Category Archives: St. Louis de Montfort

On the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Church rightly teaches that Mary was conceived without the stain of Original Sin, based upon the anticipated merits of the passion, death, and resurrection of her Son, Jesus Christ.

In 1854, Pope Pius XI proclaimed in Ineffabilis Deus the following:

We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.

This makes sense on many different levels.

  • God exists outside of time and is not restricted by the chronological sequence of events that occur within time. 
  • The Holy Spirit could not have ‘overshadowed’ Mary to form Jesus in her womb if she was in the state of Original Sin. Mary’s union with the Holy Spirit is a spousal union. “What God had joined, let none rend asunder.” This is an important point that helped me finally understand more solidly the whole ‘Immaculate Conception’ thing. Her spousal union with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s ‘overshadowing’ Mary required her to be sinless. Not just preserved from Original Sin, but also the stain it leaves behind (concupiscence.). Sin blocks grace from the soul; mortal sin is deadly and separates us from God, while venial sin distances us from God. Mary’s spousal union with the Spirit would have been ruptured if she was capable of sinning. Remember: “What God had joined, let none rend asunder.”  If she was in any state of sin, the Holy Spirit could not have joined with her in the first place. 
  • Therefore, how can the Holy Spirit’s spousal union with Mary be maintained at all if she had concupiscence? It couldn’t. Therefore, Mary could not have Original Sin, and by not being subjected to it or having its stain on her soul, she was incapable of committing venial and mortal sins. This is where all other humans differ from Mary. Although by Baptism we’ve had Original Sin removed, its stain remains, and by this concupiscence, we sin. With Mary, since the stain was removed concupiscence was never a part of her being. But while Christians have received the Holy Spirit in Baptism, our union with the Spirit is not to the same degree as Mary’s. Ours is not a spousal union; sin can rupture it. Hence we need the Sacraments to repair the rupture.
  • Since she bore Him in her womb for nine months, she could not even commit venial and mortal sins during this period as this would place Jesus under the domain of Satan, since a fetus is physically a part of the mother. (While not culpable for the mother’s sins, nor capable of sinning itself, a fetus would still be affected by them.) Her sinless behavior obviously would have continued after Jesus’ birth. This is the basis for the teachings of Sts. Lous de Montfort and Maximilian Kolbe when they wrote that Mary’s will was always in conformity with God’s will. Kolbe especially emphasized this. 
  • So, the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception has the effect also of rendering the rubrics of administering the sacraments more meaningful, given the role of the Holy Spirit in everything. The Spirit joined with Mary because she was without sin. We are baptized and Original Sin is removed and then the Holy Spirit enters our soul and later we can receive the remaining sacraments. 
  • Some critics point out that St. Paul said somewhere in his letters that “all have sinned.” Well, this cannot possibly mean ‘all’ as in ‘everyone;’ for would this ‘all’ include Jesus? I think Paul meant  ‘all born of women’ in the normal manner of birthing. If someone is still going to make the point that ‘all’ inherit Original Sin, and then Mary would still need redeeming, then we go back to the original declaration of the dogma of her immaculate conception that she was redeemed by the anticipated merits of Jesus Christ and so was prevented from having the stain of Original Sin in the first place. (please refer to the first bullet for any chronological objections.

    I brought up this point in an older post:

  • “…wouldn’t God, Who knew from all Eternity His plan of Salvation, and decided that His Son would be born of a woman rather than Incarnate as a mighty king and lord fully grown, wouldn’t He have taken great pains to decide upon the formation of she who would bear His Son? If YOU had the opportunity to design your own mother, wouldn’t YOU insist that she the among the most beautiful, intelligent, and talented of all? One of the Ten Commandments holds that we should “Honor our Father and Mother,” well, wouldn’t God also follow that? Even one was to declare that He is not subject to His own Commandments and laws, why wouldn’t He follow that one at least, to provide an example?” An addendum to this point is that if YOU could make your own mother, and could also make her perfectly pure and holy, wouldn’t you?

    In an even older post I said:

  • “…One could argue then that why couldn’t Jesus have been conceived immaculately? He could have, but the difficulty in that would be that He still would be in Mary’s womb, and what would be the barrier between Him and Original Sin? His own sacrifice on the cross, decades later? He is divine and sinless, so His own death was not for Himself, He died for humanity. So Mary, by sharing her body and blood with Jesus in her womb, would benefit from the eventual sacrifice of Jesus. Mary is the physical barrier between Jesus and her ancestral line, caught in Original Sin like the rest of humanity. The physical barrier protecting Mary from her mother’s state of Original Sin was Jesus, operating from the fullness of time, as God dwells in Eternity.”

