Category: TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Posted in AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 18 August – Always Mary!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 18 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Within the Octave of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin into Heaven

“Mary is the new Tree of Life,
who, instead of the bitter fruit picked by Eve,
gives to mankind that Sweet Fruit
on which the whole world is fed.”

St Ephrem (306-373)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Mary was placed by God
in the centre of history
and we can say
that everything was made
through her
and with her
and in her.”

“In the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I trust.
Look to the Star, call upon Mary!
In danger, in difficulty or in doubt,
think of Mary, call upon Mary.
Keep her name on your lips,
never let it pass out of your heart.”

St Bernard (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church

“Mary is the divine Page
on which God the Father
wrote the Word of God, His Son.
Let us draw near to her and read her!”

St Albert the Great OP (1200-1280)
Doctor of the Church

“The most efficacious means
to foster devotion
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690
Visionary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Day 34: Day of Consecration

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through MaryDAY THIRTY FOUR - CONSECRATION DAY - TOTAL CONSECRATION - 19 NOV 2018

Day 34 – Day of Consecration

On the day of consecration, either fast, give alms, or offer a votive candle for the good of another (or all of the above);  do some spiritual penance and approach consecration in the spirit of mortification.
Now go to Confession (or, if that is not possible, go during the 8 days prior) and then receive Communion with the intention of giving yourself to Jesus, as a slave of love, by the hands of Mary.
Now pray the words of the consecration.   Copy them and have them with you at church, read them after the Mass (in front of the tabernacle would be nice) and sign your copy of the Act of Consecration.

The words of consecration are:

O Eternal and incarnate Wisdom!   O sweetest and most adorable Jes  us! True God and true man, only Son of the Eternal Father and of Mary, always virgin!   I adore Thee profoundly in the bosom and splendours of Your Father during eternity and I adore You also in the virginal bosom of Mary, Your most worthy Mother, in the time of Your incarnation.

I give You thanks for that You have annihilated Yourself, taking the form of a slave in order to rescue me from the cruel slavery of the devil.   I praise and glorify You for that You have been pleased to submit Yourself to Mary, Your holy Mother, in all things, in order to make me Your faithful slave through her.   But, alas!   Ungrateful and faithless as I have been, I have not kept the promises which I made so solemnly to You in my Baptism;  I have not fulfilled my obligations;  I do not deserve to be called Your child, nor yet Your slave and as there is nothing in me which does not merit Your anger and Your repulse, I dare not come by myself before Your most holy and august Majesty.   It is on this account that I have recourse to the intercession of Your most holy Mother, whom You have given me for a mediatrix with You.   It is through her that I hope to obtain of Your contrition, the pardon of my sins and the acquisition and preservation of wisdom.

Hail, then, O immaculate Mary, living tabernacle of the Divinity, where the Eternal Wisdom willed to be hidden and to be adored by angels and by men!   Hail, O Queen of Heaven and earth, to whose empire everything is subject which is under God.   Hail, O sure refuge of sinners, whose mercy fails no one.   Hear the desires which I have of the Divine Wisdom and for that end, receive the vows and offerings which in my lowliness I present to you.

I, N_____, a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in your hands the vows of my Baptism, I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before.   In the presence of all the heavenly court, I choose you this day for my Mother and Mistress.   I deliver and consecrate you, as your slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future, leaving to you the entire and full right of disposing of me and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to your good pleasure, for the greater glory of God in time and in eternity.

Receive, O holy Virgin, this little offering of my service, in honour of and in union with, that subjection which the Eternal Wisdom deigned to have to your maternity, in homage to the power which both of you have over this poor sinner and in thanksgiving for the privileges with which the Holy Trinity has favoured you.   I declare that I wish henceforth, as your true slave, to seek your honour and to obey you in all things.

O admirable Mother, present me to thy dear Son as His eternal slave, so that as He has redeemed me by you, by you He may receive me!   O Mother of mercy, grant me the grace to obtain the true Wisdom of God and for that end, receive me among those whom you love and teach whom you lead, nourish and protect as your children and your slaves.

O faithful Virgin, make me in all things so perfect a disciple, imitator and slave of the Incarnate Wisdom, Jesus Christ your Son, that I may attain, by your intercession and by your example, to the fullness of His age on earth and of His glory in Heaven. Amen.

——————————-
Sign your name here

——————-
Date

act-of-consecration-to-mary-by-st-louis-de-montfort-open-house-conversations-with-how-to-become-a-slave-of-mary-28-sept-2018

After Consecration

Once you have consecrated yourself to Jesus through Mary, live that consecration. St. Louis-Marie de Montfort recommended the following:

• Keep praying to develop a “great contempt” for the spirit of this world.
• Maintain a special devotion to the Mystery of the Incarnation (e.g., through meditation; spiritual reading; focusing on Feasts centring around the Incarnation, such as the Annunciation and the Nativity, etc.)
• Frequently recite the Ave Maria, Rosary and the Magnificat.
• Do everything through, with, in and for Mary for the sake of Jesus, with the prayer, “I am all yours Immaculate One, with all that I have, in time and in eternity” in your heart and on your lips.
• Associate yourself with Mary in a special way before, during and after Communion.
• Wear a little iron chain (around the neck, arm, waist, or ankle) as an outward sign and reminder of holy service. This practice is optional, but very recommended by St Louis. The appearance of this chain is not further specified.
• Renew the consecration once a year on the same date chosen above and by following the same 33-day period of exercises.   If desired, also renew the consecration monthly with the prayer, “I am all Yours and all I have is Yours, O dear Jesus, through Mary, Your holy Mother.”
• Optional:  Join the Confraternity of Mary, Queen of All Hearts – http://queenofallhearts.com/
for Enrolment:  http://queenofallhearts.com/enrollment/

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, THOMAS a KEMPIS, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Thirty Three – 18 November

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Thirty Three – 18 November

Third Week

Day 33 of 33

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis:  Book 4, Chapter 11

That the Blood of Christ and the Holy Scriptures

Are Most Necessary unto a Faithful Soul

O most sweet Lord Jesus, how great is the pleasure of the devout soul that feasts with You in Your banquet, where there is set for her, no other food to be eaten but Yourself, her only Beloved and most to be desired, above all the desires of her heart!   To me also it would be indeed sweet, in Your presence to pour forth tears from the very bottom of my heart and with the grateful Magdalene, to wash Your feet with tears (Luke 7:38).   But where is that devotion?   Where that bountiful flowing of holy tears?   Surely in Your sight and Your holy Angels, my whole heart ought to burn and to weep for j  oy. For in this Sacrament I have You mystically present, hidden under another shape.   For to look upon You in Your own Divine brightness, my eyes would not be able to endure, nor could even the whole world stand in the splendour of the glory of Your majesty.   Herein then You have regard to my weakness, that You hide Yourself under this Sacrament.

From True Devotion To the Blessed Virgin Mary, Nos. 261-265

In Mary
261. We must do everything in Mary.   To understand this, we must realise that the Blessed Virgin is the true earthly paradise of the new Adam and that the ancient paradise was only a symbol of her.   There are in this earthly paradise untold riches, beauties, rarities and delights, which the new Adam, Jesus Christ, has left there.   It is in this paradise that He “took his delights” for nine months, workedHhis wonders and displayed His riches with the magnificence of God Himself.  In this earthly paradise grows the real Tree of Life, which bore our Lord, the fruit of Life, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which bore the Light of the world.   In this divine place there are trees planted by the hand of God and watered by His divine unction, which have borne and continue to bear fruit, that is pleasing to Him.   Only the Holy Spirit can teach us the truths that these material objects symbolise.

262. The Holy Spirit, speaking through the Fathers of the Church, also calls our Lady the Eastern Gate, through which the High Priest, Jesus Christ, enters and goes out into the world.   Through this gate, He entered the world the first time and through this same gate, He will come the second time.

For Mary
265. Finally, we must do everything for Mary.   We take Mary for our proximate end, our mysterious intermediary and the easiest way of reaching Him.   Relying on her protection, we should undertake and carry out, great things for our noble Queen.   We must defend her privileges when they are questioned and uphold her good name when it is under attack.   We must attract everyone, if possible, to her service and to this true and sound devotion.   As a reward for these little services, we should expect nothing in return, save the honour of belonging to such a lovable Queen and the joy of being united through her to Jesus, her Son, by a bond that is indissoluble in time and in eternity.

