Third Day: April 30, 2020
Today is our final day of introduction, and tomorrow (May 1st) we will begin the meditations. In today’s points we summarize what the consecration consists of and what are the commitments of this devotion. We will conclude with the testimony of St. John Paul the Great.
First, the recipients of the Treatise are the humble. The commitments are not many or tiring to follow. We must strive to penetrate the mystery of the Virgin Mary and this does not belong to the “sages” of the time of Saint Louis, but to the simple and the humble. Therefore Montfort will use rather simple language.
“Were I speaking to the so-called intellectuals of today, I would prove at great length by quoting the Holy Scripture, the holy Fathers, whose Latin passages I would refer to, and by several solid arguments, that I am now stating so simply…But I am speaking especially to the poor and simple who, being of good will and having more faith than the wise, believe more simply and more meritoriously.” (True Devotion, 26)
What will be presented about Our Lady is a mystery of Faith and only the humble of heart adhere to the mysteries of Faith.
Second: Concrete Commitments Once you manage to penetrate the wonderful secret of True Devotion to Mary, and become her servant—to be Christ’s, all other commitments will be easy for you.
a) The first and greatest commitment is to recognize the greatness of Mary according to what Faith teaches us and to love her profoundly. To reach this goal we propose this month-long preparation.
b) After this consecration you will have to live your spirituality doing all your exterior and interior works for Mary, with Mary and in Mary. Offering the fruit of your works daily so that she can distribute them to those whom she wants, and present them to Jesus. In other words, “giving” the merits of your prayers and sacrifices to Mary, so that she may present them to her Son and distribute them as she wishes.
c) The “slave of Mary,” trusting in her motherly protection, constantly invokes her patronage. You can do it in many ways, internal and external: reciting the Rosary, wearing a medal of Mary or a chain as a sign of your “dignity as a slave” as she herself declared herself a slave by answering the angel: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. (Lk 1:38)
Third: Fruits of this consecration Saint Louis promises that the fruit of this devotion is nothing less than eternal salvation! And that the road to reach Heaven, which is always the Cross, will become sweeter and easier to carry because next to us will be our Heavenly Mother and with her and for her we will carry it. If only everyone knew this gift!
“Oh! But my labor will be well rewarded if this little writing falls into the hands of a noble soul, a child of God and of Mary, if it shows and inspires in him, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the supreme value of the solid devotion to Mary, which I am about to describe! If I knew that my guilty blood could be used to bring into the heart the truths that I write in honor of my dear Mother and Sovereign Mistress, instead of ink, I would use it to write this letter.” (TD 112)
The Treatise is a true gift of God to reveal to us the mediation of Mary for our spiritual good. The prophecy that St. Louis Marie himself left in writing in the same booklet, and that was completed a century later, can help you to appreciate it better:
“I foresee many raging beasts, will come in fury to tear to pieces, with their diabolical teeth, this little writing and the one that the Holy Spirit made use of to write it, or at least they will cause it to lie hidden in the darkness and the silence of a chest, so that it will not be published…” (TD 114)
In fact, the manuscript of the Treatise was hidden for over a century. It was found in a chest during the turbulence of the French Revolution in 1842 and published for the first time in 1843.
Fourth: How do I actually prepare? During these coming thirty days, we propose a serene and simple way with which you will be able to prepare yourself sufficiently to become a “slave of love” of Jesus in Mary (for the reason of this title, see how the saint explains in paragraph 2441). It is a matter of preparing for a month, dedicating about 10 minutes each day to two points:
• The first is to consider a part of the True Devotion Treatise that we will summarize. We give the paragraph numbers that is considered, in case you prefer to read the text of the Treatise directly.
• The second point is to prepare yourself by considering some texts and reciting some prayers that we propose, always following the wise advice of St. Louis Marie.
It takes only a few minutes, so you should seek to be as recollected as possible. If you cannot be recollected, do not let yourselves be bound by scruples, rather try to observe the Lord’s precept: But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. (Mt 6:6). If one day you could not dedicate these 10 minutes you can spend more time the next day.
You will then have to make the effort to make this month of preparation every year, according to the indications of the Saint.2 We will also include an examination of conscience done by a Montfortian priest on the way of living the consecration, with which you can examine yourself throughout the year.
Conclusion: Totus tuus “I am all yours”
This Treatise has had an essential influence (i.e. a change of course, according to his words) in the spiritual life of Pope John Paul II. From this Treatise, other great saints like Saint Therese of Lisieux, Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe and Saint Hannibal of France have taken their Marian devotion. Mary has always formed her bravest soldiers; the fruit of giving oneself to her, in fact, is to receive her as a guide, protection and source of perseverance. Do you want to belong to the ranks of these great devotees? “This perspective encourages me and gives me hope for great success, that is, the formation of a legion of brave and valiant soldiers of Jesus and Mary, both men and women, who will fight the world, the devil and the corrupted nature, in the perilous times that are sure to come.” (TD 114)
If many embrace the True Devotion to Mary, we can rightly expect that Jesus will truly reign in the world. Such a Kingdom can come about only alongside His Mother.
There are many testimonies. We provide St. John Paul II’s personal testimony of the depth of this devotion:
“The reading of that book [referring to the Treatise] has given a decisive change in my life. I have said change, despite being a long internal journey that coincided with my clandestine preparation for the priesthood. Just then came this unique Treatise, one of those books that is not enough to ‘have read.’ I remember that I took it with me for a long time, also in the chemical factory, so its beautiful cover was stained with lime. I read and re-read certain passages continuously. I quickly realized that beyond the baroque form of the book, it spoke to something fundamental. It followed that the devotion of my childhood and also of my adolescence towards the Mother of Christ was replaced by a new attitude, a devotion coming from the depths of my faith, as well as from the very heart of the Trinitarian and Christological reality. Marian devotion molded in this way endures in me ever since. It is an integral part of my inner life and my spiritual theology.”3
May Jesus Christ reign through the Virgin Mary!
Religious Family of the Incarnate Word
Province of the Immaculate Conception, USA
NOTES:
[1] “Please note that I usually say ‘slave of Jesus in Mary,’ ‘slavery of Jesus in Mary.’ We might indeed say, as some have already been saying, ‘slave of Mary,’ ‘slavery of Mary.’ But I think it preferable to say ‘slave of Jesus in Mary.’” St. Louis Marie’s gives s few reasons for this in numbers 245-247 of True Devotion.
[2] See 233 of the Treatise.
[3] Saint John Paul II, quoted by André Frossard in “Do not be afraid.”