In True Devotion to Mary, this next section is one of my favorites because it speaks to our generation and the saints to come. I would suggest that St. Louis De Montfort is either a prophet, or at the very least he was given many prophetic insights from the Holy Spirit. When he was on this earth centuries ago, he had a special ability to write for the coming generations and to view the Blessed Mother through the lens of a future time.
I first learned of this great saint on the EWTN network’s show called Women of Grace, hosted by Johnnette Benkovic Williams. She read a few lines from True Devotion to Mary, and I was sold. I wondered why I’d never heard of St. Louis De Montfort before. Not once throughout my years in Catholic school and then later on as an adult had I ever heard a priest or a nun mention this holy man. And furthermore, why hadn’t I at least heard of his book, True Devotion to Mary? It took a laywoman on Mother Angelica’s network to introduce him to me
This next section of his prophetic book needs to be directly quoted in order to capture the essence of his message and keep his poetic flair intact. (If you haven’t yet read the previous posts, please do so before moving on to this one.) St. Louis De Montfort tells us about Mary’s relationship with the saints of the latter times. He writes:
I have said that this would come to pass, particularly at the end of the world and indeed presently, because the Most High with His holy Mother has to form for Himself great saints who shall surpass most of the other saints in sanctity as much as the cedars of Lebanon outgrow the little shrubs, as has been revealed to a holy soul whose life has been written by M. de Renty. (T.D. no. 47.)
When we read the words “the end of the world” we have to ask ourselves, does that pertain to a time such as this? And when St. Louis De Montfort tells us that God with the Blessed Mary has to form great saints, it makes us wonder why God has to form these great saints? Is God creating an army of warriors to fight against the infernal enemy and his minions, and is the Blessed Mother Mary the one who will lead these warriors through battle? We read that these saints “shall surpass most of the other saints in sanctity.” What makes the saints of the latter times stand out against most all of the other saints throughout history? And finally, who exactly is M. de Renty? By the way, when you get a chance, look up the “cedars of Lebanon” and you’ll find many biblical references, one of which is from Ps. 92:12.
St. Louis De Montfort continues:
These great souls, full of grace and zeal, shall be chosen to match themselves against the enemies of God, who shall rage on all sides; and they shall be singularly devout to our Blessed Lady, illuminated by her light, strengthened with her nourishment, led by her spirit, supported by her arm and sheltered under her protection, so that they shall fight with one hand and build with the other. With the one had they shall fight, overthrow and crush the heretics with their heresies, the schismatics with their schisms, the idolators with their idolatries and the sinners with their impieties. With the other hand they shall build (Esd. 4:7) the temple of the true Solomon and the mystical city of God, that is to say, the most holy Virgin, called by the Fathers the “Temple of Solomon” and the “City of God.” By their words and their examples they shall draw the whole world to true devotion to Mary. This shall bring upon them many enemies, but shall also bring many victories and much glory for God alone. (T.D. no. 48)
Mary in the Latter Times
The salvation of the world began through Mary, and through Mary it must be completed. St. Louis De Montfort tells us that Mary was hardly known in the first coming of Jesus Christ. He says that God kept her hidden so that people would not become “too strongly and too grossly” attached to her, as yet not fully comprehending the “Person of her Son” and instead becoming drawn to her through her exemplary beauty, including her exterior beauty. In fact, says St. Louis De Montfort, St. Denis the Areopagite wrote about Mary, saying that when he saw her he would have assumed she was “a divinity” because of her “secret charms and incomparable beauty.” He said that it was only his deep-rooted faith that allowed him to know otherwise. In Jesus Christ’s Second Coming, the Holy Spirit must reveal Mary and make her known to humanity so that “Jesus Christ may be known, loved and served.” The reasons why the Holy Spirit hid Mary during her life on earth, especially since the preaching of the Gospel where she was hardly known to anyone, no longer remain.