Recite: Litany of the Holy Spirit, Ave Maris Stella: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-second-week-day-twenty-5-november/
AND
Litany of the Holy Name and O Jesus Living In Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-third-week-day-twenty-seven-12-november/ DAY THIRTY THREE - THIRD WEEK - TOTAL CONSECRATION - 18 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, THOMAS a KEMPIS, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Thirty Two – 17 November

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Thirty Two – 17 November

Third Week

Day 32 of 33

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis:  Book 2, Chapter 7

Of the Love of Jesus above All Things

Blessed is he that understands (Psalm 119:1,2) what it is to love Jesus and to despise himself for Jesus’ sake.   You ought to leave your beloved, for your beloved (Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37; Cant. 2:16);  for that Jesus will be loved alone above all things.

The love of things created is deceitful and inconstant, the love of Jesus is faithful and persevering.   He that cleaves to a creature, shall fall with that which is subject to fall;  he that embraces Jesus shall be made strong forever.

2. Love Him and keep Him for your friend, who, when all go away, will not forsake you, nor suffer you to perish in the end.   Some time or other you must be separated from all, whether you wish or not.   Keep close to Jesus both in life and in death and commit yourself to His faithfulness, who, when all fail, can alone help you.

Your Beloved is of that nature, that He will admit of no rival but will have your heart alone and sit on His throne as King.   If you could empty yourself perfectly from all creatures, Jesus would willingly dwell with you.

From True Devotion To the Blessed Virgin Mary, Nos. 257-260
There are some very sanctifying interior practices for those souls who feel called by the Holy Spirit to a high degree of perfection.   They may be expressed in four words, doing everything through Mary, with Mary, in Mary and for Mary, in order to do it more perfectly through Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus and for Jesus.

Through Mary
258. We must do everything through Mary, that is, we must obey her always and be led in all things by her spirit, which is the Holy Spirit of God.   “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God,” says St. Paul.   Those who are led by the spirit of Mary are children of Mary and, consequently children of God, as we have already shown.   Among the many servants of Mary only those who are truly and faithfully devoted to her are led by her spirit.   I have said that the spirit of Mary is the spirit of God, because she was never led by her own spirit but always by the spirit of God, who made Himself master of her to such an extent, that He became her very spirit.   That is why St Ambrose says, “May the soul of Mary be in each one of us to glorify the Lord.   May the spirit of Mary be in each one of us to rejoice in God.”   Happy is the man who follows the example of the good Jesuit Brother Rodriguez, who died a holy death, because he will be completely possessed and governed by the spirit of Mary, a spirit which is gentle yet strong, zealous yet prudent, humble yet courageous, pure yet fruitful.

With Mary
260. We must do everything with Mary, that is to say, in all our actions we must look upon Mary, although a simple human being, as the perfect model of every virtue and perfection, fashioned by the Holy Spirit for us to imitate, as far as our limited capacity allows.   In every action then, we should consider how Mary performed it or how she would perform it if she were in our place.   For this reason, we must examine and meditate on the great virtues she practised during her life, especially:   1) Her lively faith, by which she believed the angel’s word without the least hesitation and believed faithfully and constantly, even to the foot of the Cross on Calvary.   2) Her deep humility, which made her prefer seclusion, maintain silence, submit to every eventuality and put herself in the last place.

Recite: Litany of the Holy Spirit, Ave Maris Stella: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-second-week-day-twenty-5-november/
AND
Litany of the Holy Name and O Jesus Living In Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-third-week-day-twenty-seven-12-november/DAY THIRTY TWO - THIRD WEEK - TOTAL CONSECRATION 17 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The INCARNATION, THOMAS a KEMPIS, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY, Uncategorized

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Thirty-One – 16 November

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Thirty-One – 16 November

Third Week

Day 31 of 33

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis:   Book 4, Chapter 2

That the Great Goodness and Love of God Is Exhibited to Man in This Sacrament

In confidence of Your goodness and great mercy, O Lord, I draw near, sick to the Healer, hungry and thirsty to the Fountain of life, needy to the King of Heaven, a servant to his Lord, a creature to the Creator, desolate to my own tender Comforter.   “But how is this to me,” that You come unto me (Luke 1:43)? What am I, that You should grant me Your own self? how dare a sinner appear before Your?

And how is it that You vouchsafe to come unto a sinner?   You know Your servant and are well aware that he has in him no good thing, for which You should grant him this.   I confess, therefore, my own vileness, I acknowledge Your goodness, I praise Your tender mercy and give You thanks for Your transcendent love.

From True Devotion To the Blessed Virgin Mary, Nos. 243-254 243.

Loving slaves of Jesus in Mary, should hold in high esteem devotion to Jesus, the Word of God, in the great mystery of the Incarnation, 25 March, which is the mystery proper to this devotion, because it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, for the following reasons:           a) That we might honour and imitate the wondrous dependence which God the Son chose to have on Mary, for the glory of His Father and for the redemption of man.   This dependence is revealed especially in this mystery where Jesus becomes a captive and slave in the womb of His Blessed Mother, depending on her for everything.                       b) That we might thank God for the incomparable graces He has conferred upon Mary and especially that of choosing her to be His most worthy Mother.   This choice was made in the mystery of the incarnation.   These are the two principal ends of the slavery of Jesus in Mary.

245. a) Since we live in an age of pride when a great number of haughty scholars, with proud and critical minds, find fault even with long-established and sound devotions, it is better to speak of “slavery of Jesus in Mary” and to call oneself “slave of Jesus” rather than “slave of Mary”.   We then avoid giving any pretext for criticism.   In this way, we name this devotion after its ultimate end which is Jesus, rather than after the way and the means to arrive there, which is Mary.   However, we can very well use either term without any scruple, as I myself do.

246. b) Since the principal mystery celebrated and honoured in this devotion is the mystery of the Incarnation where we find Jesus only in Mary, having become incarnate in her womb, it is appropriate for us to say, “slavery of Jesus in Mary”, of Jesus dwelling enthroned in Mary, according to the beautiful prayer, recited by so many great souls, “O Jesus living in Mary”. o jesus living in mary by st louis de montfort for total consecration - 12 nov 2018

249. Those who accept this devotion should have a great love for the Hail Mary, or, as it is called, the Angelic
Salutation.   Few Christians, however enlightened, understand the value, merit, excellence and necessity of the Hail Mary.   Our Blessed Lady herself had to appear on several occasions to men of great holiness and insight, such as St Dominic, St.John Capistran and Blessed Alan de Rupe, to convince them of the richness of this prayer.

Recite: Litany of the Holy Spirit, Ave Maris Stella: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-second-week-day-twenty-5-november/
AND
Litany of the Holy Name and O Jesus Living In Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-third-week-day-twenty-seven-12-november/DAY THIRTY ONE - THIRD WEEK - TOTAL CONSECRATION 16 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, THOMAS a KEMPIS, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Thirty – 15 November

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Thirty – 15 November

Third Week

Day 30 of 33

Matthew 27:36-44

Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.   And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.”   Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.   And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself!   If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”   So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others, he cannot save himself.   He is the King of Israel, let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him.   He trusts in God, let God deliver him now, if he desires him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”   And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis:  Book 2, Chapter 12

Of the King’s High Way of the Holy Cross

Unto many this seems a hard saying, “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus” (Matt. 16:24).   But much harder will it be to hear that last word, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire” (Matt. 25:41).   For they who now willingly hear and follow the word of the Cross, shall not then fear (Psalm 112:7) to hear the sentence of everlasting damnation.   This sign of the Cross shall be in the heaven, when the Lord shall come to judgement (Matt. 24:30).   Then all the servants of the Cross, who in their life-time conformed themselves unto Christ crucified, shall draw near unto Christ the Judge with great confidence.

Why therefore fear you to take up the Cross which leads you to the kingdom? In the Cross is salvation, in the Cross is life, in the Cross is protection against our enemies, in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the Cross is strength of mind, in the Cross joy of spirit, in the Cross the height of virtue, in the Cross the perfection of holiness.

Take up, therefore, your Cross and follow Jesus (Luke 14:27) and you shall go into life everlasting.

Recite:  Litany of the Holy Spirit, Ave Maris Stella: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-second-week-day-twenty-5-november/
AND
Litany of the Holy Name and O Jesus Living In Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-third-week-day-twenty-seven-12-november/DAY TWENTY NINE - THIRD WEEK - TOTAL CONSECRATION 15 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, THOMAS a KEMPIS, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Twenty Nine – 14 November

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Twenty Nine – 14 November

Third Week

Day 29 of 33

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis: Book 1, Chapter 1

Of the Imitation of Christ and Contempt of all the Vanities of the World

He that follows Me, walks not in darkness (John 8:12), says the Lord.   These are the words of Christ, by which we are admonished, how we ought to imitate His life and manners, if we would truly be enlightened and delivered from all blindness of heart.   Let, therefore, our chief endeavour be, to meditate upon the life of Jesus Christ.

