Edited by Armata Bianca

THE APOSTLES OF THE LAST TIMES

IN MONTFORT AND TODAY
Taken from the thesis by:
Father Andrea D'Ascanio ofm cap
At the Marianum Pontificial Faculty of Theology in Rome

Edited by:
ARMATA BIANCA
Via Sant'Apollonia, 8 Cas. Post. 135
67100 L'Aquila (Italy)
www.armatabianca.org
avemaria@armatabianca.org

Translation of the Ecclesiastical Permission on the opposite page:

Diocese of Ibarra
According to can. 827 par. 3, the Reverend Father Andrea D'Ascanio ofm cap has
submitted to my examination the book he has written “The apostles of the last times
in Montfort and today”. After carefully examining the content of this work, which
was supervised by Prof. Stefano De Fiores, I do not find in it anything contrary to
the faith and morals of the Catholic Church.
Moreover, I believe this work can help to effectively spread the devotion to the Most
Blessed Virgin according to the writings of St. Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort
and give a positive contribution on controversial topics of Mariology and eschatol-
ogy concerning which there is often confusion among the faithful.
Regarding the above, I grant permission to publish this book.
Ibarra, 9 December 2004
Julio Teràn Dutari
Bishop of Ibarra

English translation of the third italian edition

2006 7th oct, feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
“And Mathathias cried out
in the city with a loud voice, saying:
Every one that has zeal for the law,
and maintains the testament,
let him follow me”.
(From the First Book of Maccabees 2,27).

“Let all those worthy priests

who are to be found throughout the world,
those still in the fight
and those who have withdrawn
to deserts and secluded places,
let them, I say, come and join us.
With the cross as our standard,
let us form a strongly disciplined army
drawn up in lines of battle.
Let us make a concerted attack
on the enemies of God
who have already sounded the alarm”.
(St. Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort, FP 29)
 Introduction

Saint Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716) is one of the

few saints - if not the only one - who look to the future of the
Church. No other saint, neither before nor after, has spoken about
the apostles of the last times who prepare for the glorious return of
Jesus by fighting the last apocalyptic battle which will precede the
coming of the Kingdom which Jesus taught us to ask for in the Our
Father.

We found it urgent to examine this subject in depth by rereading

Montfort's works in the light of Scriptures in the passages that deal
with the last times, comparing them with the events of Fatima and
with the teachings of John Paul II, the most renowned advocate of
Consecration to Christ through Mary.

From these reflections came forth a few wonderful and at the same
time perturbing questions, which we have attempted to answer:

- Mary “will crush the head of Satan and bring victory to Jesus
Christ” by means of her “heel”1, that is, “her humble servants and
her poor children”. The term used by Montfort is “enfant”, which
can be translated as “son” or “child”: are children also included
among these “apostles of the last times”?

1 “…her heel, that is, her humble servants and her poor children whom she will rouse to fight
against him. In the eyes of the world they will be little and poor and, like the heel, lowly in
the eyes of all, down-trodden and crushed as is the heel by the other parts of the body” (TD
54).

7
 - Are these times in which we are living the “last times” which
Montfort mentions in his Treatise on true devotion when he talks
about the “last wicked persecutions of the devil”2?

- According to Montfort at the end of times Jesus will return with

power in “a deluge of Fire” of the Holy Spirit which will transform
humanity's inner soul (FP 16); at the same time, though, he also
speaks of another fire “which will reduce the whole world to ashes”
(FP 17): are these two signs immediately following each other, one
that creates souls and the other that destroys matter? Or will there
be a further coming which will disintegrate the earth for good, as
some theologians claim? Or will everything end in a single act of
Mercy which will not destroy the earth, but rather renew it by cre-
ating “new heavens and a new earth” (Is 65,17; 2 Pt 3,13)?

My deepest thanks goes to Prof. Stefano De Fiores who had the

patience to guide me in my research and reflections.

2 “It is chiefly in reference to these last wicked persecutions of the devil, which will increase
daily until the advent of the reign of the anti-Christ, that we should understand that first and
well-known prophecy and curse of God uttered against the serpent in the garden of paradise”
(TD 51).

8
Abbreviations

Abbreviations used to cite Montfort's works:

LCM Letters to Members of the Company of Mary

LEW The Love of Eternal Wisdom
L Letters
LFC Letters to the Friends of the Cross
FP Fiery Prayer
RM Rule for the Missionary Priests of the Company of Mary
SR The Secret of the Rosary
SM The Secret of Mary
TD Treatise on True Devotion to Mary
RHP Rules for the Holy Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Saumur

9
10
 Chapter I

The “last times”

according to Saint Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort

1. The “last times” in Monfort's works

In one of his works of 19193 P. Lhomeau, commenting on the apos-

tles of the last times according to Monfort, thus summarizes what
the Church means by “last times”:

“Christian language refers to the “last times” as a period of

indeterminate length which can involve years or centuries, in
which any kind of catastrophes or events, especially the mis-
fortunes of the Church, its downfalls and victories, in the end,
everything will be extreme and, so to speak, terminal in char-
acter, and will prepare for the second coming of Christ (…).
That is what we call parousia. This return of Christ is the
object of our faith; and the Master Himself ordered us to
watch and wait (…). Its date is in the secret of God”.4

3 A.LHOMEAU, La Vierge Marie et les Apôtres des derniers temps d'apres le B.Louis-Marie
de Montfort, Tours, Mame 1919.
4 Ibid.,10.

11
 Montfort, the prophet with piercing eyes who reminds us of John
the evangelist, “saw” and dramatically lived these events in spirit
and made them the basis of his theological and apostolic approach:
“In these last times, God wishes therefore to reveal Mary, his mas-
terpiece…” (TD 50). Thus, in the Treatise on True Devotion, the sec-
tion on Mary's action in preparation for the coming of Jesus' king-
dom begins.
Just as Jesus brought his beloved apostles to the mountain of the
transfiguration to open their spiritual horizons, so Mary leads her
apostle to the top of the sublime Mountain which She herself is, in
order to let him live out the transfiguring experience of the apostles
of the last times5.

At the top of this “Mountain” Montfort enters into the dimension of

Fire of the prophets of the Old and New Testament, in particular
Daniel and John the apostle: just as the latter saw the battle of the
Angels in heaven (Rev 12,7-9) so Monfort sees and lives, with dra-
matic reality, the battle of man on earth, “the children of Belial” and
“the children of Mary” (FP 15). It is the last battle which Mary-
Church fights against the “dragon with seven heads and ten horns”
(Rev 12,3) which will end with the victory of Christ and Mary over
the “great adversary” and with the establishment of the Father's
kingdom.

John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus. Saint Louis Mary
Grignion, “through Mary, with Mary, in Mary and for Mary” (TD
257) in the last times prepares the way for the second coming of
Jesus “with much power” (Mt 24): “power” is a specific attribute of
God the Father and, in the Fiery Prayer, Montfort turns directly to
Him, asking him to intervene on behalf of all creation:

5 “On the meaning of the beatitudes. It is on this mountain that they will be transfigured as
he was on Mount Thabor; that they will die with him as he died on Calvary, and from it, they
will ascend to heaven as he did from the Mount of Olives” (FP 25).

12
 “Is it not true that your will must be done on earth as it is in
heaven? Is it not true that your kingdom must come? Did you
not give to some souls, dear to you, a vision of the future
renewal of the Church? Are not the Jews to be converted to
the truth and is this not what the Church is waiting for? All
the blessed in heaven cry out for justice to be done: and the
faithful on earth join in with them and cry out: Amen, Come,
Lord. All creatures, even the most insensitive, lie groaning
under the burden of Babylon's countless sins and plead with
you to come and renew all things: we know well that the
whole creation is groaning....” (FP 5).

