The Road to Holiness with St. Louis de Montfort

“We never give more honor to Jesus than when we honor his Mother, and we honor her simply and solely to honor him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek – Jesus, her Son.” St. Louis de Montfort

I started renewing my consecration to Jesus through Mary a week ago with 225 other pilgrims who chose to say “YES” to Jesus’ invitation. This first week we learned about the life of St. Louis de Montfort, “the passionate saint of Brittany,” as Father Michael Gaitley refers to him in his book: “33 Days to Morning Glory.” St. Louis had a fiery temper, but he consecrated himself to Jesus through Mary, and thus allowed Mary to transform his unholy anger into a blazing holy fire. She turned his fiery passion into a passion for Christ. He then proceeded to promote a devotion to Mary throughout the whole world.

St. Louis was born in 1673. He was the second son of eighteen children. He was ordained at the age of 27 and ten years later became a Third Order Dominican. He wrote “The Admirable Secret of the Rosary,” but his best known work is his “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary,” even though he didn’t even get to witness its success during his lifetime. He died in 1716 at the age of 43, and his manuscript was not discovered until 1842. It was finally published in 1853 when the Vatican declared it free from theological error.

Even though he was a priest for only sixteen years, he did a lot during this time. He preached the Gospel in countless towns and villages, successfully influencing its inhabitants. One story, mentioned by Father Gaitley on day two of the retreat, illustrates his success. In the town of Pontchâteau, St. Louis announced his determination to build a monumental Calvary on a hill. For fifteen months, hundreds of peasants worked daily without recompense. When the monument was completed, the king commanded that the whole structure should be demolished. The Jansenists had convinced the authorities that the monument was actually meant to be a fortress against the government. For several months, the same peasants that had built it were compelled to carry out the work of destruction while being watched by soldiers. St. Louis, after receiving the humiliating news, told the thousands of people who had gathered for the blessing ceremony, “We had hoped to build a Calvary here. Let us build it in our hearts. Blessed be God.”

The road to holiness with St. Louis is a path that will lead us to Mary, who in turn will lead us to Jesus. When we consecrate ourselves to Jesus through Mary, the way to holiness will be quick, easy, and secure. Father Gaitley explains this on day seven of the retreat: “Mary leads us to Jesus and makes the road to holiness quick and easy, even though she doesn’t take away our crosses… but Mary makes the crosses sweet and light.”

St. Louis was beatified in 1888 by Pope Leo XIII and canonized in 1947 by Pope Pius XII. His personal motto was “Totus tuus” (Completely yours), which St. Pope John Paul II chose as his episcopal motto. Let us follow their example and give ourselves completely to Mary. She will take all that we give her, hand it over to Jesus, and He will welcome us into His Holy Kingdom.

If you are curious about our consecration journey, you can learn more at:

https://www.consecrati.com/ 

Even though we are beginning week two, it is not too late to join.

Copyright © 2025 Christy Romero. All rights reserved. If you thought of someone while reading this, bless them by sharing it with them.