St. Louis de Montfort

St. Louis de Montfort

In the language and thought patterns of his age, through the at times “strange expressions” of the preacher-mystic,. . .

. . . of the active contemplative, Montfort explicitly surfaces what for so many is at best implicit: through baptism, we are all the slaves of Jesus in Mary. In Montfort’s eyes, any renewal in the Church, any renewal of a “particular” spirituality, must include this call for the living-out of this perfect renewal of our baptism which “cannot be condemned without overturning the foundations of Christianity”. (T.D. 163).

Montfortian Spirituality

From another point of view, however, we must speak of “Montfortian Spirituality.” Although Mary’s role is intrinsic to our faith, although we have been lovingly conquered by the redemptive Incarnation and therefore share in the one life of Christ, the stress Montfort puts on these aspects of baptism can indeed be called particular emphases of the Gospel message. It is because Mary is so little understood that Saint Louis Marie explains at length – again in the language of his time – her divinely-willed role in salvation history and the importance of devotion to her in order to become one with our goal, Jesus, the Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom.

Moreover, there are other elements of the Gospel which, according to Montfort, flow from this perfect renewal of our baptism. Among these we would include his emphasis on Jesus as the Wisdom of the Father, a love for the Cross, a total trust in Divine Providence, an emphasis on the spiritual maternity of Mary, an intense devotion to the Holy Spirit, a staunch fidelity to the magisterium, a profound respect for the Word of God, a poverty of spirit, a love for the Sacred Heart and our Eucharistic Lord, service to the outcasts of society, an active contemplative life.

The Perfect Renewal of the . . .

These appear to be some of the principal emphases of the Gospel which we find in his life and writings. Together with his central teaching, the perfect renewal of the vows of baptism for God Alone, they form the mosaic which is called the charism of Montfort or Montfortian Spirituality. It is almost shocking in its simplicity – recognize who you truly are through your baptism into Christ: the loving slaves of Jesus in Mary.

It may be well to note an important quality of these emphases of the Gospel message as Montfort understands them: experience. Saint Louis-Marie calls for an “experience” of our baptism and all that flows from it (he often uses the terms “taste,” “faire muter” when speaking of our oneness in Christ). This calls for an integration of knowledge with the daily routine of life, of the head with the heart. Montfort himself does not preach what he has not lived. His stress on the perfect renewal of our baptismal vows is based not only on the Scriptures, teachings of the Church but also on his own experience as a Christian and as a preacher of the Gospel.

. . . Vows of Baptism for God Alone

Saint Louis-Marie has little use for a so-called knowledge of Jesus which does not radically affect our way of life on every level of our personality. When the missionary speaks of “knowing” Jesus, he implies a deep experience – a grace-filled conviction overflowing into every aspect of life – that Jesus is truly the center of all things. We can therefore, better understand his famous statement: “To know Jesus Christ the Eternal is to know enough; to know everything, and not to know him, is to know nothing” (Love of the Eternal Wisdom, 11).

To Know Everything, and Not to Know Him, is to Know Nothing

We must also remember that the saint’s intense experience of the love of Jesus and Mary makes him extremely sensitive to the sin of the world. The injustices, the hatred, the greed, the pomposity, the degradation of sex, the exploitation of the poor, all these are loudly and vehemently condemned as the abuses of his age. They are so contrary to our baptismal life that the saint finds them nothing less than abomination. Yet, the knowledge of his weakness, the experience of his nothingness were it not for God’s Love, makes him show such kindness and understanding to sinners that they flock to him for reconciliation with their loving Father.

It is to the glory of this missionary that he is a man of his time, . . .

. . . a preacher for the people of his age. There are, therefore, expressions, thought-patterns of this saint which must be updated in accord with the on-going experience of the Christian community. The term “slave,” for example, though definitely scriptural, can be so misunderstood that its use would distort Montfort’s message. Although it is surprising how, for example, the saint’s Christocentric Mariology dovetails with the basic thought of the Second Vatican Council and with the Apostolic
Constitution of Pope Paul VI “Marialis Cultus,” nonetheless, fidelity to the Montfortian charism itself demands that his writings always be read in the light of the present insights and expressions of the magisterium.

Willing Become . . .

Yet, the basic direction of the life and thought of this missionary – the renewal of the Church through a new, lived-out affirmation of our baptism into Christ whereby we willingly become who we are, the slaves of Jesus in Mary, is, in Montfort’s eyes, nothing less than the Good News itself and speaks to Christians of all ages.

Moreover, other aspects of Montfortian Spirituality, especially his charismatic, bold proclamation of the Gospel, his identification with the oppressed, his joyful trust in Divine Providence, his stress on the role of the Holy Spirit, his fidelity to the Holy Father, a deeply contemplative active life, all these surely touch a sensitive nerve in today’s Christians. His life and spirituality appear to be more relevant today than they have been in the past. Numerous congregations and Apostolic Societies draw their inspiration from the writings and example of this great Saint.

What Father Faber said about one work of Montfort, . . .

. . . can be applied to the entire body of his writings: “If I may dare say so, there is a growing feeling of something inspired and supernatural about it as we go on studying it; and with that we cannot help experiencing after repeated readings of it, that its novelty never seems to wear off, nor its fulness to be diminished, nor the fresh fragrance and sensible fire of its unction to abate.”

. . . the Slaves of Jesus in Mary

May this English translation of the extant writings of Saint Louis Marie de Montfort strengthen us all in the perennial task of the renewal of the Church, for which the Father from Montfort so zealously dedicated his life.

Through the Spirit-filled preaching of one missionary, Saint Louis de Montfort, entire sections of France were renewed in their Catholic faith. The Church today calls for missionaries like him, whose life of deep union with Jesus through His Mother Mary will empower them to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus, the Power and Wisdom of the Father, so that through Mary the face of this earth may be renewed. Truly, an exalted vocation!