2. Continuity and new prospects

The future prospect of the Church and the world isn't revealed to
Montfort all at once, rather it is affirmed and explained gradually.
In The Love of Eternal Wisdom (1703) Montfort doesn't speak at all
about the last times or, consequently, about the role which the Spirit
and Mary will perform, he only refers to Wisdom “which will be
preceded by the Cross and which will judge the world with it and by
it” (LEW 172). However, he already makes mention of the apostles.
He speaks about them as those who are inhabited by Wisdom which
“sets them on fire, inspiring them to undertake great things for the
glory of God and the salvation of souls (…) and to make them more
worthy of himself, he permits them to engage in strenuous conflicts
and in almost everything they undertake they encounter contradic-
tions and disappointments” (LEW 99 and 100).
In The Secret of Mary (1710?) Montfort speaks about a “second
coming of Christ” to reign over all the earth and to judge the living
and the dead, and he also speaks about “great men filled with the
Holy Spirit and with Mary” who will destroy sin and set up the
Kingdom of Christ (SM 58-59).

13
 In the Fiery Prayer (1712-13) the saint doesn't mention the second
coming of Jesus, but he emphasizes the spiritual dimension of the
future times and the powerful apostolic action of the missionaries of
the Company of Mary.
In the Treatise on True Devotion (1712) he speaks about it explicit-
ly (TD 35,50,54,58) describing the work and spirituality of the apos-
tles of the last times, the second coming of Christ and his kingdom
in the world and the role of the Holy Spirit and Mary. The deluge of
fire isn't mentioned at all, but it is interiorized and seen in its effects:
the apostles are like a blazing fire and are possessed by the Spirit.

In other passages of the same work the outlook of the future reap-
pears under different forms: he speaks about the difference between
the first and second coming of Jesus (TD 1,13,22,158), he describes
the participation of lay people, men and women, in the battle against
the devil and in preparation for the kingdom of Christ (TD 113,144);
he foresees a precious time in which Mary will reign in hearts to
“subject them to the dominion of her great and princely Son Jesus”
(TD 217)6.

3. Scenario of the last times

Montfort's vision of the last times is developed in four stages and

their characteristics can be pointed out schematically; the beginning
and end of each stage are not well-defined, but rather tend to evolve
with reciprocal influence.

He is not interested in describing the chronological stages of this

eschatological process, instead he wants to rouse his brothers to
fight the evil which he sees ever more imminent and close at hand.

6 Cfr S. DE FIORES, "Derniers temps" in Dictionnaire de spiritualité montfortaine, sous la

direction de S. De Fiores, Novalis, Ottawa, 1994, 346-367.

14
First stage: The saint sees the tragic situation of the Church and asks
God to intervene before “everything goes to ruins”:

“Is it not true that nearly all Christians prove unfaithful to the
promises made to Jesus in baptism? Where does this universal
failure come from?” (TD 127). “It is indeed time to fulfil your
promise. Your divine commandments are broken, your Gospel
is thrown aside, torrents of iniquity flood the whole earth car-
rying away even your servants. The whole land is desolate,
ungodliness reigns supreme, your sanctuary is desecrated and
the abomination of desolation has even contaminated the holy
place. God of Justice, God of Vengeance, will you let every-
thing, then, go the same way? Will everything come to the
same end as Sodom and Gomorrah? Will you never break
your silence? Will you tolerate all this for ever?” (FP 5).

Second stage: he goes from the kingdom of sin to the kingdom of

Jesus Christ by divine intervention. This is the main part of
Montfort's vision which he speaks of at length in the Treatise on
True Devotion: the kingdom of Jesus Christ will be fulfilled here,
on earth, thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit, of Mary and of the
apostles of the last times:

“But Mary's power over the evil spirits will especially shine
forth in the latter times, when Satan will lie in wait for her heel,
that is, for her humble servants and her poor children whom
she will rouse to fight against him. They (…) will be rich in
God's graces, which will be abundantly bestowed on them by
Mary. They will be great and exalted before God in holiness.
They will be superior to all creatures by their great zeal and so
strongly will they be supported by divine assistance that, in
union with Mary, they will crush the head of Satan with their
heel, that is, their humility, and bring victory to Jesus Christ”
(TD 54).
15
 Third stage: the second coming and kingdom of Jesus Christ which
- with Mary and through Mary - will essentially be fulfilled “in the
hearts” and in the depths of all men:

“But as the kingdom of Jesus Christ exists primarily in the

heart or interior of man, according to the words of the
Gospel, "The kingdom of God is within you", so the kingdom
of the Blessed Virgin is principally in the interior of man, that
is, in his soul” (TD 38); “in the near or distant future the
Blessed Virgin will have more children, servants and slaves of
love than ever before, and that through them Jesus, my dear
Lord, will reign more than ever in the hearts of men” (TD
113); “When will that happy day come, when God's Mother is
enthroned in men's hearts as Queen, subjecting them to the
dominion of her great and princely Son Jesus?” (TD 217).

Fourth stage: two prospects on the last times are seen in Montfort's
work:
- a Christological one, in the Secret of Mary and in the Treatise, in
which the vision is of the coming of Christ “to reign” over all the
earth “and judge the living and the dead”:

“Through the Most Blessed Mary, God will come a second

time, as the whole Church expects him to come and reign over
all the earth and to judge the living and the dead” (SM 58).

- a pneumatological one, in the Fiery Prayer, in which he speaks

about Holy Spirit who will begin a “deluge of fire and justice”.
There has been much talk on the meaning of Montfort's expressions
concerning the second and last coming of Jesus, which theologians
have interpreted in different, and at times contrasting, ways.

According to Montfort's most profound commentator7 there are two

7 Cfr S. DE FIORES, Lo Spirito Santo e Maria negli ultimi tempi secondo S. Luigi Maria

16
deluges, a “fiery deluge of pure love” which will convert all men
and also a “divine fire of his anger” which “will reduce the whole
world to ashes”:

“The reign especially attributed to God the Father lasted until

the Flood and ended in a deluge of water. The reign of Jesus
Christ ended in a deluge of blood, but your reign, Spirit of the
Father and the Son, is still unended and will come to a close
with a deluge of fire, love and justice. When will it happen, this
fiery deluge of pure love with which you are to set the whole
world ablaze and which is to come, so gently yet so forcefully,
that all nations, Moslems, idolaters and even Jews, will be
caught up in its flames and be converted? None can shield
himself from the heat it gives, so let its flames rise. Rather let
this divine fire which Jesus Christ came to bring on earth be
enkindled before the all-consuming fire of your anger comes
down and reduces the whole world to ashes” (FP 16-17).

In our opinion Montfort's words can be interpreted from a different

point of view: “the divine fire of anger which will reduce the whole
world to ashes” will be eliminated in the event that the apostles of
the last times bring on “the fiery deluge” of pure Love. We will dis-
cuss this in detail later on.

4. The action of the Spirit and Mary in the final stage of history

Generally, contemporary theologians prefer not to dwell upon the

themes that are typical of Montfort (end of times, tripartition of his-

Grignion de Montfort, in Quaderni monfortani 4, 1986, 33; ID., voce “Ultimi tempi”,
Dictionnaire de spiritualité montfortaine cit., 350.
8 K. RAHNER, Il Dio Trino come fondamento originario e trascendente della storia della
salvezza, in Mysterium salutis, vol.III, Brescia, 1969, p.414; K. BARTH, Die Kirchliche
Dogmatik, I/&, München 1932, p.360; B. FORTE, Trinità come storia, Cinisello Balsamo,
1985; H. MÜLEN, Una mystica persona. La Chiesa come il mistero dello Spirito Santo in
Cristo e nei cristiani: una persona in molte persone, Roma, 1968.

