True Devotion to Mary
St. Louis Marie DeMontfort
Book Cover of Virgin and Child, for True Devotion to Mary
What is "True Devotion to Mary"?

Why Every Christian, and Especially Every Catholic
Should be Familiar with This Devotion
"To Jesus, through Mary"

Through the Centuries, many Catholics have come to know the loving solace
and understanding which comes from close friendship with the Virgin Mary.
At the beginning of the 1700s, St. Louis Marie DeMontfort, after developing
a deep Marian Spirituality, wrote the "Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. The manuscript was unknown for more than a century, and when finally
published in 1843, was immediately successful, and was the basis of a profound
influence on many, including Pope Paul II, whose testimony is given below.

The basic promise of True Devotion, is that by Consecrating ourselves to the
Virgin Mary, and by dedicating all our good works to Her, we will have the quickest and fastest way of developing a close relationship with Jesus Christ.
                     "To Jesus, through Mary"

From the Writings of Pope John Paul II

Home The reading of this book was a decisive turning point in my life...I say turning point, but it was long inner journey ...This "Perfect Devotion" is indispensable to anyone who means to give himself to Christ and to the work of redemption. It is from Montfort that I have taken my motto: "Totus Tuus", or "I am all thine"...
Throughout its history the People of God have experienced this gift of the Crucified Jesus: The gift of His Mother. Mary Most Holy, is truly our Mother, who accompanies us on our pilgrimage of faith, hope, and charity towards an ever more intense untion with Christ, the One Savior and Mediator of Salvation (Lumen Gentium)

 Picture of Pope John Paul II
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The Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II
Totus Tuus
The Coat of Arms of John Paul II, has as it's Motto: "Totus Tuus", which is based on the promise made by every Legion of Mary Member, at the yearly gathering at Acies:
"I am all Yours, My Queen and My Mother, and all that I have is Yours".

By this promise is meant that the Legionary gives all of his good works, without reserve,
and without compromise, to Our Lady, and serves as Her Soldier and under Her
Patronage. "The Devotion requires the fromal entry into a compact with Mary, wherby one gives to Her one's whole self, with all its thoughts and deeds and possessions, both spiritual and temporal, past, present, and future, without the reservation of the smallest part..."
From the Legion Handbook.
                                                    How to Dedicate Your Life to Our Lady
St. Louis advises in "True Devotion", that we should prepare ourselves initially, in two different exercises: a preliminary period of twelve days during which we seek to free ourselves from the spirit of the world, and a second period of three weeks - the first week devoted to knowledge of ourselves, the second to that of the Blessed Virgin, and the third, to that of Jesus Christ. These exercises, all of which are found in "True Devotion", are not of themselves difficult, and may
only require an hour or so reading each day.  Certainly, Our Lady will be there to help with this work, and to make
easier the way to become Her Servant, and to carry out Her work. Nevertheless, they must be undertaken with the utmost seriousness, and with the understanding that your life and your works will now all be placed into Her hands.
But, from henceforth, expect Her to be with you, to help you with your daily labor, and to ease the sorrows of life!
"At the end of the three weeks", says St. Louis DeMontfort, "They shall go to Confession and to Communion, with the intention of giving themselves to Jesus Christ in the quality of slaves of love, by the Hands of Mary. After this, the
Act of Consecration should be made, as it is written in " True Devotion" .
                                           The Essential part of the Consecration is given below.
Icon of the Blessed Virgin   The Consecration to Our Lady
I, (Your Name), a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy hands the vows of my Baptism: I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and his 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 thee this day for my Mother and my Mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy 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 thee the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God, in time, and in eternity.		 Woman Praying at a Statue of Our Lady
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