Four Basic Means of Acquiring Christ, Divine Wisdom According to Montfort

St. Louis-Marie of Montfort and His Spirituality

The Four Basic Means of Acquiring Christ, Divine Wisdom According to the Teachings of St. Louis-Marie de Montfort

St. Louis-Marie de Montfort


St. Louis-Marie de Montfort lived in the years 1673-1716 A.D. In his missionary years, Montfort conducted numerous parish missions all over France. These missions eventually led to the founding of three religious congregations: the Company of Mary, the Daughters of Wisdom and the Brothers of St. Gabriel. All congregations follow Montfort's teachings and spirituality.

The basic spiritual intuition of St. Louis-Marie de Montfort is that Jesus is the Divine Wisdom from which no earthly knowledge nor philosphy can equal. This intuition is based on a passage in Scripture from the letter to the Corinthians: "For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" [1 Corinthians 1:22-24].

As St. Louis-Marie de Montfort was caught up with this truth, he now gives four means and ways of acquiring Christ, Divine Wisdom, in Christian life.

Four Means of Acquiring Christ, Divine Wisdom

• Ardent desire for wisdom
• Constant and continuous prayer
• Universal mortification - self-denial and renouncing the world and the flesh
• A loving and genuine devotion to the Blessed Virgin

First means: Ardent desire


According to St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, the first means for acquiring Divine Wisdom is to have an ardent desire for it. This is basic to anything we want to acquire in spiritual life or temporal life. To have an ardent desire will increase the motivation to search for that which all hearts want. Following this basic logic, St. Louis-Marie de Montfort translates this truth: if one does not hunger, thirst or ardently desire Christ, divine Wisdom, then it is not likely one will be able to be in union with Him of wisdom.

Second means: Continuous prayer


The second means taught by St. Louis-Marie de Montfort is a truth also based in the gospel. In a gospel passage, Jesus said that all one needs to do is to ask, and you shall receive; knock, and the door shall be opened up to you; seek, and you shall find. And one should not desist or give up on prayer, to ask, to knock, and to seek. To persevere in prayer is important if one is to receive what God promises. There is a parable that illustrates the importance of perseverance in prayer. This parable tells the story of a man who had a visit from a friend near midnight. That friend needed loaves of bread. But the man was already in bed with his family, and has his residence all locked up. So he said "no". But because of the persistence of his friend, he acceded to the request, and gave his friend the loaves he needed. Also there is a gospel saying: "If we who are sinful and evil, know how to give good things to our children, how much more will the ever Goodness of the Father give His most Holy Spirit to those who ask Him."

Third means: Universal mortification


St. Louis-Marie de Montfort belongs to the classic tradition of sanctity that truly believes in the teaching: "if you wish to follow Me, you must deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me [even to Calvary]". Montfort teaches plainly that if one follows the wisdom of the flesh, the wisdom of the world, and the wisdom proferred by the Evil One, then one will not for certain acquire Jesus, the Divine Wisdom of one's life. What is important is self-denial - a self-denial that crucifies one's flesh of its base desires, and renouncing everything in the world that goes against the wisdom of Christ. So it is important to resist the temptations to earthly power, the flesh, the acquisition of excessive wealth. For these can weaken one's strength against the virtues of humility, purity and greed. The liturgical season of Lent can help anyone assess that which truly matters in life: a way of life that is responsible and in the service of God (in work, life and family). And to avoid all else that can hinder one's acquiring of Christ, Divine Wisdom.

Fourth means: A true, genuine and loving devotion to Mary

This is St. Louis-Marie de Montfort classic means of obtaining Christ, Divine Wisdom. He teaches how important to make one's devotion to Mary true and genuine. He stresses this because of his awareness to false devotions - those which do not lead to commitment to Christ as Eternal Wisdom and Divine Wisdom. For St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, true devotion to Mary is a devotion that makes Christ as the object of the devotion and one that leads to make a decisive desire to consecrate one's whole self and life - past, present and future - to the will of God through the hands of the Blessed Mother. For St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, this true devotion to the Blessed Virgin, is the greatest means of acquiring Divine Wisdom. Just as Mary said YES to the Lord at the Annunciation, and received in her womb the Son of God, so she is generously willing to give Christ, divine Wisdom, to all who ask it from her.

St. Bernadette Soubirous & the Patron Saints of France

St. Bernadette Soubirous and the Patron Saints of France

Patron Saints

Catholic tradition assigns a patron saint as a name at baptism and also at confirmation. This practice still prevails and is highly recommended by the Church and many religious educators.

