This French Saint who lived in the 17th and 18th Century was
born in Brittany, which to this day, remains as one of the French
regions with strongest adhesion to the Catholic Faith.
Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort was a student at the
Jesuit Thomas Becket College in Rennes, followed
by studies at the Sorbonne University in Paris, then he
completed his many years of theological studies at
Saint Sulpice, also Paris,
where he was ordained priest in 1700.
He is considered to be the pioneer of the field of
Mariology;
insisting that we have to go to Mary,
the Mother of Christ,
Mother of God, who brings us to Christ Himself.
That just like in the natural order of things a child
has a mother and a father,
in the divine and supernatural sphere, we have
both a Mother and a Father.
His faith, and the way he lived it out, led him to
give away his belongings to beggars, so he would quite
literally depend on God to provide for his survival.
This radical spirit manifested itself in an appearance
of poverty, ragged clothes etc, and he wasn't always
welcomed by the
episcopal authorities for this reason, he was mistrusted
because he fell outside the parameters of the norm of
what was seen as respectability,
in fact he had no interest in that at all.
Judging others, something which Our Lord Jesus Christ
forbade us to do, has always been present in the Church,
from the very beginning, it started with Our Lord Himself,
who was judged and condemned to death on a Cross;
He who was totally innocent.
Father Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort led a vagabond
life style, he totally identified with the poor, sick and those
shunned by society, just like Jesus Himself did.
The power of his preaching brought thousands back to the
faith, but it also aroused jealousy and fear, and there were
attempts to kill him.
His most famous written works include "True devotion to Mary",
"The Secret of Mary", and "Love of Eternal Wisdom", and
"Preparation for Total Consecration".
Myself being on a search to deepen, learn, understand more
about my own Catholic faith, to which I had converted as an
adult, to this end set out to participate in retreats in France,
and it was only during these, I found that they were based
on the teachings of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort.
I can say for sure that this did indeed have a profound effect
on me, my life, my faith.
Later on again, pushed by an internal inspiration to do more
for the Church, to engage myself more, I felt called to
join the Legion of Mary.
And again, it was only after having done so, that I realized
that, although the Legion was founded and built by the
person of Frank Duff,
it was the teachings of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de
Montfort which was it's spiritual inspiration and base.
A total surrender to the will of God, a complete dependence
on His providence for us, Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de
Montfort used the word "slave" to describe our relationship
with Our Saviour.
"Slave" in the loving sense that we totally belong to Him,
we are loved by Him, we are redeemed by Him.
Devotion to the Mother of God, daily recitation of the Rosary,
frequent Communion and Confession, reading the Word of God,
meditating on it.
Us Catholics are lucky to have Saints; by their application
of the Word into their daily lives they were sanctified, and
this is the very goal of all Catholics; our personal sanctification.
The implementation of the teachings of Jesus in our
personal lives, in order to improve ourselves,
and to come closer to the presence of God.
Others will follow, because then it will no longer be we who live,
but the One who is much much greater that any of us, who lives.