So, there it is! See how it all connects? Remove Original Sin and the free operation of the Holy Spirit can begin in souls. With Mary, it required her to be preserved from all sin so the Holy Spirit could join her in an eternal spousal union so that Jesus could be formed in her womb (and later so that Mary could participate in the distribution of graces from the Holy Spirit; but that’s a whole ’nother topic.) With us, it required us to be Baptized so the Holy Spirit could join us in a sacramental union so that we could be formed into the Mystical Body of Christ (and receive the graces from which the Holy Spirit is the source. Whoops, ’nother topic!) 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Daily Marching Orders from Mary (Be a militant, crazy Catholic and apply your Marian Consecration!)

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This Immaculate Heart Saturday post is intended to suggest ways to practically apply one’s Marian Consecration; this is the fruit of my closer studies of the writings of St. Maximilian Kolbe and Militia of the Immaculata literature and lots of woolgathering. It will hopefully help make manifest my Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary in my daily life and society as a whole and to encourage you to join the Militia of the Immaculata (M.I.). This can be a roadmap for others in and out of the M.I. inasmuch as we ‘become the change we wish to see’ in the people around us and in the world at large. The ultimate change we seek is to win the world for Jesus. This the ultimate goal of Marian Consecration, especially for an M.I.

I used the formula of Marian Consecration developed by St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe when I consecrated myself to Mary on October 7, 2002. In doing so I became a member of the Militia of the Immaculata movement he founded in 1917. His formula differs slightly, but significantly, from the more popular method by St. Louis deMontfort. Whereas the latter is also a total dedication of yourself to Mary, that’s where it remains. You are her property, slave, subject, whatever. Kolbe’s method adds an additional evangelical level to the Consecration. You become Mary’s, but with the proviso that you are also allowing her to use you ‘like a pen (or paintbrush) in her hands’ to bring about the conversion of many to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. (Incidentally, if you wish to join the Militia of the Immaculata, and already consecrated yourself to Our Lady by deMontfort’s method, that’s good enough. You needn’t use the consecration formula of Kolbe. Registering with your country’s national M.I. Office and letting them know when you consecrated yourself adds the evangelical dimension to it.)

That is the essence of belonging to Mary: you become a soldier in her Militia. While you do not take up actual weapons of war, you do allow her to supply you with the graces needed to go on missions for her.
In essence, you take up spiritual weapons to establish the Reign of the Sacred Heart. The Kingdom of the Sacred Heart includes the Social Reign of Christ: the institution of a just and moral social order based upon Traditional Catholic Social Justice Teachings; rooted in Scripture, Tradition (Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy) and exemplified by the governance of St. Maximilian in Niepokalanow (including during the Nazi Occupation), the life and teachings of St. Teresa of Calcutta and Therese of Lisieux, Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, and Popes Leo XIII, Pius XI and St. John Paul II. Servant of God Dorothy Day emphasized the preference for such weapons by Christians in the 1930s and 1940s, when the world was ravaged by the World War II and its precursors, the Spanish Civil War and Japanese invasions of China. In winning the world for Jesus, we use our Marian Consecration by being “Christ-bearers;” since we belong to Mary we become like her in bearing Christ to others. True Marian Devotion always ends with Jesus, not Mary, and thus we help fulfill Mary’s desire to lead others to her Son. 

To expand on this, an M.I. emulates St. Maximilian Kolbe in his role as the Prophet and Sign of the Civilization of Love and Apostle of a New Marian Era. (The ‘Civilization of Love’ and ‘New Marian Era’ are two phrases describing the same future culture.) This implies that we incorporate the Fatima Message of prayer, penance and reparation, since Fatima is a prophetic message that parallels Kolbe’s. The Fatima Apparitions prophesied the future establishment of the New Marian Era. We also seek to make use of the Message of Lourdes (daily recitation of the Rosary and a focus on Mary as the Immaculate Conception as the source of healing of the world’s ills, and not just medical and physical, but the political divisions that result in war and cultural clashes.) We can also call to mind the lessons of the Apparition of Our Lady at Guadalupe. There, an entire society was converted from barbaric paganism (human sacrifice was rampant) that was influence by the demonic over to Catholicism. Their new Catholic faith helped heal their society from its past and Guadalupe can serve as a lesson for the wholesale conversion of modern Western society.   

As soldiers of Mary, we assist her in crushing the head of Satan and in destroying heresies. By heresies, I don’t think this only refers to traditional things such as doctrinal and dogmatic errors, but also combatting the influence of Satan in society by the pervasiveness of immorality, the normalization of sexual deviancy and political extremism of the Left and Right.

We use our talents, such as they are, in accordance with our state in life.

