary” was celebrated for the spiritual fruits it bore in people’s lives. This led to a wider appreciation for Louis’ other writings, such as his books “Secret of the Rosary” and “Secret of Mary.” Together, these three Marian classics explore Louis’ profound insights about how devotion to our Blessed Mother can draw us closer to Christ.
In “True Devotion to Mary,” Louis writes, “God the Father made an assemblage of all the waters, and He named it the sea. He has made an assemblage of all His graces, and He has called it Mary.”
Total consecration to Jesus through Mary entails detailed steps that can be found in “True Devotion to Mary.” Those steps are also enumerated in many other books and places online. They are essentially aimed at a personal act that can be done on one’s own, with a small group in a private setting, or on retreat. Put simply, that act entails turning to Mary with total love and trust that she will lead us to Her Son.
“Totus Tuus,” meaning “totally yours,” was the phrase Pope Saint John Paul II took from Saint Louis de Montfort to capture this devotion. It’s a simple phrase we can say daily, making our own personal act of consecration to Jesus through Mary, turning to our Blessed Mother with total trust and asking her to lead us to Christ.
Father Ed Dougherty, M.M., is on The Christophers’ Board of Directors. For free copies of the Christopher News Note NURTURING SEEDS OF FAITH AND HOPE, write: The Christophers, 264 West 40th Street, Room 603, New York, N.Y. 10018; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org
St. Louis’ devotion to Mary #Catholic –
“Mary is the safest, easiest, shortest, and most perfect way of approaching Jesus,” said Saint Louis de Montfort, whose feast day is April 28th, which is the same day he passed away 310 years ago in 1716 at the age of 43. It’s a good time of year to remember Saint Louis de Montfort because his feast day falls just a few days before the start of May, the month of Mary, and he was so instrumental in elevating devotion to our Blessed Mother.
Louis de Montfort grew up in a large farming family in France’s northwestern region of Brittany. When he was twelve years old, he began attending the Jesuit College of St. Thomas Beckett in the nearby City of Rennes. There, he discovered the work of a local priest preaching missions promoting consecration and entrustment to Mary. Louis began to dream of following in that priest’s footsteps to spread Marian devotion.
Arriving in Paris to study theology at the Sorbonne, Louis found that he lacked adequate funds for lodging, so he lived among the city’s poor while going to school. Louis already had a profound love for the poor and desired to preach missions to them. His first-hand experience living among them led him to fulfill that calling, and also to grow in compassion for others.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Shortly before entering seminary, Louis became very ill and had a harrowing experience before finally recovering and entering the Little Saint-Sulpice seminary, run by the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice. Working as seminary librarian, Louis immersed himself in books about devotion to our Blessed Mother, which prepared him for the work he would do as a priest promoting what he called “total consecration to Jesus through Mary.”
Louis went on to preach missions throughout northwestern France and became known as “the good Father from Montfort.” He was also a prolific writer, composing poetry for translation into religious songs, and he wrote books, including “True Devotion to Mary,” which remained unpublished and unknown until being discovered more than a century after his death. When it was finally published in 1842, “True Devotion to Mary” was celebrated for the spiritual fruits it bore in people’s lives. This led to a wider appreciation for Louis’ other writings, such as his books “Secret of the Rosary” and “Secret of Mary.” Together, these three Marian classics explore Louis’ profound insights about how devotion to our Blessed Mother can draw us closer to Christ.
In “True Devotion to Mary,” Louis writes, “God the Father made an assemblage of all the waters, and He named it the sea. He has made an assemblage of all His graces, and He has called it Mary.”
Total consecration to Jesus through Mary entails detailed steps that can be found in “True Devotion to Mary.” Those steps are also enumerated in many other books and places online. They are essentially aimed at a personal act that can be done on one’s own, with a small group in a private setting, or on retreat. Put simply, that act entails turning to Mary with total love and trust that she will lead us to Her Son.
“Totus Tuus,” meaning “totally yours,” was the phrase Pope Saint John Paul II took from Saint Louis de Montfort to capture this devotion. It’s a simple phrase we can say daily, making our own personal act of consecration to Jesus through Mary, turning to our Blessed Mother with total trust and asking her to lead us to Christ.
Father Ed Dougherty, M.M., is on The Christophers’ Board of Directors. For free copies of the Christopher News Note NURTURING SEEDS OF FAITH AND HOPE, write: The Christophers, 264 West 40th Street, Room 603, New York, N.Y. 10018; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org