Besides patron saints as names for individuals, saints are also adopted and appointed by popes as patrons of four groups: (1) parishes and other Church institutions; (2) for dioceses; (3) countries; and (4) a wide variety of trades and professions. It was Pope Pius XII who particularly fostered this practice.

For France as a nation, many patron saints have been assigned: Our Lady of the Assumption, St. Denis, St. Bernadette Soubirous, St. Joan of Arc, St. Martin of Tours, St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Remigius.

St. Bernadette Soubirous

Her feast day is celebrated every February 11. Born in Lourdes, France, St. Bernadette lived in abject poverty with her parents. Uneducated, she suffered from asthma. On February 11, 1858 A.D., while collecting firewood with two other girls on the banks of the Gave River near Lourdes, she heard the sound of a strong wind. This led her to see a cave filled with light. That light was an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After seeing the vision, she reported it to others, but her report provoked skepticism. Still, St. Bernadette continued and persisted in her visits to the Blessed Mother in the cave from February 18 up to March 4. In one of her visits, Mary asked St. Bernadette to pray for the conversion of sinners, and to tell the priests to build a chapel at the site. Because of St. Bernadette's witness, the Church authorities eventually believed and soon Lourdes became one of the great pilgrimage centers of modern Christendom. The shrine at Lourdes attract millions of visitors every year. And miracles of healing are being reported at the shrine, for the waters of the spring are miraculous - causing healing of both body and soul. St. Bernadette died on April 16, 1879 A.D. at the age of thirty-five. Her body remains incorrupt to this day attesting to the great power of God's grace.

St. Denis

October 9 is the feast day of St. Denis, bishop and martyr. What is known of St. Denis is his birth in Italy and his commission by Pope Fabian to be a missionary to Gaul in 250 A.D. As St. Denis performed his mission in Gaul, he converted many people to the Christian faith. He was made the first bishop of Paris. With the help of his companion priest, St. Rusticus, and the deacon, St. Eleutherius, St. Denis converted many inhabitants around Paris. Since not all within the environs of Paris were Christian, St. Denis and his two companions were arrested. All three were imprisoned and beheaded on October 9 near Paris during the persecution of Christians by Decius. The bodies of these three martyrs were thrown into the Seine River, but soon recovered by their converts. All three were given a Christian burial. A chapel was built over their tomb and later became the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Denis. This also became the burial place of the Kings of France.

St. Joan of Arc

A third patron saint of France is St. Joan of Arc. Her feast day is celebrated every May 30. As a young girl, Joan received heavenly messages from voices she heard. These voices from God called her to lead the army of France against the British, and help the King of France reconquer the kingdom. St. Joan was victorious in her battles, but was captured by the British and burned to the stake as a "witch". They believed that the voices Bernadette heard were from the Evil One. After Bernadette's martyrdom at the stake, her mother worked to reverse the charge against Joan. Eventually, Joan was considered innocent of all the accusations and charges that caused her martyrdom. She was canonized in 1920 A.D.

Other patron saints of France

The other patron saints of France are: Our Lady of the Assumption; St. Martin of Tours, an outstanding pioneer of Western monasticism before St. Benedict; St. Therese of Lisieux, "the saint of the little way"; and St. Remigius, a bishop held in great veneration for his holiness, learning, and miracles.

Our Lady of Lourdes (feast: Feb 11) & Other Marian Apparitions

Six Popular Apparitions of Mary

Introduction

There are many recorded apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in different parts of the world. Of these apparitions, she appears often to children and youths of different races and cultures. The messages she presents to these young people are for the Church as a whole, but the revelation was made either public or private. In some apparitions, the vision of the Blessed Virgin is accompanied by miraculous signs and wonders.

Because the revelations and the signs still have to be authenticated, the Catholic Church takes a very conservative stance towards all these apparitions. Any new Marian apparition does not receive approbation at once but will take time (often years or centuries) before all studies and investigations have been made by the Church authorities. The Church authorities have as their norm for authenticity the nearness of the apparition messages to the gospel teaching. If the messages of the visionaries who saw the Blessed Mary repeats what the gospel teaches and says nothing beyond it, then the apparition may be valued as genuine and true.

Six popular Marian apparitions that have received approbation

There are many popular Marian apparitions authenticated by the Church. This blog post will limit itself to six apparitions that have worldwide appeal and popularity: Lourdes, La Salette, Mt. Carmel, the Miraculous Medal, Fatima and Guadalupe. All of these apparitions happened in countries of the European continent; the only exception is the apparition at Guadalupe, Mexico.

