John Paul II tell :
For me, St Louis Grignion de Montfort is a significant person of reference who has enlightened me at important moments in life. (…)
By relating the Mother of Christ to the Trinitarian mystery, Montfort helped me to understand that the Virgin belongs to the plan of salvation, by the Father's will, as the Mother of the incarnate Word, who was conceived by her through the power of the Holy Spirit.(...)
I then realized that I could not exclude the Mother of the Lord from my life without disregarding the will of God-the-Trinity, who wanted to "begin and complete" the great mysteries of salvation history with the responsible and faithful collaboration of the humble Handmaid of Nazareth.
A Marian Spirituality that flows from the Trinity
Yes, the whole Christocentric and Marian spirituality taught by Montfort flows from the Trinity and leads back to it. In this connection, we are struck by his insistence on the action of the three divine Persons in Mary's regard.
- God the Father "gave his Only-begotten Son to the world only through Mary" and "wishes to have children through Mary until the end of the world" (Treaty 16, 29).
- God the Son "became man for our salvation but only in Mary and through Mary" and "wishes to form himself and, so to speak, incarnate himself every day in his members through his dear Mother" (Treaty nn. 16, 31).
- God the Holy Spirit "has communicated his unspeakable gifts to Mary, his faithful Spouse" and "wishes to form elect for himself in her and through her" (Treaty nn. 25, 34).
The All-Holy One leads us to the Trinity
Mary therefore appears as the place of the love and action of the Persons of the Trinity, and Montfort presents her in a relational perspective:
"Mary is entirely relative to God. Indeed, I might well call her the relation to God. She exists only with reference to God"
(Treaty of the True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, n. 225).
For this reason, the All-Holy One leads us to the Trinity.
By repeating "Totus tuus" to her every day and living in harmony with her, we can attain an experience of the Father in confidence and boundless love (cf. Treaty, nn. 169, 215), docility to the Spirit (cf. Treaty, n. 258) and transformation of self into the likeness of Christ (cf. Treaty nn. 218-221).
Trinitarian faith totally pervades Montfort’s prayers to Mary
In Grignion de Montfort's vision, however, Trinitarian faith totally pervades his prayers to Mary:
"Hail Mary, well-beloved daughter of the eternal Father, admirable Mother of the Son, most faithful spouse of the Holy Spirit, glorious temple of the Blessed Trinity"
(Methods for Saying the Rosary, n. 15).
Similarly, in the Prayer for Missionaries, addressed to the three divine Persons and focused on the last times of the Church, Mary is contemplated as "the mountain of God" (n. 25), the place of holiness that lifts us up to God and transforms us in Christ.
John Paul II
ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER
TO THE PARTICIPANTS
IN THE 8th MARIOLOGICAL COLLOQUIUM
Friday, 13 October 2000
Read more about Montfort...
Print