The doctrine of Christ exceeds all the doctrine of holy men and he that has the Spirit will find therein the hidden manna (Apocalypse. 2:17).   But it happens that many, who often hear the Gospel of Christ, feel little desire after it, because they have not the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9).   But whosoever will fully and with relish understand the words of Christ, must endeavour to conform his life wholly to the life of Christ.

2. What does it avail you to discourse profoundly of the Trinity, if you be void of humility and are thereby displeasing to the Trinity?   Surely profound words do not make a man holy and a just and a virtuous life makes him dear to God.   I had rather feel contrition, than know the definition thereof.   If you did know the whole Bible by heart and the sayings of all the philosophers, what would all that profit you without the love of God (1 Cor. 13:2) and without His grace?

Vanity of vanities and all is vanity (Eccles. 1:2), except to love God and to serve Him only. This is the highest wisdom, by contempt of the world, to press forward towards heavenly kingdoms.

Recite: Litany of the Holy Spirit, Ave Maris Stella: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-second-week-day-twenty-5-november/
AND
Litany of the Holy Name and O Jesus Living In Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-third-week-day-twenty-seven-12-november/ DAY TWENTY NINE - THIRD WEEK - TOTAL CONSECRATION 14 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Twenty-Eight – 13 November

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Twenty-Eight – 13 November

Third Week

Day 28 of 33

Matthew 26:1, 26-29, 36-46

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended all these words, he said to his disciples:  You know that after two days shall be the pasch and the son of man shall be delivered up to be crucified…

…And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread and blessed, and broke it and gave to his disciples and said:  Take and eat.   This is my body.   And taking the chalice, he gave thanks and gave to them, saying:   Drink all of this  . For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins.   And I say to you, I will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father…

…Then Jesus came with them into a country place which is called Gethsemani and he said to his disciples:  Sit you here, till I go yonder and pray.   And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to grow sorrowful and to be sad.   Then he said to them:  My soul is sorrowful even unto death, remain here and watch with me.   And going a little further, he fell upon his face, praying and s aying: My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me.   Nevertheless not as I will but as thou will.   And he came to his disciples and found them asleep and he said to Peter:  What?   Could you not watch one hour with me?   Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation.   The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh weak.   Again the second time, he went and prayed, saying:  My Father, if this chalice may not pass away but I must drink it, thy will be done. And he came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.  And leaving them, he went again and he prayed the third time, saying the selfsame word.   Then he came to his disciples and said to them, Sleep now and take your rest, for behold the hour is at hand and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners.   Rise, let us go, behold he is at hand, that will betray me.

Recite: Litany of the Holy Spirit, Ave Maris Stella: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-second-week-day-twenty-5-november/
AND
Litany of the Holy Name and O Jesus Living In Mary:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-third-week-day-twenty-seven-12-november/DAY TWENTY-EIGHT - THIRD WEEK - TOTAL CONSECRATION 13 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Twenty Seven – 12 November

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Third Week – Day Twenty Seven – 12 NovemberDAY TWENTY SEVEN - THIRD WEEK - TOTAL CONSECRATION 12 NOV 2018

Third Week

Day 27 of 33

Theme for the Week: Knowledge Of Jesus Christ

During this period we shall apply ourselves to the study of Jesus Christ.   What is to be studied in Christ?   First the God-Man, His grace and glory;  then His rights to sovereign dominion over us, since, after having renounced Satan and the world, we have taken Jesus Christ for our Lord.   What next shall be the object of our study?   His exterior actions and also His interior life, namely, the virtues and acts of His Sacred Heart, His association with Mary in the mysteries of the Annunciation and Incarnation, during His infancy and hidden life, at the feast of Cana and on Calvary.

From True Devotion To the Blessed Virgin Mary:  Nos. 61-62

61.   Jesus, our Saviour, true God and true man must be the ultimate end of all our other devotions, otherwise they would be false and misleading.   He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end of everything.   “We labour,” says St Paul, “only to make all men perfect in Jesus Christ.”   For in Him alone dwells the entire fullness of the divinity and the complete fullness of grace, virtue and perfection.   In Him alone we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing, He is the only teacher from whom we must learn, the only Lord on whom we should depend, the only Head to whom we should be united and the only model that we should imitate.   He is the only Physician that can heal us, the only Shepherd that can feed us, the only Way that can lead us, the only Truth that we can believe, the only Life that can animate us.   He alone is everything to us and He alone can satisfy all our desires.   We are given no other name under heaven by which we can be saved.   God has laid no other foundation for our salvation, perfection and glory than Jesus.   Every edifice which is not built on that firm rock, is founded upon shifting sands and will certainly fall sooner or later.   Through Him, with Him and in Him, we can do all things and render all honour and glory to the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, we can make ourselves perfect and be for our neighbour a fragrance of eternal life.

62.   If then we are establishing sound devotion to our Blessed Lady, it is only in order to establish devotion to our Lord more perfectly, by providing a smooth but certain way of reaching Jesus Christ.   If devotion to our Lady distracted us from our Lord, we would have to reject it as an illusion of the devil.   But this is far from being the case.   As I have already shown and will show again later on, this devotion is necessary, simply and solely because it is a way of reaching Jesus perfectly, loving Him tenderly and serving Him faithfully.

Recite: Litany of the Holy Spirit, Ave Maris Stella: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-second-week-day-twenty-5-november/
AND
Litany of the Holy Name and O Jesus Living In Mary:   See below

Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Jesus, hear us.
Jesus, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, splendour of the Father, have mercy on us.
Jesus, brightness of eternal light, have mercy on us.
Jesus, King of glory, have mercy on us.
Jesus, sun of justice, have mercy on us.
Jesus, Son of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.
Jesus, most amiable, have mercy on us.
Jesus, most admirable, have mercy on us.
Jesus, mighty God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, Father of the world to come, have mercy on us.
Jesus, angel of great counsel, have mercy on us.
Jesus, most powerful, have mercy on us. Jesus, most patient, have mercy on us.
Jesus, most obedient, have mercy on us.
Jesus, meek and humble, have mercy on us.
Jesus, lover of chastity, have mercy on us.
Jesus, lover of us, have mercy on us.
Jesus, God of peace, have mercy on us.
Jesus, author of life, have mercy on us.
Jesus, model of virtues, have mercy on us.
Jesus, lover of souls, have mercy on us.
Jesus, our God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, our refuge, have mercy on us.
Jesus, Father of the poor, have mercy on us.
Jesus, treasure of the faithful, have mercy on us.
Jesus, Good Shepherd, have mercy on us.
Jesus, true light, have mercy on us.
Jesus, eternal wisdom, have mercy on us.
Jesus, infinite goodness, have mercy on us.
Jesus, our way and our life, have mercy on us.
Jesus, joy of angels, have mercy on us.
Jesus, King of patriarchs, have mercy on us.
Jesus, master of Apostles, have mercy on us.
Jesus, teacher of Evangelists, have mercy on us.
Jesus, strength of martyrs, have mercy on us.
Jesus, light of confessors, have mercy on us.
Jesus, purity of virgins, have mercy on us.
Jesus, crown of all saints, have mercy on us.
Be merciful, spare us, O Jesus.
Be merciful, graciously hear us, O Jesus.
From all evil, Jesus, deliver us.
From all sin, Jesus, deliver us.
From Thy wrath, Jesus, deliver us.
From the snares of the devil, Jesus, deliver us.
From the spirit of fornication, Jesus, deliver us.
From everlasting death, Jesus, deliver us.
From the neglect of Thine inspirations, Jesus, deliver us.
Through the mystery of Your holy Incarnation, Jesus, deliver us.
Through Your nativity, Jesus, deliver us.
Through Your infancy, Jesus, deliver us.
Through Your most divine life, Jesus, deliver us.
Through Your labours, Jesus, deliver us.
Through Your agony and Passion, Jesus, deliver us.
Through Your cross and dereliction, Jesus, deliver us.
Through Your sufferings, Jesus, deliver us.
Through Your death and burial, Jesus, deliver us.
Through Your Resurrection, Jesus, deliver us.
Through Your Ascension, Jesus, deliver us.
Through Your institution of the most Holy Eucharist, Jesus, deliver us.
Through Your joys, Jesus, deliver us.
Through Your glory, Jesus, deliver us.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Jesus.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Jesus.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
Jesus, hear us, Jesus, graciously hear us.
Let us Pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, Who has said:  Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you; grant, we beseech You, to us who ask the gift of Your divine love, that we may ever love You with all our hearts and in all our words and actions and never cease from praising You.
Give us, O Lord, a perpetual fear and love of Your holy Name; for You never fail to govern those whom You solidly establish in Your love, Who lives and reigns world without end.
R. Amen

O Jesus Living in Mary

O Jesus living in Mary,
Come and live in Your servants,
In the spirit of Your holiness,
In the fullness of Your might,
In the truth of Your virtues,
In the perfection of Your ways,
In the communion of Your mysteries;
Subdue every hostile power
In Your Spirit, for the glory of the Father.
Amen.o jesus living in mary by st louis de montfort for total consecration - 12 nov 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty Six – 11 November

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty Six – 11 November

Second Week

Day 26 of 33

From True Devotion To the Blessed Virgin Mary, Nos. 12-38

“If you wish to understand the Mother,” says a saint, “then understand the Son.   She is a worthy Mother of God.”    Hic taceat omnis lingua : Here let every tongue be silent.   My heart has dictated with special joy all that I have written to show that Mary has been unknown up till now and that, that is one of the reasons why Jesus Christ is not known as He should be.   If then, as is certain, the knowledge and the kingdom of Jesus Christ must come into the world, it can only be as a necessary consequence of the knowledge and reign of Mary.   She who first gave Him to the world, will establish His kingdom in the world.

