Q&A: Saint Louis de Montfort turns me off when he writes that Jesus calms the anger of God or that Mary appeases her Divine Son. He’s as bad as some of these wild apparitions which tell us that if we don’t say the daily rosary God’s wrath will blow us all up.
Father J. Patrick Gaffney, SMM
R.T., Kirkwood, MO.
Montfort’s Writings
The keystone of Montfort’s entire doctrine is God Alone.
The missionary situates everything within this overarching principle. And for Montfort, God is Charity, Love, the Good Father, the God of tenderness and loving care. His references to the biblical expression the wrath of God must be understood as expressing a profound truth; Infinite Love betrayed by those who freely walk away from Love into estrangement, out of Light into darkness.
Every sin disrupts the harmony in the universe. And sin is its own punishment; sin is dehumanizing us as we move further and further away from the Source of Life, God Alone. Since God IS Love, the only thing that God can do is love. However, to walk away from Infinite Love is to bring disaster upon ourselves. This catastrophe brought on by sin is expressed in the strong scriptural term “the wrath of God.” Montfort, the preacher, makes use of this expression which fit in with the culture of his age.
How it is to be used today depends on the situation of the hearers.
God Alone
When Father de Montfort says that Jesus calms God, he is using a preaching device not only common to the Scriptures (cf Rom 5:9) but one which is again suitable for the hearers of his time. In no way does he offend his overarching principle of God Alone, God who is Love. Rather, it forcefully proclaims that Infinite Love is only effectively answered by Jesus’ redemptive cry of Love from the cross.
If Mary “calms” Jesus, Montfort is proclaiming that Infinite Love wills that the Mother of God be the voice of all humanity in accepting acceptance, in total surrender to the redemption won for us by Christ Jesus. She is the summary of the Church in total harmony with God through Jesus Christ. It is only by joining with Mary in her total Yes to the Redeemer that harmony is restored in our lives and in the universe.
The analogy of “calming the wrath of God,” may not appear appropriate in many contemporary cultures. However, although the literary-tool may not be always advisable today, the truth conveyed by Montfort is as solid as its Scriptural foundation. And it is from Scripture that the saint borrows the expression, not from any private revelations or apparitions.
