A Thoughtful Mouthful
Fr. Roger M. Charest , SMM
A Thoughtful Mouthful
I n his best-seller, “Crossing the Threshold of Hope,” Pope John Paul declared that thanks to St. Louis de Montfort, he had come to understand that true devotion to the Mother of God “is actually Christocentric”. And indeed that it is “profoundly rooted in the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity, and the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption.” In popular jargon one could say: that is a thoughtful mouthful and theological mouthful!
The fact is, the opening sentence of St. Louis de Montfort’s now classic “True Devotion To Mary,” reads thusly: “It is through the Blessed Virgin Mary that Jesus Christ came into the world, and it is also through her that He must reign in the world.” This lead sentence sets the tone not only of the Saint’s “True Devotion to Mary” book, but of his entire Marian Spirituality not only centered on Christ but, as the Holy Father noted, is also rooted in the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity.
Now, what does all this mean to you, dear reader? It means, first of all, that from all eternity, God the Father selected Mary, of all women, to be the Mother of His Son; that God the Son, willed to take on human flesh and become Incarnate Wisdom. He did so in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and that God the Holy Spirit was to overshadow her in the Incarnation of the Savior of the world.
MARY, SEAT OF WISDOM
Eternal wisdom became flesh, being born of the Virgin Mary. This is why we pray to Mary as the “seat of wisdom. “sedes sapientiae”
John Paul II, Oct. 6, 1995
The French School of Spirituality to which de Montfort was heir – as well as one of its most prominent exponents – had epitomized that Spirituality in the popular Sulpician prayer, JESUS LIVING IN MARY. Attributed to Father Jean Jacques Olier, (1608-1657) the founder of the Seminary and the Society of Saint-Sulpice, in Paris, the prayer reads as follows:
O Jesus living in Mary
Come and live in Your Servants, In the spirit of Your holiness,
In the fulness of Your might, In the truth of Your virtues,
Through 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.
God’s Plan for Our Salvation
A thoughtful mouthful. St. Louis Marie knew that unless one recognizes and acknowledges Mary’s unique relationship with the Blessed Trinity and her role in the work of the Incarnation and Redemption, true devotion to her could appear to be but an optional, not to say marginal aspect of our life ln Christ. That is why, before establishing his true and perfect devotion to Mary, he laid the scriptural as well as the theological foundations of all devotion to Mary by introducing us into God’s eternal plan for our salvation.
Madonna and Child: painter Elisabetta Sirani: 1663
Elisabetta took over the studio of her father Giovanni Sirani in 1654-1655. This painting resides in the National Museum of Woman Arts in Washington, DC.
I do not believe that anyone can acquire intimate union with Our Lord, and perfect fidelity to the Holy Spirit, without a very close union with the most Blessed Virgin and an absolute dependence on her support.
From the very first pages of his treatise on “True Devotion to Mary,” de Montfort reminds us that Mary is only a creature. And therefore, compared to God she is “less than an atom, or rather is simply nothing.”
He then goes on to say, “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.” (No. 15)
A Thoughtful Mouthful: The Plan for Our Salvation
The Blessed Trinity’s plan for our salvation was realized when God the Father sent us His Son through Mary; God the Son came into our world In and Through Mary ; and God the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary in the work of the Incarnation.
God the Father continues and will continue until the end of time, to send us His Son through Mary; God the Son continues to come to us in and through her Spiritual Motherhood and intercession; and God the Holy Spirit, continues to carry out the work of our sanctification ln and Through Mary. Fr. de Montfort writes: “When the Holy Spirit finds Mary, His dear and inseparable spouse, ln a soul, the more powerful and effective He becomes ln producing Jesus Christ in that soul and that soul in Jesus Christ.” (No.21)
Perhaps you understand now why the Holy Father believes, with St. Louis de Montfort that true devotion to Mary is Christocentric and Trinitarian, and not just an optional, or marginal aspect of our life in Christ. To quote St. Louis again: “I do not believe that anyone can acquire intimate union with Our Lord, and perfect fidelity to the Holy Spirit. Without a very close union with the most Blessed Virgin and an absolute dependence on her support.” (T.D. #43)
