April 28 – Feast of the Great Marian Saint, Louis de Montfort

Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort was a priest, born in the French village of Montfort sur Meu in 1673.

He died at Saint Laurent sur Sevre in 1716.  He was persecuted by the Catholic clergy of his day, which was under heavy Jansenist influence, and was allowed to preach in only two dioceses of France.  These diocese turned out to be the ones that put up the most resistance to the errors of the French Revolution.

He was a fiery preacher and did not shy away from entering taverns and bars to physically expel its raucous and drunken customers when this interfered with a Sunday sermon.

His most famous work, True Devotion to Mary was virtually unknown for many years after his death.  In sum, True Devotion to Mary, outlines the safest and surest way to heaven -- to Jesus, through Mary. 

In the book's preface in the English language, Father Faber wrote:

His preaching, his writing and his conversation were all impregnated with prophecy and with anticipations of the later ages of the Church. He comes forward like another St. Vincent Ferrer, as if on the days bordering on the Last Judgment, and proclaims that he brings an authentic message from God about the greater honor and wider knowledge and more prominent love of His Blessed Mother, and her connection with the second advent of her Son.

And here is an amazing comment written in 1945 shortly after the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, on True Devotion to Mary by Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveria:

"For two centuries now, the atomic bomb of the Catholic Church has been ready. When it actually goes off, we will understand the full meaning of the words of Scripture: 'non est qui abscondat is a calore ejus.' (Psalm 18: "and there is no one who hides from his heat.)

“The bomb’s name is very sweet.  Because the bombs of the Church are the bombs of a Mother.  It is called "True Devotion to Mary."  This book is a little over 100 pages long and each word is a treasure.

“This is the book of the times to come. (...) Again, this book "True Devotion" is the atomic bomb that God put in the hands of the Church in anticipation of the bitterness of this century, not to kill but to resurrect.”

Prof. Oliveria always emphasized the prophetic character of St. Louis de Montfort and the usefulness of his doctrine for our times.

"If someone were to ask me who is the apostle-model for our times, I would say without hesitation ‘Saint Louis de Montfort’, the missionary who died exactly 239 years ago!"

St. Louis de Montfort, like Elias the prophet, is the man most suited and appropriate for our day.

To order a copy of the book True Devotion to Mary, please go here:

http://www.tfp.org/bookstore/index.php?page=shop.product_details&category_id=1&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=30&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1