In par. 95, I like how the structure of the Hail Mary was pointed out. "St. Louis uses the structure of the Hail Mary (Luke 1:41) to emphasize that blessing Mary first leads to blessing Jesus more perfectly." "Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy women, Jesus." Mary as a blessed women brought us Jesus. Thank you, Mary!
At the end of par. 99 the author us the True Devotion lifestyle involves in the basic Christian duty to:
--avoid mortal sin;
--practice mortification;
--pray and fast. I guess that Lent is really just practice for the rest of the year. I am really blessed that our pastor continually reminds us of these three elements of the spiritual life in his daily homilies. Now to live it out.
Par. 100 includes what I felt could be a prayer for ourselves as well as for our loved ones who are away from the church. "Lord, give _____(my family members) the intention of obtaining from God, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the grace of contrition and pardon of sins and the grace to conquer their (his/her/my) evil habits, and not to remain quietly in the state of sin."
Par. 101 was music to my ears. Sometimes I find I have committed to too much and it all becomes words from the lips not from the head and heart. Here we are warned that it would be better for a person to choose a few prayers and fulfill them with faithfulness and love, in spite of the world, the devil and the flesh. It is part of a warning but I guess it applies to me. The author adds explaining we should .... "practice one devotion well, with a renewed resolved of the will and with frequent recourse to spiritual direction and making a good examination of conscience."
The above is part of my desire to stick with this book. In the past I have read half a book and then been given another book and read part of that and it continues. I have a huge bookshelf of half read spiritual books. After reading the last book on True Devotion I felt called to continue that focus so I am committed to reading this book and to making, with Mary's help, True Devotion a focus in my life.
The book we are using for this blog "The Echo of God" is a commentary for beginners on St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort's True Devotion to Mary. The entire purpose of the blog is to help each of us to grow in our love for Jesus and His and our mother, Mary. The Echo of God will assist any reader who finds difficulty in appropriating Montfort's sublime teaching on the role of Mary in the formation of saints for the latter times.
1 comment:
Yes, Ruth, in that section about the false devotions....I also took the warning of not trying to do too many Mary devotions and then failing at all or getting frustrated and abandoning them...but set my mind to do at least one well. And in the section about the presumptuous devotees....the presumption that "God is good and merciful; that He has not made us to condemn us everlasingly..." I've heard that said numerous times and I shudder. But I can't just point my finger at others. Do I feel "safe" because of my efforts, rather than humbly realizing how I offend my God?
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