17
 tory…): they do not consider eschatology as something that con-
cerns the after death, the after judgement, rather they tend to discuss
it in more up-to-date terms; however in this way they do not deal
directly with the issue of the radical and extraordinary transforma-
tion of the Church and humanity accomplished by the Spirit and
Mary which Montfort clearly described in the Fiery Prayer (PI 16)
and in the Treatise (VD 217).

Mariologists9 generally do not deal with the subject of Mary in rela-

tion to the final stage of history but at the most, like Laurentin and
others10 - considering Mary “completely engaged in the dynamics of
the history of salvation and in the eschatological rush of the
Church” - they conclude that She “cannot be extraneous to final
eschatology”11. And if Lumen Gentium 62 states that “Mary's
maternity lasts until the eternal fulfilment of all the elect”, Montfort
is more precise, specifying clearly that Mary will act exceptionally
in the last times to such an extent that “many chosen souls will
become living copies of Mary” (TD 217) thanks to the action of the
Holy Spirit:

“God the Holy Spirit wishes to fashion his chosen ones in and
through Mary. He tells her, "My well-beloved, my spouse, let
all your virtues take root in my chosen ones that they may
grow from strength to strength and from grace to grace. (…)
Reproduce yourself then in my chosen ones, so that I may
have the joy of seeing in them the roots of your invincible
faith, profound humility, total mortification, sublime prayer,
ardent charity, your firm hope and all your virtues” (TD 34).

9 R. LAURENTIN, Structure et théologie de Luc I-II, Paris, 1957; A. FEUILLET, Jésus et sa Mère
d'après les récits lucanines de l'enfance et d'après saint Jean, Paris 1974; X. PIKAZA, El
Espíritu Santo y Maria en la obra de s. Lucas, in Ephemerides mariologicae 28 (1978);
TOURON DEL PIE, Maria en la escatología de Lucas, in Ephemerides mariologicae 31 (1981);
H.U. VON BALTHASAR, Teodrammatica, vol. 3: Le persone del dramma, Milano, 1983.
10 Cfr, Etude mariales 40 (1984) 35-90.
11 Ibid., 89

18
According to Montfort these “chosen ones” will be the Apostles of
the last times who - thanks to the deluge of love of the Spirit, the
fruits of their consecration to Mary - will improve the quality of life
with a greater holiness and will spread the Gospel in all the earth.
Thanks to them the kingdom of sin will be transformed into the
kingdom of Jesus Christ.

What “signs” will distinguish the “last times”? According to

Scriptures the warning signs of parousia will be the growth of the
Church (Mt 24,14), the conversion of Israel (Rm 11,25-26), the cool-
ing of the faith (Lk 18,8) and the appearance of the Antichrist (2Tim
2,3-11).

Montfort, in particular in his “Treatise on True Devotion”, also

counts among the signs the very special presence of two heavenly
Protagonists, Mary and the Holy Spirit, as God's response to the
violent influence of Satan. The earthly protagonists will be the apos-
tles of the last times who, through their consecration to Mary, will
receive the fullness of the fire of the Holy Spirit. In them Mary “will
be reproduced” (TD 34) by expressing all her power which will
crush evil.

19
20
 Chapter II

The Holy Spirit and Mary

heavenly protagonists in the last times

“The spirit of Mary is the Spirit of God” (TD 258), consequently

their action in the last times is “one”. In order to understand
Montfort's thoughts on the specific action of each protagonist it is
necessary to examine how he describes them in his works, especial-
ly in the Treatise on True Devotion.

1. The Holy Spirit and his relationship with Mary in Montfort's

work

Who is the Holy Spirit in Montfort's works? He is the author of the

lofty holiness that will bring about the growth of the Church and
will transform the world from a kingdom of sin to the Kingdom of
Jesus Christ, through his sons full of his fire whom he will bring
forth through Mary.
Using an original term, Montfort speaks about the Holy Spirit who,
“fruitless in God” - that is, who in God does not bring forth any
divine person - through the Blessed Virgin became fruitful (TD 20
and 21) by bringing forth Jesus Christ, his “masterpiece”, God made
man. The Holy Spirit, through Mary, also forms all the members of
the Mystical Body (TD 140).

21
 In order for men to be moulded by grace they must first of all rec-
ognize their weakness and unworthiness. This is only possible
through the light of the Holy Spirit (TD 79) who works just as effec-
tively as a soul is similar to the most humble Mary. The precious-
ness of the devotion to Mary consists in this:

“By the light which the Holy Spirit will give you through
Mary, his faithful spouse, you will perceive the evil inclina-
tions of your fallen nature and how incapable you are of any
good. Finally, the humble Virgin Mary will share her humil-
ity with you so that you will despise yourself, you will not
despise anyone and you will desire to be despised by others”
(TD 213.1).

Insofar as man will acknowledge his own limitations, will the Holy
Spirit, as he did with Mary, increase his profound and silent action
in him, which will essentially form his inner life. Not everyone will
be able to assimilate it in its most intimate fibres; the great majori-
ty will stop short at the threshold, at the “first step” (TD 119). Only
those whom Jesus has chosen and called will reach the top of the
holy Mountain and will set up their dwelling place there.
Jesus talks about the first apostle: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-
Jona because flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but my Father
who is in heaven” (Mt 16,17). Only to him - and in him the first apos-
tles of the Church - does the Father reveal the divine “secret”
enclosed in his Son.

Monfort talks about the apostles of the last times: “Only the one to
whom the Spirit of Jesus reveals the secret (…)”. The “secret”
which the Spirit reveals to them is perfect devotion to Mary:

“The Holy Spirit himself will lead this faithful soul to this
secret, so that he may advance from strength to strength, from

22
 grace to grace, from light to light, until at length he attains
transformation into Jesus in the fullness of his age on earth
and of his glory in heaven” (TD 119).

Those who are fully obedient to the action of the Spirit will do
everything through Mary, and will be led not by their own will but
by the “Holy Spirit of God” (TD 258). These will be the new apos-
tles in which always and only the will of the Father will be accom-
plished and who will be the living instruments of the powerful
salvific action of the Holy Spirit.

2. Mary in Montfort's works

When Montfort speaks about Mary he cannot find words that reflect
the ardour of his heart, therefore he often uses symbolic language,
drawing on the titles and symbols of Scriptures and the Fathers and
coining new ones: while speaking about her he uses more than 40
figurative images, which he repeats in variations as much as 102
times, “however the general concept which distinguishes Mary is
her incomprehensibility and ineffability, which are due above all to
three factors: her dignity as the Mother of God, her consequent
holiness and her increasingly important salvific role”12.