Lourdes

On February 11, 1858 A. D., the Blessed Virgin appeared to a young girl named Bernadette Soubirous. Bernadette saw the vision of Mary in a grotto of Lourdes, France, while she and two other girls were collecting firewood out in the countryside. The vision presented a beatiful lady dressed in white, wearing a blue belt with a rosary in her hands, and two golden roses at her feet. At first, Bernadette was unaware who this young lady was. When she asked her name, the lady replied: I am the Immaculate Conception. The Lady then told Bernadette of the spring that was miraculous and has healing powers. This grotto at Lourdes soon attracted millions of people who go there to pray and drink the miraculous water that healed many people - both physically and spiritually.

La Salette

On September 19, 1846 A.D., the Blessed Mother appeared to two young cowherds on a mountain of the French Alps in a village called La Salette. These two young children saw Mary dressed in white and weeping bitterly throughout their conversation. The message she imparted to the children is a message calling the people to repent and show greater respect for God's law, especially the first three commandments of the 10 commandments. This apparition of the Blessed Mother at La Salette produced many La Salette Shrines and Pilgrimage Centers throughout the Catholic world.

Mt. Carmel

On July 16, 1521 A.D., the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Simon Stock, the head of the Carmelite Brothers in England. She gave to St. Simon a Brown Scapular as a sign of her special protection. The Scapular is accompanied by a promise that all "who will wear it devoutly will have a happy death". Another favor attached to this Brown Scapular is the promise that the Blessed Mother will assist and console all the children of Carmel detained in Purgatory - speedily releasing them on the first Saturday after their death. (note: The Carmelites trace their roots to 83 A.D. when the first church dedicated to the Immaculate Mother of God was founded on Mt. Carmel, a beatiful promontory in Israel facing the Mediterrenean Sea. Since then, many foundations of Carmel spread all over Europe.)

Miraculous Medal

In 1830 A.D,, when Catherine Labouré was a 24-year-old novice of the Daughters of Charity in France, she saw the Virgin Mary three times. The first apparition occured in July 18, 1830. It was in November 27 when the Virgin Mary showed Catherine the "Miraculous Medal", and commissioned the saint to have one made to spread its devotion. This apparition of Mary is a private revelation and only Father Aladel, the spiritual director of St. Catherine Labouré, knew about it. In time, Catherine gave word so that the devotion would spread. The Miraculous Medal shows the image of Mary atop a white ball with rays of light emanating from her hands. Surrounding this image are the words, "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee." The Blessed Mother gives the assurance that whoever wears the medal with confidence will obtain great graces from heaven.

Fatima

On October 13, 1917 A.D., a great miracle happened. As 70,000 people watched apprehensively at the scene of three young children in Fatima, Portugal, the sun suddenly whirled like a gigantic fire-wheel and started to make a plunge at a dizzying speed towards the earth. It was a rainy day and the suddenly made all things dry. This was the culmination of a series of mysterious events in which the Blessed Mother gave her messages to three young Portuguese children [starting May 13, 1917]. The messages were about events which were to have earth-shaking consequences. Sister Lucia, who recently passed away, holds the secret of those messages. She has revealed these messages only to the papacy.

Guadalupe

At dawn of December 9, 1531 A.D., on his way to church, Juan Diego saw the Blessed Mother shining like the sun and stepping over precious stones. She said that it is her wish that a church be built there where she could show all her love, compassion, help and protection. Juan Diego was involved in the textile industry and was a simple layman. When Juan Diego carried the message of the vision to the bishop, the bishop did not believe. The bishop asked for a sign from Juan Diego. The Blessed Mother then told Juan Diego to wrap all the roses he could find on the hill in a mantle, and then present it to the bishop. Juan Diego did as Mary told him. When he opened the mantle to present the roses to the bishop, the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary appeared on it. And so the bishop believed, and a church was built on the place of the apparitions. That was in Guadalupe, a locality in Mexico.

Summary:

The Catholic faith always stresses that the Blessed Virgin Mary has a unique role in the salvation of humanity. This role we see through the messages she gives in her apparitions to people all over the world. In her messages, the Blessed Virgin only stresses what the gospel teaches: to repent of personal sins and to return to the Lord in prayer, fasting and penance. Those who are not Catholic often do not see the special role that Mary has in the salvation of the world. It is through her appearances, and the messages to her visionaries, that reveal to the world her role in bringing back people to Jesus, her Son.