We surrender ourselves in love without reserving anything from her, enabling her to use us to bring others to her and thus onward to Jesus. This is how the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart is established; first in the hearts of humans and then by means of their will and actions, society. Everyone ‘becomes the change they wish to see’ and therefore society is renewed and transformed. We see this in the Act of Consecration to the Blessed Virgin as written by St. Maximilian Kolbe (and the boldface type is the part I emphasize that shows this ‘be the change you wish to see’ tactic):

O Immaculata, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you.  I, (your name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and property.  Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you.

If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head,” and, “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the world.”  Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  For wherever you enter, you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

V. Allow me to praise you, O sacred Virgin.

R. Give me strength against your enemies.

Satan knows this, and is vigilant and always ready to attack Mary’s Knights and Ladies. We defend ourselves through our consecration, prayer (especially the Rosary), Mass, and the Sacraments, and reading Sacred Scripture and the Catechisms.

Continuing with the concept of emulating St. Maximilian Kolbe, we acknowledge him being also the “Patron of Mass Media.” So, in this contemporary age we use such means as are available to us: blogs, social media and creative works like novels, short stories, poetry and visual arts to spread the aims and means of the Immaculata. Kolbe had observed long ago that the visual arts, such as cinema and theatre, were being used to spread immoral ideas amongst the populace. Rather than shun such media as evil, he embraced the technology and the concept and worked to use it to spread moral values. His publishing empire included newspapers and magazines and books, and eventually a radio station. His friary of Niepokalanow never produced literary or cinematic works, but I believe they were eventually planned.

Taking St. Maximilian’s suggestions of using cultural expressions to advance the cause of the Immaculata, we can visualize a future social order rooted in the Social Kingship of Christ and its various forms. This recalls the main ‘title’ for St. Maximilian: “the Prophet and Sign of the Civilization of Love and Apostle of a New Marian Era.” He was the ‘Sign’ of this Civilization in his governance of the Niepokalanow friary, especially during the Nazi Occupation in his handling of refugees and making use of friary resources to assist the local population survive. He implemented his ideas of a just social order in hospitality and service to others. But, focusing on cultural tools, we can use creative works: fiction, such as novels and shorter works; and for those inclined, videos to illustrate how the Social Kingship would look like. Do you think that Distributism is the ideal economic system? Great! Create stories in which Distributism is that model. Do you believe that Monarchism is the ideal political system? Fine! Create stories featuring a Catholic Monarchy and how it would wield power. This latter example is interesting and intriguing given numerous Catholic prophecies (from approved apparitions and private revelations) involving a future “Great Catholic Monarch” and his realm existing during this ‘New Marian Era.’ 

Given St. Max’s interest in science, we should eventually endeavor to show that Religion and Science are two sides of the same coin. Divine Revelation occurs in two forms: God’s self-revelation through Sacred Scripture and the revelation of Himself through His works (the Universe and the means He used to create and sustain it.) Truth does not contradict Truth. Scientific research and investigation should be guided by moral principles. No more doing things just because we can; we should only proceed if the research can be seen to benefit the human condition in moral and ethical ways. In short, our humanity is enhanced, not sacrificed. This may include, when possible, space exploration and perhaps eventually colonization (remember that St. Max invented a plausible spaceship! [See Complete Writings!] So, perhaps stories involving space exploration of our Solar System and the Cosmos at large are in order! This fits wonderfully for those of us who have a predilection for science-fiction!

Of course, Distributism, Monarchism and science-fiction are suggestions based on my interests. You may have other ideas to creatively explore.

The thought occurred to me that if science rejected its militant atheistic bent, then we may make even greater progress in scientific achievements. God desires us to know Him better, therefore if we approach scientific exploration with the idea of knowing God better through His handiwork, well then perhaps He may open our eyes to things. Cures! Cheap Fusion power! Rocket propulsion that opens up the Solar System to humanity! 

So, if you’re an M.I. with a talent for creativity, get started! Start writing or filming!! Is it crazy? Sure is! Read what Steve Jobs said about this (and yes, I know the Founder of Apple Computers was controversial in some regards and angered many by his behavior at times. Please recall the next to last petition in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” You can’t forgive Steve? He ‘trespassed’ against you? Be careful…)

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” 

So be the crazy Catholic misfit and rebel soldier of Mary and change the world by showing how things can be. Cause trouble. Mother Angelica did! There are enough blogs and essay sites where people write non-fiction about Catholic culture, economics and politics. But what will it look like? Theory is one thing, the practical aspects will convince people. Show them how things can be! Disrespect the secular status quo. See things differently. Don’t listen to those who say “You can’t write that! No one will publish it!” So try self-publishing! Be a rebel! Push the cause of the Immaculata forward! Pray before writing, research as much as necessary so you at least appear to know what you’re talking about and then get to it!