“The creation of expressive symbols of spiritual life presumes the

perception of an objective reality which goes beyond the possibility
of conceptual expression and the movement toward this reality”, C.
Bernard writes13. The authors who deal with eschatology often use
symbolism: the eschatological future is perceived intuitively start-
ing from lived and experienced reality because the symbolic image

12 S. DE FIORES, La figura di Maria nel Trattato della Vera Devozione, in MI 10 (1983), p.54.
13 BERNARD CH. A., "Simboli spirituali", in Nuovo Dizionario di Spiritualità by Stefano De
Fiores and Tullo Goffi, Edizioni Paoline, Roma, 1982, ad vocem, pp.1475.
23
 evokes transcendent reality without reducing it to notions and con-
cepts, but enriching it with human experience.
De Fiores groups the Marian symbols used by Montfort according
to the “dominant features” of their functions:

“The symbols applied to Mary reveal that according to

Montfort the Virgin carries out a manifold function: she is the
mould and generating womb of God and God's children
(cyclical feature), the maternal and protective environment of
spiritual growth (nourishing feature), a consecrated and
luminous space which rises up to God (verticality feature),
dynamic intermediary toward the encounter with Christ
(journey feature)”14.

Various images used by the Saint come from his pastoral experi-
ence, however he more often uses other images which belong to tra-
dition, giving them a new force according to his personal insight:
“These are the thoughts and expressions of the Fathers”, he himself
says in Love of Eternal Wisdom (207).

Other symbols, taken with patience from his Notebook, come from
medieval authors and are used to deal with popular culture without
bothering to quote their source: “Were I speaking to the so-called
intellectuals of today, I would prove at great length all that I am now
stating so simply (…). But I am speaking mainly for the poor and
simple, (….) let me merely state the truth to them quite plainly with-
out bothering to quote Latin passages which they would not under-
stand” (TD 26).

The various titles with which Montfort refers to Mary and the sym-
bols he uses to outline her figure thus bear witness not only to the
profound biblical and theological preparation of the Breton mission-
14 S. DE FIORES, ibid, 59-61.

24
ary, but above all his passionate love for the Virgin and his longing
to make known the wonderful discovery of the grace contained in
True Devotion, the source from which the power of Fire of the Spirit
will spring.

Mary, “relative only to God” (TD 225), is “the wonderful echo of

God. When we say "Mary", she re-echoes "God". (SM 21). She
transforms everything we give her into an offering of love toward
the Holy Trinity, and our encounter with her becomes an encounter
with God.

Following a very important and sound course in the history of the

Church, which goes from Saint Irenaeus to Saint Bernard, to Saint
Bonaventure, up until Bérulle, Montfort doesn't limit himself to
explaining Mary's role in the historical coming of Christ, rather he
wants to grasp the salvific meaning that her presence and her role
imply in the history of the salvation of the world and of every sin-
gle human being.

Salvation comes from Jesus, the “way” that leads to the Father;
“Mary is the safest, easiest, shortest and most perfect way of
approaching Jesus” (TD 55). This is the basic concept that is contin-
uously taken up in the Treatise15.

Montfort persistently repeats that Mary is “treasurer” and thus

“mediatrix” and “dispenser of graces”16: the fullness of grace

15 “Mary is the way by which Jesus first came to us, and she is the sure means, the direct and
immaculate way to Jesus and the perfect guide to him (TD 50); she is the way which leads to
our Lord. (TD 75), Jesus chose her as the perfect means to unite himself to us and unite us to
him. (TD 125); our proximate end, our mysterious intermediary and the easiest way of reach-
ing him (TD 265)”.
16 “God the Father gathered all the waters together and called them the seas. He gathered
all his graces together and called them Mary (TD 23); God the Son made her the treasurer of
all his Father had given him as heritage. Mary is his mystical channel, his aqueduct, through
which he causes his mercies to flow gently and abundantly (TD 24); God the Holy Spirit chose

25
 which God has poured into Her makes her also the avenger of God's
laws and the leader of the “predestined” in the apocalyptic battle
against the “devil and the enemies of God”17.

The image of temple and city of God18 had already been attributed
to Mary by the Fathers of the Church and by the Liturgy in her three
main figures: the closed Eastern gate, the symbol of her virginity;
the Holy of Holies and the treasures contained in it, the symbols of
her holiness and intimacy with God19; but Montfort once more takes
up these images, reassesses them and makes them his own accord-
ing to his original style, permeated with a moral rather than doctri-
nal point of view and whose aim is conversion20.

Montfort gives ample room to the image of Mary as the Mother of

the new creation and the garden of reconciliation21: “God the Son
her as the dispenser of all he possesses (TD 25); she is keeper of his treasures, dispenser of
his graces, worker of his wonders, restorer of the human race, mediatrix on behalf of men (TD
28); Mary is the Lord's treasury from whose fullness all men are made rich (TD 23), the
guardian of all our possessions in the natural and supernatural sphere (TD 173), treasurer and
universal dispenser of the merits and virtues of Jesus her Son (TD 206); treasurer and univer-
sal dispenser of the gifts and graces of the Almighty Father (TD 207), She is the treasury of
the Lord” (TD 216).
17 Mary is the “leader of God's armies, destroyer of the enemies of God, and faithful associ-
ate in his great works and triumphs” (TD 28); she is “terrible as an army in battle array”
before the devil (TD 50 and 210); she is the most terrible enemy of the devil that God has ever
created (TD 52).
18 “The Oratory for the soul where we offer up our prayers to God without fear of being
ignored; the Tower of David for us where we can seek safety from all our enemies; a burning
lamp lighting up our inmost soul and inflaming us with love for God; a sacred place of repose
where we can contemplate God in her company; finally Mary will be the only means we will
use in going to God, and she will become our intercessor for everything we need”. (SM 47.2)
19 Cf. G. Gharib, Presentazione di Maria, in Nuovo Dizionario di Mariologia, edited by
Stefano de Fiores and Salvatore Meo, ad vocem, Cinisello Balsamo, 1986, 1039-1045.
20 “Mary is the sanctuary of Divinity, the Resting-place of the Blessed Trinity, the Throne of
God, the City of God, the Altar of God, the Temple of God, the World of God (TD 5-7-262); the
temple of the true Solomon and the mystical city of God (TD 48); Eastern Gate, through which
the High Priest, Jesus Christ, enters and goes out into the world (TD 262); the place of his
repose and the ark of his sanctification (TD 268); the spiritual abode of all spiritual souls; the
throne of honour for the greatest saints in heaven; a house of gold, a tower of David and a
tower of ivory (TD 178); Mary's womb is, the house of the divine secrets (TD 264); the throne-
room of God's mysteries, the seat of the mercy, the liberality, and the glory of God; the mag-
nificence of God, the seat of glory for his Father” (TD 248).
26
came into the Blessed Virgin's womb as a new Adam into his earth-
ly paradise” (TD 18). Mary is the virginal and immaculate earth in
which the genuine tree of life grows.

Mary, the “mould of God” is perhaps the image Montfort holds

dearest, in which he himself takes delight (“How beautiful and con-
vincing is the comparison of the mould which I have used!” (TD
221) because it appropriately expresses the action of the Holy Spirit
who “reproduces” Mary in those who entrust themselves to her:

“She is forma Dei, the mould of God (TD 219): the great,
unique mould of God, designed to make living images of God
at little expense and in a short time (TD 260)”.

The urgent need for a new and higher sanctity for the Church and
for the world comes from the action of the Holy Spirit who with
Mary and through Mary will mould “in a short time” champions of
holiness as never before, who will be able to accomplish humanly
impossible tasks.

The analysis of Marian symbology in the Treatise on True Devotion

shows that Montfort had a profound and personal experience of
Mary which cannot be reduced to ideas or principles.

