Our Lady’s role in our salvation and sanctification is irreplaceable and most necessary in these times we live in. It is a great loss to the Christian to not take her for one’s mother and a mediatrix with her Son. Our Lady is the shortest, easiest and quickest path to Christ and Christian holiness. In St. Louis de Montfort’s treatise on true devotion to our Lady, he recommends a particular interior practice for those who wish to draw closer to Christ and that is doing all things through, with, in, and by Mary.
In paragraph 259, St. Louis de Montfort advises that the person who wishes to be lead by the spirit of Mary must do a few things:
1) Should renounce his own spirit, his own views and his own will before doing anything, for example, before making meditation, celebrating or attending Mass, before Communion. For the darkness of our own spirit and the evil tendencies of our own will and actions, good as they may seem to us, would hinder the holy spirit of Mary were we to follow them.
2) We should give ourselves up to the spirit of Mary to be moved and directed as she wishes. We should place and leave ourselves in her virginal hands, like a tool in the hands of a craftsman or a lute in the hands of a good musician. We should cast ourselves into her like a stone thrown into the sea. This is done easily and quickly by a mere thought, a slight movement of the will or just a few words as, “I renounce myself and give myself to you, my dear Mother.” And even if we do not experience any emotional fervour in this spiritual encounter it is none the less real. It is just as if a person with equal sincerity were to say – which God forbid! – “I give myself to the devil.” Even though this were said without feeling any emotion, he would no less really belong to the devil.
3) From time to time during an action and after it, we should renew this same act of offering and of union. The more we do so, the quicker we shall grow in holiness and the sooner we shall reach union with Christ, which necessarily follows upon union with Mary, since the spirit of Mary is the spirit of Jesus.
So, we must…
- renounce our very selves,
- ask to belong to the spirit of Mary – which is the spirit of Jesus since she lived in perfect union and obedience to God the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit –
- and then finally, renew this offering and union frequently during the day.
St. Louis is also wise to remind us that regardless of whether or not we “feel” anything during our act of offering is irrelevant since really it is a choice and offering we make with our will.
Here is a little prayer that could be said each morning that reflects this interior practice:
Mother, I renounce…
my sins
my attachments
my affections
my thoughts
my words
my actions
my will
my perceptions
my judgments
my desires
my ideas
my plans
my spirit
and my life.
Mother, make me wholly yours. Give me…
your affections
your thoughts
your words
your actions
your will
your perceptions
your judgments
your desires
your ideas
your plans
your spirit
and your life.
All that you are seeks nothing but the glory and love of Jesus Christ your Son and this I want to make the sole purpose of my life and my death. Amen.
This, of course, can be repeated often throughout the day as St. Louis de Montfort suggests but in a shorter way: “Mother, I renounce myself; give me yourself.”
May the Holy Spirit teach us what it means to live out this Marian consecration more and more each day.
Image courtesy of Unsplash.
