Beware! The True Devotion is a trap!

[The Historian]

I was recently reading some words by Blessed Columba Marmion, one of the greatest spiritual directors of the 20^th century.  In fact, one of the greatest spiritual directors in all of the Church’s history.  God speed the day when he’s declared a Doctor of the Church!  But something he said greatly upset me.  He did not appreciate Saint Louis Marie de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary.  He found it exaggerated.  He added the caveat that perhaps he just was not graced by the Holy Ghost to have a calling to this devotion (and did encourage his correspondent to pursue it).  But I found myself in a turmoil.  How could this man, who loved our Blessed Lady, who wrote such beautiful words on her, who placed an obligation on Catholics to be devoted to her, reject what is the best devotion to her?  I felt like my friend, one of my best friends, had confided a dark and secret sin to me.

 

It made me re-examine the devotion of the holy slavery.  And I came to the conclusion that the devotion is a snare and a trap because the true devotion is no devotion at all.

 

It is so much more.  It is a vocation.  When we make our consecration to this Queen of Hearts, when we surrender our heart to her, we take on a character that is religious in nature.  Over the past couple of years I have struggled in the practise of my consecration to her.  I have waxed and I have waned.  I have been an inconsistent devotee.  I remember when I was so on fire with passion to practise it.  I remember when rosaries were said so easily and with such peace of mind!  Oh, how I miss those days.  Increasingly I lost touch with my consecration.  Oh, I still said my daily renunciation, I still tried to say my beads.  But I fell into the great trap I spoke of above.  I began to view it as a mere devotion.  Which means I began to compartmentalise it.  “Okay, Lauds at 7am, rosary at 10am, Divine Mercy chaplet at 3pm,” etc.  We put our devotions into these little boxes.  It’s how we manage them, it’s how we keep track of them.  We have devotions for assisting at Mass which we use only at Mass, we have specific authors and books that we read at various times of the year (Faber at Advent, Martinez at Pentecost, etc.).  And I put my consecration into its own little devotional box, where I’d try and set aside a little time a day to practise it.  And because of this I lost track of it.  It has not been in my life what it was meant to be.

 

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is necessary for us if we are to obtain eternal salvation.  We cannot win our crown in heaven without her aid.  If any man or woman snubs devotion to her, if they choose not to love her, then their souls will be lost.  But this specific devotion is not for everyone just as not everyone is called to the same vocation.  It is a particular devotion that only some are called to.  This does not mean that not anyone can practise it.  It is a universal devotion, everyone is called, but few are chosen.  And we still must spread the word of this state of holy slavery.  But I am no longer bemused or alarmed by a person’s rejection of this devotion in their own lives (as long as they do not reject it for improper reasons).  As long as they love Our Lady, and practise some devotion to her, then well and good.  If the Holy Ghost calls them, then they will find their way to kneeling before her altar.

 

But some of us have been graced by the Holy Ghost to consecrate ourselves to His beloved spouse and this consecration demands a radical conversion within us.  We cannot, we must not, treat this consecration as a mere devotion.  Imagine if a Dominican viewed his Dominican vocation and vows as a mere devotion!  Imagine if a Benedictine viewed his state of life as a mere devotion!  It has to consume our lives.  It has to define our lives.  As a Franciscan is defined by his evangelical vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, we must be defined by our consecration of our entire selves, all of our earthly and spiritual possessions, to the care of this sweet Queen of Mercy.  I often wondered to myself.  “How do I obey Mary?  What does that even mean?”  Yes, it can be hard to grasp how we are to obey her when we cannot see her.  I don’t know about you, but she’s never personally left me a memo asking me to do this or that.  But I think, now, I do know what it means.  It means to view Our Lady as our superior, as our Mother Superior.  She is the prioress of our very own little priory.  It’s taken me near enough 5 years to realise this vocational character of the true devotion.  I am sure many of you have already seen this truth.  I am sure many more of you are asking me why I missed something so obvious!  But to my fellow slaves who many find themselves struggling in the practise of this consecration perhaps you have experienced the same troubles that I have had.  And perhaps these words can help you work through your struggles.  In Mary, through Mary, and with Mary.