21 Mary is “the earthly paradise of the new Adam, the world of God, magnificence of the
Almighty, wonderful creature (TD 6); genuine tree the bears that Fruit of life (TD 44); earth-
ly paradise, virgin and blessed land from which sinful Adam and Eve were expelled (TD 45);
tree of life, holy place, a holy of holies, in which saints are formed and moulded (TD 164 and
218); true earthly paradise of the new Adam. In this divine place there are trees planted by the
hand of God and watered by his divine unction which have borne and continue to bear fruit
that is pleasing to him. There are flower-beds studded with a variety of beautiful flowers of
virtue, diffusing a fragrance which delights even the angels. Here there are meadows verdant
with hope, impregnable towers of fortitude, enchanting mansions of confidence... Only the
Holy Spirit can teach us the truths that these material objects symbolise. In this place the air
is perfectly pure. There is no night but only the brilliant day of the sacred humanity, the
resplendent, spotless sun of the Divinity, the blazing furnace of love, melting all the base
metal thrown into it and changing it into gold. There the river of humility gushes forth from
the soil, divides into four branches and irrigates the whole of this enchanted place” (TD 261).

27
 3. The very special presence of Mary and the action of the Holy
Spirit in the last times

Montfort, starting from the concept that Mary and the Holy Spirit
collaborated intimately for the first coming of Jesus in the
Incarnation, concludes that his second coming will come about in
the same way: “It was through the Blessed Virgin Mary that Jesus
came into the world, and it is also through her that he must reign in
the world” (TD 1).

This is the fundamental theme of the Treatise (nos. 13, 22, 49, 157,
217, 262) and all of Montfort's works. John Paul II's Redemptoris
Mater is along the same lines22.

The first time, Jesus came in humiliation and Mary gave her essen-
tial contribution by remaining in humility and hiddenness; in the
second coming she will take part in the glorious manifestation of her
Son and will shine forth “in mercy, power and grace” (TD 50) “so
that Jesus may be known, loved and served through her” (TD 49).

The same Spirit, who hid the figure of Mary during her earthly life
and during the beginning of the Church, now intends to glorify her
without any reservation (TD 49). Mary magnified the Lord by
humbly accepting his plan, now the Lord - according to his promise
- looks on the humility of his handmaid, “his masterpiece” (TD 50)
and exalts her by making her share in his own fruitfulness in bring-
ing forth “all the members of his mystical body” (TD 17):

22 “In the mystery of the Assumption is expressed the faith of the Church, according to which
Mary is "united by a close and indissoluble bond" to Christ, for, if as Virgin and Mother she
was singularly united with him in his first coming, so through her continued collaboration
with him she will also be united with him in expectation of the second; "redeemed in an espe-
cially sublime manner by reason of the merits of her Son," she also has that specifically
maternal role of mediatrix of mercy at his final coming, when all those who belong to Christ
"shall be made alive," when "the last enemy to be destroyed is death" (1 Cor. 15:26) (John Paul
II, Enc. Redemptoris Mater, n. 41).

28
 “Just as in natural and bodily generation there is a father
and a mother, so in the supernatural and spiritual generation
there is a father who is God and a mother who is Mary. All
true children of God have God for their father and Mary for
their mother; anyone who does not have Mary for his moth-
er, does not have God for his father” (TD 30).

In the last times the Spirit will mould in her, with a “fiery deluge of
pure love”, the champions of “lofty holiness” who will renew the
face of the earth and reform the Church (FP 17). However, Mary's
action does not consist only in generating, she also has a formative
action on the apostles of the last times:

“The formation and the education of the great saints who will
come at the end of the world are reserved to her, for only this
singular and wondrous virgin can produce in union with the
Holy Spirit singular and wondrous things” (TD 35); “She is
the mountain you have erected on the summit of the highest
mountains. Blessed, a thousandfold blessed, are those priests
whom you have chosen with such care to dwell with you on
this divine mountain of all delights” (FP 25).

“These holy men whom God will raise up towards the end of time”
(SM 59) “will crush the head of Satan” (TD 54) in the last and deci-
sive battle they will fight following the “leader of God's armies”
(TD 28).

It is the agonal image of Mary (Song 6,4) who never before as in

these last times is “as an army in battle array” to thwart the
enemy's action; the latter, “knowing that he has little time (Rev
12,12) to destroy souls, intensifies his efforts and his onslaughts
every day stirring up savage persecutions and setting treacherous
snares for Mary's faithful servants and children” (TD 50).

29
 The destruction of the kingdom of evil goes hand in hand with the
construction of a new reality which Mary and the Holy Spirit will
accomplish in these children: “These great souls will fight with one
hand, and with the other they will build the temple of the true
Solomon and the mystical city of God” (TD 48). Thus the growth of
he Church will take place with the conversion of Muslims, pagans
and Jews: “Lord, send this all-consuming Spirit upon the earth to
create priests who burn with this same fire and whose ministry will
renew the face of the earth and reform your Church” (FP 17).

Therefore it is appropriate to take a deeper look into the character-

istics of these champions of the last times, the privileged instru-
ments of a new and wonderful action of Grace.

30
 Chapter III

The “apostles of the last times”

according to Saint Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort

The general context for the need for the Apostles of the last times is
the universal disorder which Montfort sees prevailing in the Church
and in the world (FP 17) and which he tries to remedy by offering all
his human and priestly reality. He knows well, however, that he can-
not do it on his own and, with a “Fiery Prayer”, he asks for other
apostles, who all belong to Mary: poor and free like Francis, pow-
erful warriors like Ignatius, determined to fight the last great battle
under the leadership of Mary who - “terrible as an army in battle
array” (Song 6,4) - will lead her champions against “the enemies of
God” (TD 50,6).
Thanks to these apostles the quality of the Church will be improved
in an elevation of holiness (FP 5,17) and it will grow in numbers with
the conversion of Jews, Schismatics, Muslims, etc. (FP 5, 17, 35; TD
48, 50, 59).
Their mission will be to destroy sin by bringing men to a radical
conversion and by establishing the “kingdom of Jesus”. This
destruction of evil and the building of the kingdom will not taken
place suddenly, but will take place subsequently and quickly by
“these great souls filled with grace and zeal, (…) who will fight with
one hand and build with the other” (TD 48).

31
 1.“Who will these servants, slaves and children of Mary be?”

They are those the Spirit has chosen so that “his holy Mother may
be known, honoured and loved as never before” in the last times, at
the conclusion of the ancient battle between the woman and the ser-
pent, between her offspring and the serpent's offspring (Gen 3,15). At
that time Mary's power will be revealed, right when Satan will try
to strike her “heel”, that is “ses humbles esclaves et ses pauvres
enfants” to whom she will convey her grace.
They will be the great saints of the last times who, “in union with
Mary, will crush the head of Satan with their heel, that is, their
humility, and bring victory to Jesus Christ” (TD 54).

Their main characteristic will be a profound inner life; following

John's example they “stay at home with their mother” (TD 196)
devoted to prayer, following the example and in the company of she
who has always loved meditation and prayer. Their main concern
must be their own interior perfection, “compared to which all other
work is mere child's play” (TD 196).

They will live the first and only commandment of Love by seeking
God with all their heart, with all their mind and with all their
strength, like the first monks and hermits who abandoned the world
in order to achieve complete unity with Him. From this profound
vertical tension will spring forth the horizontal one, as a natural con-
sequence: they will go out into the world only to carry out the duties
of their status following the will of God their Father and Mary their
Mother.

These apostles of the last times will thus possess a highly spiritual
dimension and, by the power the Holy Spirit will convey to them,
thanks to their consecration to Mary, they will destroy sin and will
be the cornerstones of the new kingdom:

32
 “We are given reason to believe that, towards the end of time
and perhaps sooner than we expect, God will raise up great
men filled with the Holy Spirit and imbued with the spirit of
Mary. Through them Mary, Queen most powerful, will work
great wonders in the world, destroying sin and setting up the
kingdom of Jesus her Son upon the ruins of the corrupt king-
dom of the world. These holy men will accomplish this by
means of the devotion of which I only trace the main outlines
and which suffers from my incompetence” (SM 59).