I am not the only one who thinks that Steve Jobs can inspire you to be a better Catholic (as well as achieve mighty deeds as a Knight or Lady of Mary.) Watch this when you can.

This is a weird way to conclude, but although Steve Jobs was not a Catholic, nor even a Christian, (he was Buddhist of a sort,) I do believe that if things were somehow different during his formative years he would have made an interesting one. I cannot help but think that during this hypothetical Catholic life of Steve Jobs, he would have been drawn to St Maximilian Kolbe by his life and creative vision. St. Maximilian was certainly a crazy misfit, troublemaker and dreamer. Jobs would have looked at St. Max’s M.I. movement, his writings on Marian Consecration and concluded that this would be an effective way to change the world. Whether he would have still invented the Apple computer, the iPod, iPad and iPhone is a whole different area of speculation. He quite possibly would have, but with his Catholic Faith and Marian Consecration through St. Maximilian, sustaining and inspiring him in ways superior to his Buddhist beliefs.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

The Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary! Part 5

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It’s Sacred Heart Friday time and this week I’m getting all mystical.

The Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary began when Jesus dwelt within the womb of Mary. Like all children when they are living within their Momma’s womb, He shared the body of Mary and thus she became the tabernacle for the Ark of the New Covenant that is Him.

Mary’s Immaculate Heart pumped the Precious Blood that flowed through His veins and arteries; she powered His Sacred Heart.

This union of the Two Hearts was far more intimate than any other. We all have heard of stories about pregnant women and how they marvel at the the movements of their unborn child; the kicks and wriggles and so forth. How much greater this must have been for Mary and Jesus. Mystical writings and approved private revelations tell that Jesus was fully aware from His conception in the womb. How? Unknown, but given that He is God and therefore would never have lost His Omniscience regardless of His form, He was fully in possession of His faculties. Some of the revelations also tell us that Jesus and Mary were in close communion with each other throughout her pregnancy. This makes sense. Jesus would obviously obey the Commandment to “Honor thy Father and thy Mother,” given His proximity to Mary while in her womb, it seems obvious that He would honor her in a way impossible for anyone else to do for their mother. He is God, omniscient, and in His mother’s womb. How do you think He would honor her? What feelings of love would He bestow upon Mary? What graces and blessings winkled He petition the Father to give her? 

Love returns love; what would Mary do for Him in return? She, who ‘kept all these things in her heart and pondered them’ could only return His love for her in kind. Mary, the daughter of God the Father, mother of God the Son, and Spouse of God the Holy Spirit….. what feelings of love and awe and wonder could she have given Him? 

It renders our attempts at worship and adoration paltry by comparison. This makes it reasonable for us to honor the recommendation of many saints, especially St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Louis de Montfort and others, to ‘go to Jesus through Mary.’ She can take our feeble and pathetic attempt to worship and adore Him and unite it to her own since her Heart is still united to His. 

The Union, or Alliance, of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary makes sense of all this. We can go directly to Jesus without Mary, but why would you in light of the above? There is much to ponder here; you cannot do it justice by rejecting ‘to Jesus through Mary’ out of hand when you realize the possibilities of their history together and the obvious truths entailed. 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

33 day Consecration to Mary can begin this Friday!

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You can tell I’ve been reading St. Louis de Montfort.

I discovered that the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary still exists, and still is managed by the Dominicans just like back in the days of St. Dominic and Bl. Alan de la Roche! (Should I have known that?) This association was mentioned quite often in a book by St. Louis de Monfort I read this past week. (I’ll tell you which one at the end. Which “ones” actually.)

Because of this I may start another 33 day Montfortian consecration thingy this Friday April 28th. It’s de Montfort’s feast day. It’ll end just in time for May 31st which is the Feast of the Visitation on the new calendar 1970 calendar; it’s the Feast of the Queenship of Mary on the old 1962 calendar.

My wife and I already did it once before, leading up to our wedding day. We may do it again, together, as a renewal. 

Gabi of the GabiAfterHours YouTube Channel is also doing it beginning this Friday (just found that out.)

You can look into his effort here: Gabi After Hours Community posting on 33 day consecration to Mary.

I bring Gabi up because he’s uploaded several very important videos over the past few months or so.  He posted this one quite recently on several books that are must reads:

This one: 

…and this one:

…started me on saying the entire Rosary daily. Gabi got the idea from one of the de Montfort books he recommends in the first video above. Those are the one’s that I’ve read this week (numbers 1 and 2 on Gabi’s list.) “The Secret of Mary” and “The Secret of the Rosary.” They’re wonderful, inspiring reads. De Montfort writes in a style similar to that of St. Alphonse Liguori. (His “The Glories of Mary” is number 4 on Gabi’s list.)

This is a new one:

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)