With the whole Church, I acknowledge that Mary, being a mere creature fashioned by the hands of God is, compared to His infinite majesty, less than an atom, or rather is simply nothing, since He alone can say, “I am he who is”.   Consequently, this great Lord, who is ever independent and self-sufficient, never had and does not now have, any absolute need of the Blessed Virgin for the accomplishment of His will and the manifestation of His glory.   To do all things He has only to will them.   However, I declare that, considering things as they are, because God has decided to begin and accomplish His greatest works through the Blessed Virgin, ever since He created her, we can safely believe that He will not change His plan in the time to come, for He is God and, therefore, does not change in His thoughts or His way of acting.

Mary is the Queen of heaven and earth, by grace, as Jesus is king by nature and by conquest.   But as the kingdom of Jesus Christ exists primarily in the heart or interior of man, according to the words of the Gospel, “The kingdom of God is within you”, so the kingdom of the Blessed Virgin is principally in the interior of man, that is, in his soul.   It is principally in souls that she is glorified with her Son more than in any visible creature. So we may call her, as the saints do, Queen of our hearts.

Recite: Litany of the Holy Spirit, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ave Maris Stella:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-second-week-day-twenty-5-november/ and the RosaryDAY TWENTY-SIX SECOND WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT11 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty Five – 10 November

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty Five – 10 November

Second Week

Day 25 of 33

From True Devotion To the Blessed Virgin Mary, Nos. 213-225
Wonderful Effects of this Devotion

213. My dear friend, be sure that if you remain faithful to the interior and exterior practices of this devotion which I will point out, the following effects will be produced in your soul:

1. Knowledge of our unworthiness
By the light which the Holy Spirit will give you through Mary, His faithful spouse, you will perceive the evil inclinations of your fallen nature and how incapable you are of any good.   Finally, the humble Virgin Mary will share her humility with you so that, although you regard yourself with distaste and desire to be disregarded by others, you will not look down slightingly upon anyone.

2. A share in Mary’s faith
214. Mary will share her faith with you.   Her faith on earth was stronger than that of all the patriarchs, prophets, apostles and saints.

3. The gift of pure love
215. The Mother of fair love will rid your heart of all scruples and inordinate servile fear.

4. Great confidence in God and in Mary
216. Our Blessed Lady will fill you with unbounded confidence in God and in herself – Because you will no longer approach Jesus by yourself but always through Mary, your loving Mother.

5. Communication of the spirit of Mary
217. The soul of Mary will be communicated to you to glorify the Lord.   Her spirit will take the place of yours to rejoice in God, her Saviour but only if you are faithful to the practices of this devotion.

6. Transformation into the likeness of Jesus
218. If Mary, the Tree of Life, is well cultivated in our soul by fidelity to this devotion, she will in due time bring forth her fruit which is none other than Jesus.

7. The greater glory of Christ
222. If you live this devotion sincerely, you will give more glory to Jesus in a month than in many years of a more demanding devotion.

Recite:  Litany of the Holy Spirit, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ave Maris Stella:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-second-week-day-twenty-5-november/ and the RosaryDAY TWENTY-FIVE SECOND WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT10 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty Four – 9 November

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty Four – 9 November

Second Week

Day 24 of 33

From True Devotion To the Blessed Virgin Mary, No. 152-164

This devotion is a smooth, short, perfect and sure way of attaining union with our Lord, in which Christian perfection consists.
(a) This devotion is a smooth way:   It is the path which Jesus Christ opened up in coming to us and in which there is no obstruction to prevent us reaching Him.   It is quite true that we can attain to divine union by other roads but these involve many more crosses and exceptional setbacks and many difficulties that we cannot easily overcome.
(b) This devotion is a short way to discover Jesus:   either because it is a road we do not wander from, or because, as we have just said, we walk along this road with greater ease and joy and consequently with greater speed.   We advance more in a brief period of submission to Mary and dependence on her, than in whole years of self-will and self-reliance.
(c) This devotion is a perfect way to reach our Lord and be united to Him:   for Mary is the most perfect and the most holy of all creatures and Jesus, who came to us in a perfect manner, chose no other road for His great and wonderful journey.   The Most High, the Incomprehensible One, the Inaccessible One, He who is, deigned to come down to us poor earthly creatures who are nothing at all.   How was this done?   The Most High God came down to us in a perfect way through the humble Virgin Mary, without losing anything of His divinity or holiness.   It is likewise through Mary that we poor creatures must ascend to almighty God in a perfect manner without having anything to fear.
(d) This devotion to our Lady is a sure way to go to Jesus:  and to acquire holiness through union with Him.   The devotion which I teach is not new.   Indeed it could not be condemned without overthrowing the foundations of Christianity.   It is obvious then that this devotion is not new.   If it is not commonly practised, the reason is that it is too sublime to be appreciated and undertaken by everyone.   This devotion is a safe means of going to Jesus Christ, because it is Mary’s role to lead us safely to her Son.

Recite: Litany of the Holy Spirit, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ave Maris Stella: 
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary:  https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-second-week-day-twenty-5-november/ and the RosaryDAY TWENTY-FOUR SECOND WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 9 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty Three – 8 November

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty Three – 8 November

Second Week

Day 23 of 33

From True Devotion To the Blessed Virgin Mary, Nos. 120-121

Nature of perfect devotion to the Blessed Virgin
or perfect consecration to Jesus Christ

120. As all perfection consists in our being conformed, united and consecrated to Jesus it naturally follows that the most perfect of all devotions is that which conforms, unites and consecrates us most completely to Jesus.   Now of all God’s creatures, Mary is the most conformed to Jesus.   It therefore follows that, of all devotions, devotion to her makes for the most effective consecration and conformity to Him.   The more one is consecrated to Mary, the more one is consecrated to Jesus.   That is why perfect consecration to Jesus is but a perfect and complete consecration of oneself to the Blessed Virgin, which is the devotion I teach;  or in other words, it is the perfect renewal of the vows and promises of holy baptism.

121. This devotion consists in giving oneself entirely to Mary in order to belong entirely to Jesus through her.   It requires us to give:

(1) Our body with its senses and members;
(2) Our soul with its faculties;
(3) Our present material possessions and all we shall acquire in the future;
(4) Our interior and spiritual possessions, that is, our merits, virtues and good actions of the past, the present and the future.

In other words, we give her all that we possess both in our natural life and in our spiritual life as well as everything we shall acquire in the future, in the order of nature, of grace and of glory in heaven.   This we do without any reservation, not even of a penny, a hair, or the smallest good deed.   And we give for all eternity without claiming or expecting, in return for our offering and our service, any other reward than the honour of belonging to our Lord through Mary and in Mary, even though our Mother were not – as in fact she always is – the most generous and appreciative of all God’s creatures.

Recite: Litany of the Holy Spirit, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ave Maris Stella: 
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-second-week-day-twenty-5-november/ and the RosaryDAY TWENTY-THREE SECOND WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 8 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY, Uncategorized

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty Two – 7 November

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty Two – 7 November

Second Week

Day 22 of 33

From True Devotion To the Blessed Virgin Mary, Nos. 106-110
Marks of authentic devotion to our Lady

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.

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.

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 o,f 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.

Recite: Litany of the Holy Spirit, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ave Maris Stella:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-second-week-day-twenty-5-november/ and the RosaryDAY TWENTY-TWO SECOND WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 7 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty-one – 6 November

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty-one – 6 November

Second Week

Day 21 of 33

From Secret of Mary:   Nos. 23-24
True Devotion to Our Blessed Lady

If we would go up to God and be united with Him, we must use the same means He used to come down to us to be made Man and to impart His graces to us.    This means is a true devotion to our Blessed Lady.