When Montfort speaks of the apostles of the last times, he sets off
the volcano which burns in his heart, by resorting to symbols, as he
did with Mary; we are amazed at their quantity (in one page he con-
denses more than 20), at their variety, at their significance and at the
rapid succession with which he expresses them. Many of them have
biblical foundations (arrows, perfume, thundering clouds, breath,
rain, wings, two-edged sword…) which indicate the active presence
of the heavenly protagonists (the Holy Spirit, Mary, the Angels) in
the earthly protagonists (the Apostles of the last times), who are
their concrete manifestation.

The first characteristic of these apostles, condition sine qua non, is

that “they will consecrate themselves entirely to this Queen's
(Mary) service as subjects and slaves of love, (…) and will surren-
der themselves to her, body and soul, without reserve” (TD 55). In
exchange Mary will give herself totally to these souls and the Holy
Spirit, “finding his dear Spouse present again in souls, will come
down into them and fill them with his gifts, especially wisdom, by
which they will produce wonders of grace” (TD 217). The first gift
of the Spirit will be a total purification: “They will be as the chil-
dren of Levi, thoroughly purified by the fire of great tribulations”.
Purified “in a short time” (TD 82, 156, 168, 219, 260) by the “fire”
of suffering, with Mary living in them, the apostles themselves

33
 become “fire”: “They will be flaming fire (…)they will leave behind
them nothing but the gold of love, which is the fulfilment of the
whole law (…); they will carry the gold of love in their heart, the
frankincense of prayer in their mind and the myrrh of mortification
in their body” (TD 55-59).

Without realizing it, Montfort takes a thorough interior x-ray of

himself and, now perfectly moulded in Mary's mould, he acts as a
model for the future apostles, in a verticalism without any reserva-
tion which can only set one free.

Interior freedom is the greatest longing which he forcefully express-

es in the Fiery Prayer (FP 7-12). He now entrusts this utmost ideal,
which the Saint has always remained faithful to, often paying dear-
ly for it, to “his “ priests who will revive its spirit in the last times:
“LIBEROS!”

“LIBEROS!”, without human responsibilities and interests: “with-

out gold or silver and, more important still… attached to nothing
(…), their hearts will not be troubled, nor will they show favour to
anyone; (…) without concern in the midst of other priests, ecclesi-
astics and clerics (…), they will not spare or heed or fear any man,
however powerful he may be (…); surprised at nothing, troubled at
nothing…”
“LIBEROS!”, no longer having ties with the flesh, the blood or the
world… renouncing themselves and brought to new life through
Mary; totally united to God, “true ministers of the Lord (…), true
apostles of the last times (…) true disciples of Jesus Christ, imitat-
ing his poverty, his humility, his contempt of the world and his
love”, they will be able to hover in God's heavens in the total serv-
ice of the Spirit who Mary will fill them with: “They will be clouds
in the sky (FP 9), thunder-clouds flying through the air at the slight-
est breath of the Holy Spirit (…) they will have the silver wings of

34
the dove enabling them to go wherever the Holy Spirit calls them,
filled as they are with the resolve to seek the glory of God and the
salvation of souls” (TD 57-58).

Renewed through Mary and filled with the Holy Spirit, they will be
able to convey to their brothers this great power of “fire” contained
in their hearts and they will carry out their battle brandishing the
“two-edged sword of God's word” (TD 57), the dreadful weapon
which “the Lord of hosts” gives them and in which is contained “the
strength to work wonders and carry off glorious spoils from God's
enemies” (TD 58).
With this sword “they will pierce through and through all those
against whom they are sent by Almighty God”, destroying the king-
dom of Satan in men and at the same time building up in them the
kingdom of God.
They will destroy the kingdom of Satan because “they will thunder
against sin, they will storm against the world, they will strike down
the devil and his followers… they will be the odour of death to the
great, the rich and the proud of this world”; they will build up the
kingdom of God because “they will enkindle everywhere the fires of
divine love”; they will bring to the poor and lowly everywhere the
sweet fragrance of Jesus, they will shower down the rain of God's
word and of eternal life (…).

True followers of Christ, “they will have the blood-stained standard

of the Cross on their shoulders”, that is they will work in the spirit
of great sufferings which they will accept with dignity and strength,
making it their only glory23 and “they will point out the narrow way
to God in pure truth according to the holy Gospel, and not accord-
ing to the maxims of the world”. Their preaching will therefore be
essential and practical24, combined with a behaviour which will

23 Gal 6,14: “But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ:
by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world”.

35
 reflect “the simplicity and self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ”, testified
also by “the crucifix in their right hand and the rosary in their left”,
concrete signs which convey their great love for Jesus and Mary.

The apostles of the last times will be a summary of the manifold

spiritualities which the saints have expressed throughout the history
of the Church, in a way that has never been manifested before:
“especially towards the end of the world, and indeed soon, Almighty
God and his holy Mother are to raise up great saints who will sur-
pass in holiness most other saints as much as the cedars of Lebanon
tower above little shrubs (TD 47). Such are the great men who are
to come. By the will of God Mary is to prepare them to extend his
rule over the impious and unbelievers. But when and how will this
come about? …Only God knows. For our part we must yearn and
wait for it in silence and in prayer: “I have waited and waited” (TD
59).

From the description Montfort gives of the apostles and their work,
it clearly emerges that this battle will take place in the heart of man,
a concept which Montfort had already expressed on other occasions
(TD 38), without cosmic catastrophes.

2. The “secret” of such grace consists in consecration

The strength of the Apostles of the last times will consist precisely
in their consecration to Jesus through Mary (SM 59):

“As all perfection consists in our being conformed, united

and consecrated to Jesus it naturally follows that the most
perfect of all devotions is that which conforms, unites, and

24 SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI, Rule 9: “announcing to them vices and virtues, punishment and
glory, with brevity of speech.

36
 consecrates us most completely to Jesus. Now of all God's
creatures Mary is the most conformed to Jesus. It therefore
follows that, of all devotions, devotion to her makes for the
most effective consecration and conformity to him. The more
one is consecrated to Mary, the more one is consecrated to
Jesus. That is why perfect consecration to Jesus is but a per-
fect and complete consecration of oneself to the Blessed
Virgin, which is the devotion I teach; or in other words, it is
the perfect renewal of the vows and promises of holy bap-
tism” (TD 120).

Substantially, this devotion consists in giving the Blessed Virgin our

body, our soul, our material and spiritual possessions, and even our
merits, virtues and good actions of the past, the present and the
future, all that we possess in the order of nature and grace, without
any reservation (TD 121). Consecration allows Mary to “reproduce
herself” in souls in order to be an irresistible call for the Holy Spirit
who “will come down into them with great power. He will fill them
with his gifts, especially wisdom, by which they will produce won-
ders of grace” (TD 217).

In conclusion, consecration “to the Blessed Virgin and to Jesus”

means allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our life in depth and in
totality, until we are transformed into the likeness of Christ. “The
kingdom of the Father and the kingdom of Mary” will come when
this devotion is known and practiced by everyone, thus allowing
Mary's spirit to take the place of ours in order to rejoice in God, her
Saviour: “May the soul of Mary be in each one of us to glorify the
Lord! May the spirit of Mary be in each one of us to rejoice in God”
(TD 217).

