The Queen: Articles:
The de Montfort Way: Master of the Spiritual Life
Author: Fr. Victor Devy, SMM
This is the second article in this series of covering specific aspects and topics of St. Louis’ Spirituality, as well as giving insights into the man. The first article may be found here.
… the fundamentals are easily detected: devotion to the mysteries and intentions of the Incarnate Word, the importance of holy baptism and of the baptismal vows, the holy slavery to the Blessed Virgin, finally, a deep feeling of religion and adoration in the presence of God.
St. Louis Mary de Montfort was born towards the close of a period of outstanding brilliancy in the field of Christian spirituality, ascetical as well as mystical. Although this period (which covets roughly two centuries), was marked by religious and political instability, it has nevertheless produced masterpieces which have never been surpassed and which continue to this very day to be the foundation stones of Catholic piety and spiritual life.
Fr. de Montfort’s collection of notes and references reveals that if he did not study all of them thoroughly, he was nevertheless familiar with a great number of them. It is this association with so many schools of spirituality during his formative years that accounts for his being imbued with the wisdom of past ages. Thanks to his masters and directors, coupled with his own studies and experiences, he was in a position to profit by them all and was able to offer souls a way of sanctification that knew no limits, from the first stages of conversion to the very heights of mysticism.
The fact that his own progress in sanctity appears to have been constant and uninterrupted was not an obstacle to his knowledge of the human heart in all the conditions of life. His continual missionary experiences among sinners and saints alike, gave to his contemplation what was needed for a perfect understanding of the unavoidable spiritual combat in this world.
Spiritual Training
During eight years, Fr. de Montfort was under the guidance of the Jesuits in their famed college at Rennes. Since his piety was already much above his age, he was, spiritually speaking, perfectly able to understand the teachings of his spiritual guides. Among the latter, many were noted for their prudence and their sanctity. In later life he often sought their advice and made long retreats in their houses. Steadfastly, they stood by him in his countless trials. He was thus familiar with many of their own spiritual writers, even to the point of being able to quote them verbatim, for instance: Crasset, Poité, Lallement and St. Jure. A great number of passages from de Montfort’s LOVE OF THE ETERNAL WISDOM are transcribed from, or inspired by, the well-known treatise by St. Jure, S.J., on the Love and Knowledge of Jesus Christ.
In the Seminary of St. Sulpice, in Paris, our young seminarian was profoundly impressed by the doctrine of Cardinal de Bétulle on devotion to the mysteries of Our Lord, the Incarnate Word. Heirs to de Bérulle, to Condren and to Olier, were such men as Tronson, de la Chétardie, de la Barmondiere and many others. These writers strenuously opposed all forms of Quietism and Jansenism. In the seminary, therefore, he found exactly the spiritual atmosphere needed for the expansion of his piety. In the contemplation of Jesus living in Mary, he saw a manifestation of the role of Our Blessed Mother in the transformation of souls into Christ through her Mediation.
In his Hymns and other works de Montfort does not apply strictly the terminology which we meet with in the Berullian school, but the fundamentals are easily detected: devotion to the mysteries and intentions of the Incarnate Word, the importance of holy baptism and of the baptismal vows, the holy slavery to the Blessed Virgin, finally, a deep feeling of religion and adoration in the presence of God. We could enumerate countless other examples. Suffice it to say that the classical formation he received at college together with his own personal efforts to acquire that simplicity of language necessary for a catechist, contributed to a firmness and directness of style which is not very common among the disciples of Cardinal de Bétulle.
In theology, Saint Thomas was his guide and master, while in matters of spirituality, he had a special veneration for Saint John of the Cross. Many passages in the True Devotion are clearly inspired by this great Doctor of the Church.
We find a striking analogy between de Montfort’s doctrine and the experiences of Maria a Sancta Teresa, whose life and virtues were extolled by a Carmelite writer, Father Michel of Saint Augustine. It has not been possible thus far to ascertain if St. Louis Mary ever read Father Michel’s book or if he had been informed by some other source, concerning this holy soul. Both these possibilities should not be overruled too quickly seeing that, as a student, Montfort often visited the chapel of the Carmelite Fathers, in Rennes.
More information on this subject will come possibly through the study of the five large volumes of the Catalogue of the Library of St. Sulpice’s Seminary. This catalogue has only recently been brought to light in the Bibliotbique Mazmine, in Paris. Fr. de Montfort himself wrote a few thousand pages of it when he was librarian in the Seminary, up to the year 1700.
There is also a great probability that St. Louis was inspired by Father Olier’s teachings, and by his well known formula: “Through her, With her, In her.”
These are only names and titles, it is true, and we could add a few more; but many others are directly quoted by our Saint, such as, Hierarcha Mariana, by Father de Los Rios, etc. . . . Without entering into any detail, these sources show sufficiently the general relations of de Montfort’s system of spirituality with that of his predecessors in this noble field.
The Spiritual Director
To present a more complete picture of our Saint’s personality, we must also point out his special gifts as spiritual director of souls, in all walks and conditions of life. As a missionary, as a founder of Religious Congregations, as an organizer, he gave unmistakable proofs of his prudence, science, and virtue. With a rare instinct for orthodoxy, he understood at once the value great devotion of the Church such as, Devotion to the Sacred Heart, Frequent Communion, the Rosary, and above all the necessity of an absolute submission to the Apostolic See.
Although St. Louis Mary insisted particularly on the Mediation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and on a perfect devotion to her as a means of sanctification, he was not a mere specialist restricted to only one or two aspects of Marian theology. He had definite and precise principles on all of Mary’s privileges as well as on the whole of Mariology: the Co-redemption, Mary’s Queenship, het Immaculate Conception, etc. …
It has not been our purpose to give a synthesis of Montfortian Spirituality, since this is the avowed object of QUEEN OF ALL HEARTS [and The Queen]. However, as we have been interested in Montfort’s sources, we must now point to the very fountain-head of his spirituality: the New Testament, particularly St. Paul and St. John. His first book, THE LOVE OF ETERNAL WISDOM is modeled after the Prologue of St. John’s Gospel. “In the beginning was the Word etc. …” We all remember the words of St. Augustine: “Believe in Christ, the Man, and you will come to the knowledge of Christ, the God.”
