20120903 Preacher points to Mary 孝敬聖母的傳道者
St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716), like St. Maximilian Kolbe, promoted consecration to Our Lady.
As a young man, St. Louis aspired to preach missions among the poor; he also developed a strong devotion to Our Lady.
At 19 he made a vow to live only on alms. He was so poor that sometimes beggars would offer handouts to him.
After his ordination to the holy priesthood in June 1700, St. Louis’s desire for preaching grew even stronger. He made a pilgrimage to Rome and expressed his desire to Pope Clement XI, who bestowed on him the title “Apostolic Missionary.”
This title allowed St. Louis to travel from place to place preaching missions. He was a successful missioner, and was known as “the good Father from Montfort.”
Missioner of Mary
St. Louis promoted devotion to Our Lady and wrote several books on the subject. His works include: True Devotion to Mary, The Secret of Mary, and The Secret of the Rosary.
St. Louis promoted total consecration to Jesus through Mary. He advised people to spend 33 days in preparation for the consecration. The first 12 days focus on emptying oneself of the spirit of the world in penance and mortification.
From the 13th to the 19th day the focus is on the understanding of self and of one’s sins. The focus from the 20th to the 26th day is understanding the Blessed Virgin. And from the 27th day to the 33rd day, the focus is on understanding Jesus Christ.
The faithful are encouraged to make the consecration on a feast day of Our Lady. St. Louise specially recommended the Feast of the Annunciation.
The words of the consecration include the renewal of baptismal promises. And here are the essential words addressed to Our Lady:
“I, (your name), a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in your hands, O Immaculate Mother, the vows of my baptism. I renounce forever Satan and his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before.
“In the presence of all the heavenly court I choose you this day for my mother and queen. I deliver and consecrate to you, as your slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present, and future; leaving to you the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to your good pleasure, for the greater glory of God in time and in eternity.”
Through the act of consecration, a person gives Our Lady four things: soul, body, spiritual possessions, and material possessions.
Lasting influence
The life and teachings of St. Louis de Montfort have had a lasting influence on the Church. He founded two religious orders: the Daughters of Wisdom for teaching children and caring for the poor, and the Missionaries of the Company of Mary for preaching missions and retreats.
The writings of St. Louis influenced a number of Popes. Leo XIII and Pius X relied on St. Louis in their writings and promulgated his Marian vision. John Paul II’s motto, “Totus tuus” (Totally yours”), was inspired by St. Louis’s teaching on total consecration.
The Legion of Mary has St. Louis de Montfort as one of its patron saints. According to the Legion’s handbook, “No saint has played a greater part in the development of the Legion than he. The handbook is full of his spirit. The prayers re-echo his very words. He is really the tutor of the Legion.”
聖類斯. 葛利寧.蒙福(1673-1716)也像聖高比神父一樣，廣推敬禮和奉獻給聖母。
年輕時，聖類斯.葛利寧已有志向貧弱者宣揚福音，並非常熱心恭敬聖母。十九歲時，曾發愿以接受施捨渡日，他如此徹底守神貧，以致反過來，甚至有乞丐向他施捨！
一七零零年六月，葛利寧晉鐸後，講道之志更熾；他到羅馬朝聖，向教宗格肋孟十一世陳述衷心的意願，被教宗冠以「傳教使徒」之銜，恩准他到各地傳教；而他作為稱職的使徒，被譽是「來自蒙福的慈父」。
聖母的使徒
聖類斯推廣孝愛聖母，箸書立論，包括「孝愛真諦」、「聖母的心密」和「玫瑰經的秘密」等。
聖類斯鼓勵孝愛聖母，目的是藉聖母完全奉獻給耶穌。他倡議「以三十三天的準備奉獻給聖母」活動，其中首十二天以補贖克苦淨除世念俗思，第十三至第十九天集中認識自己和省察諸罪，從第二十到第二十六天，設法默想去認識聖母，第二十七到第三十三天，用默想設法去認識耶穌。
此外，聖類斯鼓勵信眾在聖母節日專誠向聖母表達孝愛赤子之心 —— 特別是「聖母領報節日」，包括重發「聖洗誓詞」，和以下重點的誓句：「我，(某某) ，不忠的罪人，今天藉着妳更新，並重宣聖洗的誓詞，對魔鬼及其虛偽的應許、邪惡的事工，永遠棄絕。我將自己全然獻給耶穌基督——降凡的智慧，在我餘生，背着十字架跟隨祂，比以前忠於祂。今天我以天朝神聖為證人，甘願承諾，以妳瑪利亞作為我的慈母和元后。我放下一切，全然奉獻給妳，作為妳的奴僕。我獻上自己的靈魂和肉身，交託一切精神和物質的財富，包括我的一切善行，不論是過去的、現在的或將來的。我毫無保留地獻上一切，使妳擁有全權，隨意指派我和使用我的財物，但求愈顯主榮，從現今直到永遠。」
每次的奉獻，讓每個人把自己的靈魂、肉身、精神財富、和物質財富都托付給聖母。
影響深遠
聖類斯.葛利寧.蒙福的言行，在教會中影響深遠。他為導幼扶貧，成立了「上智之座女修會」，為福傳事業和誘導退省而成立「瑪利亞修會」。他的箸作給數位教宗帶來啟發：教宗良十三世和庇約十世，他們的箸作，均引述聖類斯關於聖母的教導。教宗若望保祿二世的「全屬於妳」格言，亦來自聖類斯的訓言和奉獻指導。
「聖母軍」尊聖類斯.葛利寧.蒙福為他們其中一位主保聖人，他們的手冊寫著：「我們可以放心地說，任何一位聖人，對聖母軍發展中的貢獻，也比不上聖葛利寧。這本手冊就充滿他的精神。聖母軍祈禱的經文，回響著他的話。他確是聖母軍的尊師。。」