There are several true devotions to our Lady, here I do not speak of those which are false.   The first consists in fulfilling our Christian duties, avoiding mortal sin, acting more out of love than with fear, praying to our Lady now and then, honouring her as the Mother of God, yet without having any special devotion to her.

The second consists in entertaining for our Lady more perfect feelings of esteem and love, of confidence and veneration.   It leads us to join the Confraternities of the Holy Rosary and of the Scapular, to recite the five or the fifteen decades of the Holy Rosary, to honour Mary’s images and altars, to publish her praises and to enrol ourselves in her modalities.   This devotion is good, holy and praiseworthy if we keep ourselves free from sin.   But it is not so perfect as the next, nor so efficient in severing our soul from creatures, in detaching ourselves in order to be united with Jesus Christ.

The third devotion to our Lady, known and practised by very few persons, is this I am about to disclose to you, predestinate soul.   It consists in giving one’s self entirely and as a slave to Mary and to Jesus through Mary and after that, to do all that we do, through Mary, with Mary in Mary and for Mary.    We should choose a special feast day on which we give, consecrate and sacrifice to Mary voluntarily, lovingly and without constraint, entirely and without reserve – our body and soul, our exterior property such as house, family and income and also our interior and spiritual possessions, namely, our merits, graces, virtues and satisfactions.

Recite:  Litany of the Holy Spirit, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ave Maris Stella:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary:    https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-second-week-day-twenty-5-november/  and the Rosary DAY TWENTY-ONE SECOND WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 6 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty – 5 November

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Second Week – Day Twenty – 5 November

Second Week

Day 20 of 33
Theme for the Week:  Knowledge Of The Blessed Virgin

Acts of love, pious affection for the Blessed Virgin, imitation of her virtues, especially her profound humility, her lively faith, her blind obedience, her continual mental prayer, her mortification in all things, her surpassing purity, her ardent charity, her heroic patience, her angelic sweetness and her divine wisdom: “there being,” as St Louis De Montfort says, “the ten principal virtues of the Blessed Virgin.”

We must unite ourselves to Jesus through Mary – this is the characteristic of our devotion, therefore, Saint Louis De Montfort asks that we employ ourselves in acquiring a knowledge of the Blessed Virgin.

Mary is our sovereign and our mediatrix, our Mother and our Mistress.   Let us then endeavour to know the effects of this royalty, of this mediation and of this maternity, as well as the grandeurs and prerogatives which are the foundation or consequences thereof.   Our Mother is also a perfect mould wherein we are to be moulded in order to make her intentions and dispositions ours.   This we cannot achieve without studying the interior life of Mary, namely, her virtues, her sentiments, her actions, her participation in the mysteries of Christ and her union with Him.

Luke 2:16-21, 45-52
And they came with haste and they found Mary and Joseph and the infant lying in the manger.   And seeing, they understood of the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child.   And all that heard, wondered and at those things that were told them by the shepherds.   But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.   And after eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised, his name was called JESUS, which was called by the angel, before he was conceived in the womb…

…And not finding him, they returned into Jerusalem, seeking him.   And it came to pass, that, after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them and asking them questions.   And all that heard him were astonished at his wisdom and his answers.   And seeing him, they wondered.   And his mother said to him: Son, why have you done so to us?  behold your father and I have sought you sorrowing. And he said to them:  How is it that you sought me? did you not know, that I must be about my father’s business?   And they understood not the word that he spoke unto them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject to them.   And his mother kept all these words in her heart.   And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and grace with God and men.

Recite: Litany of the Holy Ghost, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ave Maris Stella:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/

St Louis de Montfort’s Prayer to Mary (below) and the Rosary

St Louis De Montfort’s Prayer to Mary

Hail Mary, beloved Daughter of the Eternal Father!   Hail Mary, admirable Mother of the Son!   Hail Mary, faithful spouse of the Holy Spirit!   Hail Mary, my dear Mother, my loving Mistress, my powerful sovereign!   Hail my joy, my glory, my heart and my soul! Thou art all mine by mercy and I am all thine by justice.   But I am not yet sufficiently thine.   I now give myself wholly to thee without keeping anything back for myself or others.   If thou still see in me anything which does not belong to thee, I beseech thee to take it and to make thyself the absolute Mistress of all that is mine.   Destroy in me all that may be displeasing to God, root it up and bring it to nought, place and cultivate in me everything that is pleasing to thee.

May the light of thy faith dispel the darkness of my mind, may thy profound humility take the place of my pride, may thy sublime contemplation check the distractions of my wandering imagination, may thy continuous sight of God fill my memory with His presence, may the burning love of thy heart inflame the lukewarmness of mine, may thy virtues take the place of my sins, may thy merits be my only adornment in the sight of God and make up for all that is wanting in me.

Finally, dearly beloved Mother, grant, if it be possible, that I may have no other spirit but thine to know Jesus and His divine will, that I may have no other soul but thine to praise and glorify the Lord, that I may have no other heart but thine to love God with a love as pure and ardent as thine.    I do not ask thee for visions, revelations, sensible devotion or spiritual pleasures.   It is thy privilege to see God clearly, it is thy privilege to enjoy heavenly bliss, it is thy privilege to triumph gloriously in Heaven at the right hand of thy Son and to hold absolute sway over angels, men and demons, it is thy privilege to dispose of all the gifts of God, just as thou will.

Such is, O heavenly Mary, the “best part,” which the Lord has given thee and which shall never be taken away from thee – and this thought fills my heart with joy.   As for my part here below, I wish for no other, than that which was thine – to believe sincerely without spiritual pleasures, to suffer joyfully without human consolation, to die continually to myself without respite and to work zealously and unselfishly for thee until death, as the humblest of thy servants.

The only grace I beg thee to obtain for me is that every day and every moment of my life I may say:  Amen, so be it’s all that thou didst do while on earth;  Amen, so be it’s all that thou art now doing in Heaven;  Amen, so be it-to all that thou art doing in my soul, so that thou alone may fully glorify Jesus in me for time and eternity.   Amen.

Pray The RosaryDAY TWENTY SECOND WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 5 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The WORD, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Nineteen – 4 November

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Nineteen – 4 November

First Week
Theme for the Week: Knowledge Of Self

Day 19 of 33

Luke 18:15-30

Jesus and the Children:
And they brought him also infants, that he might touch them. Which, when the disciples saw, they rebuked them.   But Jesus, calling them together, said:  Suffer children to come to me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.   Amen, I say to you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a child, shall not enter into it.

The Rich Aristocrat
And a certain ruler asked him, saying:  Good master, what shall I do to possess everlasting life?   And Jesus said to him:  Why do thou call me good?   None is good but God alone.   You know the commandments:   You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shalt not steal, You shall not bear false witness, honour your father and mother.   Who said – all these things have I kept from my youth.   Which, when Jesus had heard, he said to him: ,Yet one thing is wanting to you – sell all whatever you have and give to the poor and you shall have treasure in heaven and come, follow me.   He having heard these things, became sorrowful, for he was very rich.

The Danger of Riches
And Jesus seeing him become sorrowful, said:  How hard shall it be for them, who have riches, to enter into the kingdom of God.   For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.   And they that heard it, said:  Who then can be saved?   He said to them:  The things that are impossible with men, are possible with God.

The Reward of Renunciation
Then Peter said:  Behold, we have left all things and have followed you.   He said to them: Amen, I say to you, there is no man that has left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, Who shall not receive much more in this present time and in the world to come life everlasting.

Recite: Litany of the Holy Spirit, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, & Ave Maris Stella:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/DAY NINETEEN FIRST WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 4 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, THOMAS a KEMPIS, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Eighteen – 3 November

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Eighteen – 3 November

Readings and Prayers

First Week
Theme for the Week: Knowledge Of Self

Day 18 of 33

Luke 17:1-10

On Leading Others Astray:  And he said to his disciples:  ‘It is impossible that scandals should not come, but woe to him through whom they come.   It were better for him, that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he cast into the sea, than that he should scandalise one of these little ones.’
On Brotherly Correction:  ‘Take heed to yourselves.   If your brother sin against you, reprove him:   and if he do penance, forgive him.   And if he sin against you seven times in a day and seven times in a day be converted unto you, saying, I repent, forgive him.’
The Power of Faith :  And the apostles said to the Lord: Increase our faith.   And the Lord said: ‘If you had faith like to a grain of mustard seed, you might say to this mulberry tree,   Be you rooted up and be you transplanted into the sea and it would obey you. ‘
Humble Service:  But which of you having a servant ploughing, or feeding cattle, will say to him, when he is come from the field:  Immediately go, sit down to meat:   And will not rather say to him: Make ready my supper and gird yourself and serve me, whilst I eat and drink and afterwards you shalt eat and drink?   Does he thank that servant, for doing the things which he commanded him?   I think not.   So you also, when you shall have done all these things that are commanded you, say:  We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which we ought to do.’