Mary has done this and continues to do this in those who, following
her “Totus tuus”, consecrate themselves to Her by opening wide the

37
 door of their hearts to God25. It is logical that the great adversary
will unleash his anger against the “holy race of Mary”:

“By word and example they will draw all men to a true devo-
tion to her and though this will make many enemies, it will
also bring about many victories and much glory to God
alone” (TD 48). “True it is, indeed, great God, as you your-
self have foretold, that the devil will lie in wait to attack the
heel of this mysterious woman, that is, the little company of
her children who will come towards the end of time” (FP 13).

3. The establishment of the “Company”

Montfort is convinced that only with these new apostles can the
Church obtain victory over the evil which devastates it more and
more. In 1700, immediately after becoming a priest, he wrote to
Leschassier, his spiritual director:

“I feel a tremendous urge to make our Lord and his holy

Mother loved, to go in a humble and simple way to teach cat-
echism to the poor in country places and to arouse in sinners
a devotion to our Blessed Lady (…) I see the needs of the
Church and I cannot help pleading continually for a small
and poor band of good priests to do this work under the ban-
ner and protection of the Blessed Virgin” (L5).

He thus tries to form a “Company” with those who Providence puts

along his way and he strives to convey to them his utmost ideals of
battle and immolation. However, as much as he does his best, he
isn't able to realize this project which he feels was entrusted to him;

25 H.H. JOHN PAUL II, speech of 22 October 1978 “Open wide the doors to Christ!”. Libreria
Editrice Vaticana, 1998.

38
little by little his followers Peter de Bastières, Gabriel Francis
Grignion, Peter Keatying, Thomas Le Bourhis…, back out for var-
ious reasons:

“Louis' ideals are frightening: the more this obstinate mis-

sionary continues on his journey, the more his occasional
auxiliaries… drift away from the scene”26.

When he becomes aware of his helplessness, in order to accomplish

this plan he directs all his remarkable interior energy toward the
Trinity, so that this “company” may come forth directly from his
heart. It is the “Fiery Prayer”, the agonizing cry of God's giant:

“Give free rein, then, O Lord, to your merciful intent and

raise up men of your right hand (…) Ever keep this
Congregation in mind, Almighty God! (…) by the power of
your right arm which has lost nothing of its strength, make it
a living reality and lead it to perfection. Renew the signs and
perform other wonders; let us feel the help of your arm.
Great God, who can change lifeless stones into sons of
Abraham, say but one word and it will be enough to send
good workers to gather in your harvest, and missionaries
worthy of the name to work in your Church” (FP 2,3).

Up until the last moments of his life he will continue to ask God to
raise up “men of his right hand”; for this purpose in March 1716 he
organizes a holy pilgrimage to Our Lady of Saumur with 33 White
Penitents “to obtain from God through Mary's intercession good
missionaries, who will follow the example of the apostles by com-
plete abandonment to divine Providence and the practice of virtue,
under the protection of Our Lady” (RHP, 1).

26 B. PAPÀSOGLI, Montfort un uomo per l'ultima Chiesa, Roma 1991, 39.

39
 Will Montfort see the birth of “his” company of apostles during his
lifetime? Not as he imagines it27, because “this will happen espe-
cially towards the end of the world”; there is still time, even if he is
convinced that it will be “indeed soon” (TD 47): in the spiritual
world it is a standard feature to perceive the events seen in prophe-
cy as very close at hand. Montfort, from the summit of the moun-
tain on which the Spirit has placed him, sees the horde of incarnate
demons which are spreading in the Church and he asks God for
companions who may join the battle with him crying his “Who is
like God?” But heaven seems to ignore him.

Is it possible that God won't grant Mary's heartbroken request for

this prophet, in which she lives and fully identifies with?28 The time
has not come yet. Before the altar of the Trinity, Mary will keep
alive this fiery cry which her servant raises up in the name of the
Church and of humanity and its effects will be seen in the most dif-
ficult moments of the last Church.

Saint Louis Mary pays the high price of a prophet who spiritually
lives the dramatic final battle between good and evil; he has realized
that in order to accomplish his salvific plan “Almighty God and his
holy Mother are to raise up great saints who will surpass in holiness
most other saints” (TD 47) and he asks for its fulfilment with all the
strength of his being.

This exasperated tension is the Gethsemane in which the Saint

struggles and is on the verge of despair; his agony is “a thousand

27 “At the age of forty-three he died from the rhythm of his own apostolic race (…) in his bare
hands he doesn't even bear the joy of a complete foundation (…) of that company of mission-
aries for which he wrote, in letters of blood, his “Fiery Prayer”, the only hope and longing
of his existence, only its seed remains, that is a rule, a few brothers and two priests, to whom
he bequeaths, on his death bed, a arid will without emotions, the instruments of his own mis-
sionary efforts”, B. PAPASOGLI, Introduzione Generale, in Opere di San Luigi Maria da
Montfort, vol. I, Roma, 1990, p. XXXVII.
28 Cf. TD 216: “she imparts to you her own virtues and clothes you in her own merits. So you
will be able to say confidently to God: "Behold Mary, your handmaid, be it done unto me
according to your word.".
40
times” worse than death: “I would rather die a thousand deaths
than endure such a fate. Send me your help from heaven or let me
die” (FP 14).
Just like Jesus in the garden, Saint Louis also overcomes human dis-
couragement by an act of faith and hope in the Father's intervention:

“Were it not for the hope that I have that, sooner or later, the
interests of your glory will prevail and that you will hear this
poor sinner's prayer, as you have heard so many others: I
would make mine the ultimate plea of your prophet: take
away my life!” (FP 14).

Montfort wins his “agon”, that is his existential spiritual battle, by

accepting the will of God; however, in his “Take away my life” we
find his exhausted humanity.
It is man's eternal battle between life and death29. If we prefer a psy-
chological point of view, we should determine the two conflicting
inclinations in man, or rather the very essence of man as the conflict
of these two vital realities: man who biologically is inclined toward
life, but who psychologically possesses a necrophilic potential
which makes him desire the annihilation of himself as an alternative
solution.

On a spiritual level, we can interpret it as the mighty duel between

life and death that Jesus confronted and won for all of us and this
inheritance belongs to those who follow him.
The Father, as he did with Jesus, bows down over his champion,
helps him to drink the bitter cup of his “failure” and gives him new
strength to continue fighting:

“Yet, my trust in you is so great that I am inspired to cry out

like another of your prophets: I will live and proclaim the

29 Cf E. FROMM, “Anatomia della distruzione umana”, Milano 1973.

41
 Lord's mighty works. This I will do until the time comes when
I can say with Simeon: Now, O Lord, you let your servant
depart in peace because my eyes have seen your salvation”
(FP 14).

The Saint is convinced that his “fiery prayer” has been answered
and, with his unusual ability to materialize plans which he has spir-
itually conceived, he writes the Rule for the Missionary Priests of
the Company and the letters to the Members of the Company of
Mary with renewed conviction.
His goal is to outline the journey for the future apostles which is
divided into two categories: the “Company”, made up of “all those
worthy priests who are to be found throughout the world” (FP 29),
which he fervently asked the Trinity for in the Fiery Prayer and the
“mighty legion of brave and valiant soldiers of Jesus and Mary”
(TD 114) made up of lay people, both men and women.

4. The priests of the “company of Mary”

When Montfort addresses his Fiery Prayer to the three divine

Persons, he is thinking above all of the “company” of the religious
who, inspired by his same spirit, will fight the last battle for Mary's
final victory over the great adversary.