[Winchester]

[Basilisa Marie]

How could this man, who loved our Blessed Lady, who wrote such beautiful words on her, who placed an obligation on Catholics to be devoted to her, reject what is the best devotion to her?

Um, because it's not objectively the best devotion to her, and Catholics are totally free to like or dislike a particular devotion? 

[The Historian]

Um, because it's not objectively the best devotion to her, and Catholics are totally free to like or dislike a particular devotion? 

​I suppose you stopped reading my post at that point.

But objectively I would argue that it is the best of all devotions to her, outside of the liturgical celebrations in her honour.

[Gabriela]

The OP reads like a private revelation. Or some kind of official pronouncement.

It shouldn't.

[veritasluxmea]

I've read Marian books (such as from St Maximilian Kolbe) that have stated something along a similar line, but not exactly the same way you understand it. It's both a devotion and a spiritual reality of the proper way to honor our mother. When you keep in mind that she's co-redemptrix and how Jesus approaches the world, it just kind of makes sense. I don't know about vocation in the practical sense of the word. Interesting how you came around to that understanding though...

Bl. Columba seems to have the spirit of True Devotion while not actually liking the book. That's fine. I find the way True Devotion is written hard to understand, 33 Day to Morning Glory by Fr. Gaitley was a lot easier for me to read and had more "updated" information from recent Saints. (Although there are indulgences attached to True Devotion and that specific consecration prayer so I should probably try it anyways lol.)

[The Historian]

The OP reads like a private revelation. Or some kind of official pronouncement.

It shouldn't.

"​I don’t know about you, but she’s never personally left me a memo asking me to do this or that."  I think that definitively rules out any claim to private revelation.  I have never experienced any such thing nor make a claim to have experienced any such thing.  But, incidentally, if it were a private revelation, I would be morally obligated to heed it.  As it stands I consider it an inspiration from the Holy Ghost.  We Catholics still believe in divine inspirations, yes?  So I don't see why it shouldn't sound like such.

Nor is it an official pronouncement.  You don't have to appreciate my style.  Just chalk it up to excitement at finally having "grasped" a monumental part of my spiritual life which I am choosing to share with my fellows in slavery.

[The Historian]

I've read Marian books (such as from St Maximilian Kolbe) that have stated something along a similar line, but not exactly the same way you understand it. It's both a devotion and a spiritual reality of the proper way to honor our mother. When you keep in mind that she's co-redemptrix and how Jesus approaches the world, it just kind of makes sense. I don't know about vocation in the practical sense of the word. Interesting how you came around to that understanding though...

Bl. Columba seems to have the spirit of True Devotion while not actually liking the book. That's fine. I find the way True Devotion is written hard to understand, 33 Day to Morning Glory by Fr. Gaitley was a lot easier for me to read and had more "updated" information from recent Saints. (Although there are indulgences attached to True Devotion and that specific consecration prayer so I should probably try it anyways lol.)

​I'm only fleetingly familiar with Saint Maximillian, to be honest.  I have read some selections of his works, but I've always focused more on the writings from the French School and those who followed in their footsteps (like Faber, Manning, Marmion, etc.).  Of course I don't mean to use vocation in the strict sense, but in a more general meaning.

You're right about some people possessing the spirit of the True Devotion.  I think most observant Catholics fall in to this category.  It wasn't something I realised in my earlier years.  There was either the True Devotion or there was no real love for Our Lady.  Whilst I still believe that the True Devotion is the superior practise of love towards her, the preeminent act of love we can offer her, that doesn't necessarily mean that lesser acts of devotion are not merit worthy or pleasing to her or that they will not assist one in their eternal salvation - which cannot be accomplished without her.