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis: Book 3, Chapter 47
That All Grievous Things Are to Be Endured For the Sake of Eternal Life

My son, be not wearied out by the labours which you have undertaken for My sake, nor let tribulation cast you down ever at all but let My promise strengthen and comfort you under every circumstance. I am well able to reward you, above all measure and degree. You shall not long toil here, nor always be oppressed with griefs. Wait a little while, and you shall see a speedy end of your evils.

Recite:   Litany of the Holy Ghost, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, & Ave Maris Stella:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/DAY EIGHTEEN FIRST WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 3 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Seventeen – 2 November

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Seventeen – 2 November

Readings and Prayers

First Week
Theme for the Week: Knowledge Of Self

Day 17 of 33

From True Devotion To the Blessed Virgin Mary, No. 228

Of Judgement and the Punishment of Sinners!    In all things look to the end and how you will stand before that strict Judge (Heb. 10:31) to whom nothing is hidden, who is not appeased with gifts, nor admits excuses but will judge according to right.   O wretched and foolish sinner, who sometimes are in terror at the countenance of an angry man, what answer will you make to God who knows all your wickedness (Job 9:2)!   Why do you not provide for yourself (Luke 16:9) against the day of judgement, when no man can be excused or defended by another but everyone shall be a sufficient burden for himself!

Luke 16:1-8
The Crafty Steward

And he said also to his disciples:   There was a certain rich man who had a steward and the same was accused unto him, that he had wasted his goods.   And he called him and said to him:  How is it that I hear this of you? give an account of your stewardship, for now you cannot be steward any longer.   And the steward said within himself:  What shall I do, because my lord takes away from me the stewardship?   To dig I am not able, to beg I am ashamed.   I know what I will do, that when I shall be removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.   Therefore, calling together every one of his lord’s debtors, he said to the first:   How much do you owe my lord?   But he said:  A hundred barrels of oil.   And he said to him:  Take your bill and sit down quickly and write fifty.   Then he said to another:  And how much do you owe?   Who said: A hundred quarters of wheat.   He said to him:  Take your bill and write eighty.   And the lord commended the unjust steward, forasmuch as he had done wisely, for the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.

Recite:  Litany of the Holy Ghost, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, & Ave Maris Stella – See here:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/DAY SEVENTEEN FIRST WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 2 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, THOMAS a KEMPIS, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Sixteen – 3 November

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Sixteen – 3 November

Readings and Prayers

First Week
Theme for the Week: Knowledge Of Self

Day 16 of 33

From True Devotion To the Blessed Virgin Mary, No. 228
Preparatory Exercises

During the first week they should offer up all their prayers and acts of devotion to acquire knowledge of themselves and sorrow for their sins.   Let them perform all their actions in a spirit of humility.   With this end in view they may, if they wish, meditate on what I have said concerning our corrupted nature and consider themselves during six days of the week as nothing but sails, slugs, toads, swine, snakes and goats.
Or else they may meditate on the following three considerations of St Bernard: “Remember what you were – corrupted seed; what you are – a body destined for decay; what you will be -food for worms.”
They will ask our Lord and the Holy Spirit to enlighten them saying, “Lord, that I may see,” or “Lord, let me know myself,” or the “Come, Holy Spirit”.
Every day they should say the Litany of the Holy Spirit, with the prayer that follows, as indicated in the first part of this work.
They will turn to our Blessed Lady and beg her to obtain for them that great grace which is the foundation of all others, the grace of self-knowledge.   For this intention, they will say each day the Ave Maris Stella and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin.

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis: Book 2, Chapter 5
Of Self-consideration

We cannot trust overmuch to ourselves (Jer. 17:5), because grace oftentimes is wanting to us and understanding also.   Little light is there in us and this we quickly lose by our negligence.   Oftentimes too, we perceive not our inward blindness how great it is. Oftentimes, we do evil and excuse it worse (Psalm 141:4).   We are sometimes moved with passion and we think it zeal.   We reprehend small things in others and pass over our own greater matters (Matt. 7:5).   Quickly enough, we feel and weigh, what we suffer at the hands of others but we mind not how much others suffer from us.   He, that well and rightly considers his own works, will find little cause to judge hardly of another.

Recite:  Litany of the Holy Ghost, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, & Ave Maris Stella    See here:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/ DAY SIXTEEN FIRST WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 1 NOV 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The WORD, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Fifteen – 31 October

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Fifteen – 31 October

Readings and Prayers

First Week
Theme for the Week:  Knowledge Of Self

Day 15 of 33

Luke 13:1-5
Examples inviting Repentance

And there were present, at that very time, some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.   And he answering, said to them:  “Think you that these Galileans were sinners above all the men of Galilee, because they suffered such things?   No, I say to you but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish.   Or those eighteen upon whom the tower fell in Siloe and slew them, think you, that they also were debtors above all the men that dwelt in Jerusalem?   No, I say to you but except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish.

True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Nos. 81 and 82  – We Need Mary in order to Die to Ourselves

Secondly, in order to empty ourselves of self, we must die daily to ourselves.   This involves our renouncing what the powers of the soul and the senses of the body incline us to do.   We must see as if we did not see, hear as if we did not hear and use the things of this world as if we did not use them.   This is what St Paul calls “dying daily”.   Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain and does not bear any good fruit.

If we do not die to self and if our holiest devotions do not lead us to this necessary and fruitful death, we shall not bear fruit of any worth and our devotions will cease to be profitable.   All our good works will be tainted by self-love and self-will so that our greatest sacrifices and our best actions will be unacceptable to God.   Consequently when we come to die. we shall find ourselves devoid of virtue and merit and discover that we do not possess even one spark of that pure love. which God shares only with those who have died to themselves and whose life is hidden with Jesus Christ in him.

Thirdly, we must choose among all the devotions to the Blessed Virgin the one which will lead us more surely to this dying to self.   This devotion will be the best and the most sanctifying for us.

Recite:  Litany of the Holy Ghost, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, & Ave Maris Stella   ( See here:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/ )DAY FIFTEEN FIRST WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 31 oct 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, THOMAS a KEMPIS, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Fourteen – 30 October

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Fourteen – 30 October

Readings and Prayers

First Week
Theme for the Week: Knowledge Of Self

Day 14 of 33

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis:  Book 3, Chapter 13

Of the Obedience of One in Humble Subjection, After the Example of Jesus Christ

My son, he that endeavours to withdraw himself from obedience, withdraws himself from grace and he who seeks for himself private benefit (Matt. 16:24), loses those which are common.   He that does not cheerfully and freely submit himself to his superior, it is a sign that his flesh is not as yet perfectly obedient unto him but oftentimes kicks and murmurs against him.
Learn, therefore, quickly to submit yourself to your superior, if you desire to keep your own flesh under the yoke.   For more speedily is the outward enemy overcome, if the inward man be not laid waste.   There is no worse, nor more troublesome enemy to the soul, than you are unto yourself, if you be not well in harmony with the Spirit.
It is altogether necessary that you take up a true contempt for yourself, if you desire to prevail against flesh and blood.
Because as yet you love yourself too inordinately, therefore, you are afraid to resign yourself wholly to the will of others.   And yet, what great matter is it, if you, who are but dust and nothing, subject yourself to a man for God’s sake, when I, the Almighty and the Most Highest who created all things of nothing, humbly subjected Myself to man for your sake?

I became of all men the most humble and the most abject (Luke 2:7; John 13:14), that you might overcome your pride with My humility.

O dust! learn to be obedient.   Learn to humble yourself, you earth and clay and to bow yourself down under the feet of all men.   Learn to break your own wishes and to yield yourself to all subjection.

Recite: Litany of the Holy Ghost, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, & Ave Maris Stella ( See here:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/29/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-first-week-day-thirteen-29-october/ )DAY FOURTEEN FIRST WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 30 oct 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The HOLY SPIRIT, The WORD, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Thirteen – 29 October

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – First Week – Day Thirteen – 29 October

Readings and Prayers

First Week

Day 13 of 33

Theme for the Week:  Knowledge Of Self

Prayers, examinations, reflection, acts of renouncement of our own will, of contrition for our sins, of contempt of self, all performed at the feet of Mary, for it is from her that we hope for light to know ourselves.   It is near her, that we shall be able to measure the abyss of our miseries without despairing.

We should employ all our pious actions in asking for a knowledge of ourselves and contrition of our sins and we should do this in a spirit of piety.   During this period, we shall consider not so much the opposition that exists between the spirit of Jesus and ours, as the miserable and humiliating state to which our sins have reduced us.