According to St. Louis De Montfort, God has chosen to have his humble masterpiece, Mary, be revealed and made known to all of humanity in these latter times. When she walked the earth, she was hidden in the world and considered herself lower than dirt. Now God wishes to have His masterpiece, who exists here on earth by grace and in Heaven by glory, cause those who are here on earth to glorify and praise Him. Mary is likened to the dawn of a new day who precedes and makes known Jesus Christ, the “Sun of Justice.” In order for Him to be known, she first must be made known. Mary is the way by which Jesus Christ was presented to the world the first time He came, and she will also be the way by which He is presented again through His Second Coming, only this time it will be in a different manner.
The souls who are going to shine forth in holiness must find Jesus Christ through the Immaculate Mary, who provides for us the perfect path by which to reach Him. However, if one does not seek her, one cannot find her. And we cannot seek and find her if we do not know her! And believe me, there are a lot of people who do not know Mary, at least not in the way that they should. This is why I’m dedicating so many posts to this topic and its inspiration, True Devotion to Mary. I’m trying to reach those who are either lukewarm toward the Blessed Mother, ignorant of her role in our salvation, or oblivious and even hostile toward her because they incorrectly assume that Catholics worship her. (There will be more on this in future posts.)
We may take delight in this next section of True Devotion to Mary, where St. Louis De Montfort’s words flow onto the page as if the Holy Spirit had written them Himself:
Mary must shine forth more than ever in mercy, in might and in grace, in these latter times: in mercy, to bring back and lovingly receive the poor strayed sinners who shall be converted and shall return to the Catholic Church; in might, against the enemies of God, idolators, schismatics, Mahometans, Jews and souls hardened in impiety, who shall rise in terrible revolt against God to seduce all those who shall oppose them and to make them fall by promises and threats; and finally, she must shine forth in grace, in order to animate and sustain the valiant solders and faithful servants of Jesus Christ, who shall battle for His interests. (T.D. no. 50)
There are a few interesting reminders and revelations in the above quote. First, we are to recognize the “poor strayed sinners” as souls who need mercy, and we must take pity on them rather than cast them off as the pathetic forgotten ones. That is most certainly not the Christian way—to dismiss them as lost and go on with our lives. And we’ve all been guilty of those negative sentiments now and then. Not one of us, including myself, can honestly say that we’ve never given up on a sinner. In fact, I will admit that it is extremely difficult at times for me to not lose hope in certain sinners because of their bullhead beliefs, terrible pride, and absolute refusal to know the truth, even when it’s staring them in the face! There are also those sinners who have done some unthinkable wicked things, and it would seem that they are doomed to live in darkness, both here and in eternity. But that isn’t for us to judge! We have no idea what the Lord has in store for them, and if no one is praying for their conversion, then how on earth are they supposed to find Jesus? Mary is the way to their hearts, whether they want to realize that or not. We need to turn to her and ask her to intercede on their behalf, so that if they do end up leaving this earth in sin, perhaps at the very last second, in the last breath that they draw, she will show them her face and make them know her Son.
Another interesting observation that I think is worth noting from the quoted section above is that “Mahometans” are Muslims. When I first read the word “Mahometans” in True Devotion to Mary, I had no idea what it meant. (More on this in future posts.) And finally, I’m sure we all know of some hardened souls who are currently rising up against the Lord, lashing out at Him and declaring themselves little gods, or at least one would perceive it to be that way, based on their words and their despicable behavior. We are surrounded by people who have made, and are currently making, all kinds of false promises and threatening us when we don’t agree to succumb to their demands. Notice the part about “make them fall by promises and threats.” Where are we seeing that in the world today?
We are Mary’s army and the “valiant soldiers and faithful servants of Jesus Christ” who will face the enemies head-on and bring much glory to Almighty God through Mary. I think this is a perfect way to end this post, and I will leave you with another beautifully written passage by our dear St. Louis De Montfort:
And lastly, Mary must be terrible to the devil and his crew, as an army ranged in battle, principally in these latter times, because the devil, knowing that he has but little time, and now less than ever, to destroy souls, will every day redouble his efforts and his combats. He will presently raise up cruel persecutions and will put terrible snares before the faithful servants and true children of Mary, whom it gives him more trouble to conquer than it does to conquer others. (T.D. no. 50)
P.S. – Please stay tuned for my next post, which will start out with an in-depth explanation of what the devil is currently doing to attack Mary’s children and how we can best arm ourselves for battle.
