24 Vol. LVIII, No. 1 Magnificat the soul of Mary be‐ comes the soul of Her servant. Indeed, when by an ineffable but real grace, the divine Mary is the Queen in a soul, She works untold wonders there.” (The Secret of Mary, no. 55) Being a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic, Montfort was a fervent propagator of the Holy Rosary. He im‐ parted his most beauti‐ ful thoughts on the subject of this devotion in a little treatise enti‐ tled The Secret of the Rosary. Saint Louis Mary de Montfort is a special patron of the Order of the Mother of God and one of its main spiritual teachers. A prophet of the Apostles of the Latter Times, he drew their portrait in his Fiery Prayer or Prophetic Prayer asking for the Apos‐ tles of the Latter Times. A person will always derive great profit rereading and meditating on this cry of a heart consumed with love for God and eager for the triumph of the Faith in the world: “O God of goodness, remember Your mercy of ancient days; and by that same mercy, re‐ member this Congregation. Remember the re‐ peated promises You made to us through Your prophets, and through Your very Son, in order to grant our just requests... “It is time to do what You promised. Your di‐ vine law is transgressed, Your Gospel is aban‐ doned, torrents of iniquity flood the entire earth and are engulfing even Your servants. The entire earth is desolate, (Jer. 12:11) impiety is sitting on the throne; Your sanctuary is pro‐ faned, and the abomination of desolation is standing even in the holy place. (cf. Matt. 24:15) Just Lord and God the Avenger, will You leave everything in dereliction? Will everything be‐ come like Sodom and Gomorrah in the end? Will You remain silent forever? Will You suffer forever? Must not Your Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, and Your kingdom come? Have You not shown in advance to some of Your friends a future re‐ newal of Your Church? “What do I ask of You? Nothing for my‐ self, everything for Your glory. What do I ask of You? What You can, and I make bold to say, even what You must grant me as the true God You are, to whom all power has been given in Heaven and on earth, as the best of all children, who loves Your Mother beyond measure. “What do I ask of You? Priests, free with Your own freedom, detached from everything, with‐ out father or mother, brothers or sisters, with‐ out relatives according to the flesh or friends according to the world, without goods, hin‐ drances and cares, and even without self‐will. “Slaves of Your love and Your Will. Men ac‐ cording to Your Heart, who, without self‐will to tarnish and bind them, will carry out all Your wishes and overcome all Your enemies like so many new Davids, with the wood of the cross and the sling of the rosary in their hands.”4 The message of these two great Saints, so different in appearance, is nevertheless the same: holiness consists in loving God with all our heart and proving it to Him by renouncing everything, especially ourselves. This year, let us be penetrated in a special way with their teachings, let us reread their writings and fol‐ low their example, so that God may finally be loved, served and glorified by all His children on earth. O.D.M. composition 4. The Prophetic Prayer is available from Editions Magnificat. “From far off, Blessed Grignion de Montfort saw the Order of the Mother of God for the Apostles of the Latter Times. After the Most Blessed Virgin, he is our protector, and we should imitate his great devotion towards our tender Mother, his gift body and soul to Mary, living of the spirit of Mary, letting us be directed by Mary. And where does She lead us? To where She is, and we will be fine.” Blessed Melanie Calvat
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