Moreover, the True Devotion being an easy, short, sure and perfect way to arrive at that union with Our Lord which is Christlike perfection, we shall enter seriously upon this way, strongly convinced of our misery and helplessness.   But how attain this without a knowledge of ourselves’?

Luke 11:1-10

He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”

He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.   Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us and do not subject us to the final test.”

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed.   I cannot get up to give you anything.’   I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.   For everyone who asks, receives and the one who seeks, finds and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Recite:   Litany of the Holy Spirit, Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, & Ave Maris Stella (See below)DAY THIRTEEN FIRST WEEK- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 29 oct 2018

First Week

Litany of the Holy Spirit

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Father all powerful, have mercy on us Jesus, Eternal Son of the Father, Redeemer of the world, save us.
Spirit of the Father and the Son, boundless life of both, sanctify us. Holy Trinity, hear us
Holy Spirit, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son, enter our hearts. Holy Spirit, Who are equal to the Father and the Son, enter our hearts.
Promise of God the Father, have mercy on us. Ray of heavenly light, have mercy on us
Author of all good, have mercy on us
Source of heavenly water, have mercy on us Consuming fire, have mercy on us
Ardent charity, have mercy on us Spiritual unction, have mercy on us
Spirit of love and truth, have mercy on us Spirit of wisdom and understanding, have mercy on us
Spirit of counsel and fortitude, have mercy on us
Spirit of knowledge and piety, have mercy on us
Spirit of the fear of the Lord, have mercy on us
Spirit of grace and prayer, have mercy on us
Spirit of peace and meekness, have mercy on us
Spirit of modesty and innocence, have mercy on us
Holy Spirit, the Comforter, have mercy on us
Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, have mercy on us Holy Spirit, Who governs the Church, have mercy on us
Gift of God, the Most High, have mercy on us
Spirit Who fills the universe, have mercy on us
Spirit of the adoption of the children of God, have mercy on us
Holy Spirit, inspire us with horror of sin.
Holy Spirit, come and renew the face of the earth. Holy Spirit, shed Your light in our souls.
Holy Spirit, engrave Your law in our hearts Holy Spirit, inflame us with the flame of Your love. Holy Spirit, open to us the treasures of Your graces Holy Spirit, teach us to pray well.
Holy Spirit, enlighten us with Your heavenly inspirations.
Holy Spirit, lead us in the way of salvation Holy Spirit, grant us the only necessary knowledge. Holy Spirit, inspire in us the practice of good. Holy Spirit, grant us the merits of all virtues.
Holy Spirit, make us persevere in justice.
Holy Spirit, be You our everlasting reward.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Send us Your Holy Spirit.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, pour down into our souls the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, grant us the Spirit of wisdom and piety.

V. Come, Holy Spirit! Fill the hearts of Your faithful,
R. And enkindle in them the fire of Your love.

Let Us Pray. Grant, O merciful Father, that Your Divine Spirit may enlighten, inflame and purify us, that He may penetrate us with His heavenly dew and make us fruitful in good works, through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who with You, in the unity of the same Spirit, lives and reigns forever and ever.
R. Amen.

Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Litany of Loreto)

Lord, have mercy on us, Christ have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us.
Mother of Christ, pray for us.
Mother of divine grace, pray for us.
Mother most pure, pray for us.
Mother most chaste, pray for us.
Mother inviolate, pray for us.
Mother undefiled, pray for us.
Mother most amiable, pray for us.
Mother most admirable, pray for us.
Mother of good counsel,pray for us.
Mother of our Creator, pray for us. Mother of our Saviour, pray for us.
Mother of the Church, pray for us.
Virgin most prudent, pray for us.
Virgin most venerable, pray for us. Virgin most renowned, pray for us.
Virgin most powerful, pray for us.
Virgin most merciful, pray for us.
Virgin most faithful, pray for us.
Preparation for Consecration, pray for us.
Mirror of justice, pray for us. Seat of wisdom, pray for us.
Cause of our joy, pray for us.
Vessel of honor, pray for us.
Singular vessel of devotion, pray for us.
Mystical rose, pray for us.
Tower of David, pray for us.
Tower of ivory, pray for us.
House of gold, pray for us.
Ark of the covenant, pray for us.
Gate of Heaven, pray for us.
Morning star, pray for us.
Health of the sick, pray for us.
Refuge of sinners, pray for us.
Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us.
Help of Christians, pray for us.
Queen of angels, pray for us.
Queen of patriarchs, pray for us.
Queen of prophets, pray for us.
Queen of Apostles, pray for us.
Queen of martyrs, pray for us.
Queen of confessors, pray for us.
Queen of virgins, pray for us.
Queen of all saints, pray for us.
Queen conceived without Original Sin, pray for us.
Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us.
Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us.
Queen of peace, pray for us.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray. Grant, we beseech You, O Lord God, unto us Your servants, that we may rejoice in continual health of mind and body and by the glorious intercession of Blessed Mary, ever virgin, may be delivered from present sadness, and enter into the joy of Your eternal gladness. Through Christ Our Lord.
R. Amen

Ave Maris Stella

Hail, O Star of the ocean,
God’s own Mother blest, ever sinless Virgin,
gate of heav’nly rest.
Taking that sweet Ave, which from Gabriel came,
peace confirm within us, changing Eve’s name.
Break the sinners’ fetters, make our blindness day,
Chase all evils from us, for all blessings pray.
Show thyself a Mother, may the Word divine
born for us thine Infant, hear our prayers through thine.
Virgin all excelling, mildest of the mild,
free from guilt preserve us meek and undefiled.
Keep our life all spotless, make our way secure
till we find in Jesus, joy for evermore.
Praise to God the Father, honour to the Son,
in the Holy Spirit, be the glory one.
Amen

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, THOMAS a KEMPIS, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Day Twelve – 28 October

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Day Twelve – 28 October

Readings and Prayers

12 Day Preparation

Day 12 of 33

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis:  Book 1, Chapter 25., cont.

But if you observe anything worthy of reproof, beware you do not the same.   And if at any time you have done it, labour quickly to amend you  rself. As your eye observe others, so are you by others noted again.

How sweet and pleasant a thing it is, to see brethren fervent and devout, obedient and well-disciplined!   How sad and grievous a thing it is, to see them walk disorderly, not applying themselves to that for which they are called!   How hurtful a thing it is, when they neglect the purpose of their calling and busy themselves in things not committed to their care!

Be mindful of the purpose you have embraced and set always before yourself the image of the Crucified.   Good cause you have to be ashamed in looking upon the life of Jesus Christ, seeing you have not as yet endeavoured to conform yourself more unto Him, though you have been a long time in the way of God.

A religious person that exercises himself seriously and devoutly in the most holy life and passion of our Lord, shall there abundantly find whatsoever is profitable and necessary for himself, neither shall he need to seek any better thing, besides Jesus. O if Jesus crucified would come into our hearts, how quickly and fully should we be.   A man fervent and diligent is prepared for all things.

It is harder toil to resist vices and passions, than to sweat in bodily labours.   He that avoids not small faults, by little and little falls into greater.   You will always rejoice in the evening, if you spend the day profitably.   Be watchful over yourself, stir up yourself, warn yourself and whatsoever becomes of others, neglect not yourself.  The more violent means you use against yourself, the more shall you progress. Amen.

Recite:  Veni Creator, Ave Maris Stella, Magnificat and Glory Be (See HERE: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-day-one-17-october/ )DAY TWELVE - TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 28 oct 2018

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Day Eleven – 27 October

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Day Eleven – 27 October

Readings and Prayers

12 Day Preparation

Day 11 of 33

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis:   Book 1, Chapter 25

On the Fervent Amendment of our Whole Life

When a certain anxious person, who often times wavered between hope and fear, once overcome with sadness, threw himself upon the ground in prayer, before one of the altars in the Church and thinking these things in his mind, said “Oh, if I only knew how to persevere,” that very instant he heard within him, this heavenly answer: “And if thou did know this, what would thou do?  Do now what you would do and thou shall be perfectly secure.”   And immediately being consoled and comforted, he committed himself to the Divine Will and his anxious thoughts ceased.   He no longer wished for curious things, searching to find out what would happen to him but studied rather to learn what was the acceptable and perfect will of God for the beginning and the perfection of every good work.

“Hope in the Lord,” said the Prophet, “And do all good and inhabit the land and thou shall be fed of the riches thereof.”

There is one thing that keeps many back from spiritual progress and from fervour in amendment, namely – the labour that is necessary for the struggle.   And assuredly they especially advance beyond others in virtues, who strive the most manfully to overcome the very things which are the hardest and most contrary to them.   For there a man does profit more and merit more abundant grace, when he does most to overcome himself and mortify his spirit.   All have not, indeed, equal difficulties to overcome and mortify but a diligent and zealous person will make a greater progress though he have more passions than another, who is well regulated but less fervent in the pursuit of virtues.