[HopefulHeart]

I agree that not everyone is called to make the Marian consecration and that true devotion is a way of living rather than a set of pious observances. As someone who has made the consecration using St. Louis de Montfort's True Devotion, I understand that it is difficult to treat true devotion as a spiritual lifestyle and not as a mere practice. I find it helpful to think of devotion outside of its strictly religious definition of a pious practice. Instead, I think of it in its broader sense, as a dedication, a commitment, and an attachment to Our Lady.

I do believe that it is hyperbolic to call true devotion "a snare and a trap." St. Louis de Montfort shows no evidence of trying to mislead. He makes clear in his writings that devotion is meant to influence every aspect of a person's life. In Part Two, Chapter One, Article Two of True Devotion, he explains that true devotion is "a perfect renewal of the vows or promises of holy Baptism." He treats it as a vocation and does not at all understate the gravity of devotion. He also seems to be presenting the consecration not as an absolute necessity, but as a "particular practice" of true devotion.

[hotpink]

I think it's in the name, calling something a "true devotion" and having it be only one facet of a devotion to anything is disengenuious.  

Unless the pope said otherwise (thats the one who makes all the Catholic decisions, right?) then aren't Catholics free to have true devotions without this Montefort guy?

[Ash Wednesday]

Gonna take me a while to process this post -- but I'll have more to say about it later.

[The Historian]

I do believe that it is hyperbolic to call true devotion "a snare and a trap." St. Louis de Montfort shows no evidence of trying to mislead. He makes clear in his writings that devotion is meant to influence every aspect of a person's life. In Part Two, Chapter One, Article Two of True Devotion, he explains that true devotion is "a perfect renewal of the vows or promises of holy Baptism." He treats it as a vocation and does not at all understate the gravity of devotion. He also seems to be presenting the consecration not as an absolute necessity, but as a "particular practice" of true devotion.

​Oh, of course I'm speaking hyperbole here.  My intention is not to say that Saint Louis ever for a moment misled anyone.  I am simply describing my own experiences throughout my years of consecration.  It was a pitfall I fell in to.  And because the snare of looking at the holy slavery as a mere devotional exercise caught me, I faltered and my spiritual life suffered.

Have you ever read the Bishop of Salisbury's preface to the True Devotion?  I think Father Faber reiterated this point as well.  That is, that a single cursory glance is never enough.  I've re-read the treatise multiple times.  And every time, I find something new, just as they predicted.

[HopefulHeart]

​Oh, of course I'm speaking hyperbole here.  My intention is not to say that Saint Louis ever for a moment misled anyone.  I am simply describing my own experiences throughout my years of consecration.  It was a pitfall I fell in to.  And because the snare of looking at the holy slavery as a mere devotional exercise caught me, I faltered and my spiritual life suffered.
Have you ever read the Bishop of Salisbury's preface to the True Devotion?  I think Father Faber reiterated this point as well.  That is, that a single cursory glance is never enough.  I've re-read the treatise multiple times.  And every time, I find something new, just as they predicted.

​Okay, I understand what you're saying. I wasn't sure if the hyperbole was intentional or not.

I do not think I have read the bishop's preface. My edition of True Devotion (published by TAN) has a preface by Fr. Faber. I have read True Devotion twice, and there is definitely something new to be gained from each reading. It's what my English professor would call a "bottomless" work.

[Eowyn]

​A thousand props to this one.

[Ash Wednesday]

I made a consecration this year. It's probably also worth noting that St. Louis de Montfort and all the saints concept of "devotion" is not the "devotion" that many Catholics in modern times associate with the word -- just reciting tidy prayers in a pamphlet, like you said, compartmentalizing it, and going on with your day. Devotion in the eyes of the saints is a total giving of self and permeates your entire life.

At the end of the day, despite his frankness and honesty, Blessed Marmion certainly had enough appreciation for the devotion to encourage his correspondent to pursue it.