Recite: Veni Creator, Ave Maris Stella, Magnificat and Glory Be (See HERE: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-day-one-17-october/ )DAY ELEVEN - TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 27 oct 2018

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Day Ten – 26 October

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Day Ten – 26 October

Readings and Prayers

12 Day Preparation

Day 10 of 33

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis:  Book 3, Chapter 10

That it is sweet to despise the world and to serve God.

Now, will I speak again, O Lord and will not be silent, I will say in the hearing of my God and my King Who is on high:  Oh, how great is the abundance of Your sweetness, O Lord, which You have hidden for those that fear You!

But what are You, for those who love You?   What, to those who serve You with their whole heart?   Unspeakable indeed is the sweetness of Your contemplation, which You bestow on those who love You.   In this most of all, have You shown me the sweetness of Your love, that when I had no being, You did make me and when I was straying far from You, You brought me back again, that I might serve You and You have commanded me to serve You.

O Fountain of everlasting love, what shall I say of You?   How can I forget You, Who have vouchsafed to remember me even after I was corrupted and lost?

Beyond all hope, You show mercy to Your servant and beyond all desert, have You manifested Your grace and friendship.   What return shall I make to You for this favour? For it is granted to all who forsake these things, to renounce the world and to assume the monastic life.   Is it much that I should serve You, Whom the whole creation is bound to serve?   It ought not to seem much to me to serve You but this does rather appear great and wonderful to me, that You vouchsafe to receive one so wretched and unworthy as Your servant.   It is a great honour, a great glory, to serve You and to despise all things for You for they who willingly subject themselves to Your holy service, shall have great grace.   They shall experience the most sweet consolation of the Holy Spirit, Who for the love of You, have cast aside all carnal delight.

Recite: Veni Creator, Ave Maris Stella, Magnificat and Glory Be (See HERE: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-day-one-17-october/ )DAY TEN - TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 26 oct 2018

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Day Nine – 25 October

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Day Nine – 25 October

Readings and Prayers

12 Day Preparation

Day 9 of 33

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis:  Book 1, Chapter 13, cont.

Fire tries iron and temptation a just man.
We often know not what we are able to do but temptations discover what we are.   Still, we must watch, especially in the beginning of temptation, for then the enemy is more easily overcome, if he be not suffered to enter the door of the mind but is withstood upon the threshold the very moment he knocks.   Whence a certain one has said “Resist beginnings;  all too late the cure.”  When ills have gathered strength, by long delay, first there comes from the mind a simple thought, then a strong imagination, afterwards delight and the evil motion and consent and so, little by little the fiend does gain entrance, when he is not resisted in the beginning.   The longer anyone has been slothful in resisting, so much the weaker he becomes, daily in himself and the enemy, so much the stronger in him.

Some suffer grievous temptations in the beginning of their conversion, others in the end and others are troubled nearly their whole life.   Some are very lightly tempted, according to the wisdom and the equity of the ordinance of God who weighs man’s condition and merits and pre-ordains all things for the salvation of His elect.

We must not, therefore, despair when we are tempted but the more fervently pray to God to help us in every tribulation – Who, of a truth, according to the sayings of St Paul, will make such issue with the temptation, that we are able to sustain it.

Let us then humble our souls under the hand of God in every temptation and tribulation, for the humble in spirit, He will save and exalt.   In temptation and tribulations, it is proved, what progress man has made and there also, is great merit and virtue made more manifest.

Recite:  Veni Creator, Ave Maris Stella, Magnificat and Glory Be (See HERE: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-day-one-17-october/ ) DAY NINE- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 25 oct 2018

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Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Day Eight – 24 October

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Day Eight – 24 October

Readings and Prayers

12 Day Preparation

Day 8 of 33

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis:   Book 1, Chapter 13
Of Resisting Temptations

As long as we live in this world, we cannot be without temptations and tribulations. Hence it is written in Job “Man’s life on earth is a temptation.”   Everyone, therefore, should be solicitous about his temptations and watch in prayer lest the devil find an opportunity to catch him – who never sleeps but goes about, seeking whom he can devour.

No-one is so perfect and holy as sometimes not to have temptations and we can never be wholly free from them.   Nevertheless, temptations are very profitable to man, troublesome and grievous though they may be, for in them, a man is humbled, purified and instructed.   All the Saints passed through many tribulations and temptations and were purified by them.   And they that could not support temptations, became reprobate, and fell away.

Many seek to flee temptations and fall worse into them.   We cannot conquer by flight alone but by patience and true humility we become stronger than all our enemies.   He who only declines them outwardly and does not pluck out their root, will profit little, nay, temptations will sooner return and he will find himself in a worse condition.

By degrees and by patience you will, by God’s grace, better overcome them than by harshness and your own importunity.   Take council the oftener in temptation and do not deal harshly with one who is tempted but pour in consolation, as thou would wish to be done unto yourself.

Inconstancy of mind and little confidence in God, is the beginning of all temptations.  For as a ship without a helm is driven to and fro by the waves, so the man who neglects and gives up his resolutions is tempted in many ways.

Recite:  Veni Creator, Ave Maris Stella, Magnificat and Glory Be (See HERE: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-day-one-17-october/ )DAY EIGHT- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 24 oct 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, THOMAS a KEMPIS, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary

Readings and Prayers

12 Day Preparation

Day 7 of 33

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis:  Book 1, Chapter 18, cont.

Outwardly they suffered want but within they were refreshed with grace and Divine consolation.   They were aliens to the world, they seemed as nothing and the world despised them but they were precious and beloved in the sight of God.   

They persevered in true humility, they lived in simple obedience, they walked in charity and patience and so every day they advanced in spirit and gained great favour with God. They were given for example to all religious and ought more to excite us to advance in good, than the number of lukewarm to induce us to grow remiss.

Oh! how great was the fervour of all religious in the beginning of their holy institute!   Oh, how great was their devotion in prayer, how great was their zeal for virtue!   How vigorous the discipline that was kept up, what reverence and obedience, under the rule of the superior, flourished in all!   Their traces that remain still bear witness, that they were truly holy and perfect men who did battle so stoutly and trampled the world under their feet.

Now, he is thought great who is not a transgressor and who can, with patience, endure what he has undertaken.   Ah, the lukewarmness and negligence of our state! that we soon fall away from our first fervour and are even now tired with life, from slothfulness and tepidity.

Oh that advancement in virtue be not quite asleep in thee, who has so often seen the manifold examples of the devout!

Recite: Veni Creator, Ave Maris Stella, Magnificat and Glory Be (See See HERE: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-day-one-17-october/ )DAY SEVEN- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 23 oct 2018

Posted in MARIAN DEVOTIONS, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, THOMAS a KEMPIS, TOTAL Consecration to JESUS through MARY

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Day Six – 22 October

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary – Day Six – 22 October

Readings and Prayers

12 Day Preparation

Day 6 of 33

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis:  Book 1, Chapter 18

On the examples of the Holy Fathers.
Look upon the lively examples of the holy Fathers in whom shone real perfection and the religious life and you will see how little it is and, almost nothing, that we do.   Alas, what is our life when we compare it with theirs?   Saints and friends of Christ, they served our Lord in hunger and in thirst, in cold, in nakedness, in labour and in weariness, in watching, in fasting, prayers and holy meditations and in frequent persecutions and reproaches.

Oh, how many grievous tribulations did the Apostles suffer and the Martyrs and Confessors and Virgins and all the rest who resolved to follow the steps of Christ!   For they hated their lives in this world, that they might keep them in life everlasting.   Oh what a strict and self-renouncing life the holy Fathers of the desert led!   What long and grievous temptations did they bear!   How often were they harassed by the enemy, what frequent and fervent prayers did they offer up to God, what rigorous abstinence did they practice!
What a valiant contest waged they to subdue their imperfections!   What purity and straightforwardness of purpose kept they towards God!   By day they laboured and much of the night they spent in prayer, though while they laboured, they were far from leaving off mental prayer.   They spent all their time profitably.   Every hour seemed short to spend with God and even their necessary bodily refreshment was forgotten in the great sweetness of contemplation.   They renounced all riches, dignities, honours and kindreD, they hardly took what was necessary for life.   It grieved them to serve the body even in its necessity.

Accordingly, they were poor in earthly things but very rich in grace and virtues.

Recite: Veni Creator, Ave Maris Stella, Magnificat, and Glory Be (See See HERE: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-day-one-17-october/ )DAY SIX- TOTAL CONSECRATION - ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT 22 oct 2018