The Rule he wrote for the Missionary Priests of the Company of

Mary contains some original ideas which can only be understood as
a mysterious prophecy, right from the first paragraph:

“1) Only priests who have already completed their seminary

training are to be admitted to the Company; therefore clerics
in minor orders are excluded until such time as they have
been ordained priests.”

42
In no other religious order is such a rule found, in fact, all founders
tend to have their own seminaries in which they can better shape
vocations according to their own spirituality.
This strange clear and peremptory directive, placed precisely at the
beginning, shows how much Montfort had this subject at heart.

For what reasons? We can make a few hypotheses:

- he sees the times close at hand, and there is no time for the numer-
ous years of formation in the seminary;

- the priests who will form the “Company” must already be experts
in spiritual battles and tempered by suffering, and already on their
way to holiness;

- since we are dealing with priests who are already ordained, they
must necessarily belong to a diocesan or religious group with which
they are no longer able to identify themselves because they feel
more binding and demanding spiritual needs.

Perhaps they are “the stones which the builders rejected” who are
looking for a suitable arrangement along with others who have their
same interior tension. Montfort's eagle's eye tries to locate others in
God's heaven, himself being the great victim of persecution30, who
may resound the anxiety of his soul:

“Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come to me! (Ex

32,36). Let all those worthy priests who are to be found
throughout the world, those still in the fight and those who
have withdrawn to deserts and secluded places, let them, I
say, come and join us. In unity there is strength. With the

30 Montfort received many sanctions and refusals by superiors and Bishops with the order not
to return to various dioceses. Cf. B. PAPÀSOGLI, op. cit.

43
 cross as our standard, let us form a strongly disciplined army
drawn up in lines of battle. Let us make a concerted attack
on the enemies of God who have already sounded the call to
arms (…). Awake! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Rise up! (Ps
44,24). Arise, Lord. Why is it you appear to be like one
asleep? Arise in your might, your mercy and your justice and
create this bodyguard of hand-picked men who will protect
your house, defend your glory and save the souls that are
yours. Thus, there will be but one sheepfold and one shep-
herd, and all will make your temple resound with their praise
of your glory. Amen.” (FP 29-30).

The members of the Company must be free from any permanent

occupation, and possess no worldly possessions (and if they do,
they must get rid of them before joining the Company); they must
be devoted only to evangelization, “instabiles” (with no fixed
abode) and not “habitatores quietis” (sedentary people who don't
like to fight), they must be in good health and must not be too old
(under 60), with strong and obedient lay brothers who will support
them.
In addition, every year they must renew their vows of poverty and
obedience for five consecutive years. The saint is extremely
demanding regarding these two vows: only genuine poverty makes
one light and ready to run wherever the Spirit calls him by means of
obedience.

Montfort builds his Rule by drawing from the essence of the foun-
dations achieved by the saints he admires the most: the poverty of
Saint Francis of Assisi; the missionary spirit of Saint Paul, Saint
Vincent Ferrer and Saint Francis Xavier; the missionariety among
the poorest “like Monsieur Vincent's priests”; the spirit of fighters
of Ignatius of Loyola; above all they must be obedient: the formal
or obdurate disobedience to a superior is the greatest offence that

44
can be committed in the Company and as perhaps the only one
which merits exclusion from the community (RM 25).
We can well understand Montfort's resoluteness regarding obedi-
ence because it is the heart of consecration which consists in the
total denial of one's own will.

The missionary's life is measured by intense prayer: not less than

half an hour of mental prayer in the morning, recitation of the entire
Rosary and of the small rosary of the Blessed Virgin, at least half an
hour of thanksgiving after every holy Mass, the entire breviary
recited in common, if possible, a quarter of an hour of examination
of conscience before lunch, in a climate of continuous silence and
modesty. Ample time is put aside to hearing confessions.

In this first stage there is no talk of penance - which was very pop-
ular in the eighteenth century - but of “fire” which works in the soul
through suffering.

This is the spirituality of Mary's “Fiat” which She conveys and con-
tinues to live in her “servants, slaves and children”: complete aban-
donment to God, accepting “great tribulations” with joy and leaving
the way open to the “fire” of the Spirit, the only author of our sanc-
tification.

Since they are consecrated to Mary, these champions give Her the
offering of their priesthood and become, like John the apostle, her
priests and witnesses:
“ (…) et ex illa hora accepit eam discipulus in sua”31. In his
life and in his possessions which saint John called «in sua»
(with him), he placed above all his priesthood, which he gave
to Mary and placed at her service. In short, he became
Mary's priest”.32
31 “(…) and from that hour the disciple took her to his house” (Jn 19,27).

45
 Are these fiery priests the members of Montfort's congregation
(whose foundations he lay) which was created according to his spir-
ituality? Or perhaps do they to refer to a new ecclesiastic group who
is totally consecrated to Mary, in line with the “Montfortian” John
Paul II's totus tuus? This hypothesis seems more consistent with the
strong prophetic and ecclesiastic figure of Saint Louis Mary:

“Montfort's spiritual posterity is broader than his religious

foundations (…) and it encourages devotees of Mary and her
doctors not to place themselves at the margins of history, but
rather to project themselves toward the renewal of the
Church and of the world, under the influence of the creative
Spirit. When the Church becomes “Mary”, Jesus will be born
again and will reign in the world”.33

5. “Other priests who will join them”

Together with this first group, which constitutes the “full-time”

Company of Mary, Montfort sees other priests who, without joining
it permanently, will totally embrace its ideal of battle. A second
Saint Michael, in these times of general confusion and rebellion to
God, he spiritually takes over the reins of Christianity, dismayed by
the enemy's violence. There is no time to organize a counterattack
according to customary schemes; he gathers all the hidden forces
which Mary has prepared.

With the spirit of the great biblical fighters34, he begins the counter-
attack with a general call to arms:

32 A. LHOMEAU, op.cit, p.78.

33 S. DE FIORES, “Lo Spirito Santo e Maria”, p.48.
34 “And Mathathias cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying: Every one that has zeal
for the law, and maintains the testament, let him follow me” (1 Mac 2,27)..

46
 “Let all those worthy priests who are to be found throughout
the world, (that is in the universal Church), those still in the
fight and those who have withdrawn to deserts and secluded
places, let them, I say, come and join us. With the cross as
our standard, let us form a strongly disciplined army drawn
up in lines of battle. Let us make a concerted attack on the
enemies of God who have already sounded the call to arms”
(FP 29).

These are the “fiery priests” who will fight the battle of the last
times and lead the Church to victory.

6. The “mighty legion of brave and valiant soldiers of Jesus and

Mary”

Next to the priests of the Company and “other priests who will join
them” Montfort places a third category of lay people who will how-
ever live their membership to the Company of Mary with the same
intensity.

At first glance it might seem to be a third order like other existing

ones; but this “legion” goes well beyond a small group; it involves
all humanity. It deals with lay people who have consecrated them-
selves to Mary according to the directives of the “Treatise on True
Devotion”, the “little book” which forms and transforms the chosen
ones. These, together with the “fiery priests”, will destroy the devil
who will hurl himself against them to “tear them to pieces with his
diabolic teeth” (cf. Rev 12,4):

“I clearly foresee that raging beasts will come in fury to tear

to pieces with their diabolical teeth this little book and the
one the Holy Spirit made use of to write it, or they will cause

47
 it at least to lie hidden in the darkness and silence of a chest
and so prevent it from seeing the light of day. They will even
attack and persecute those who read it and put into practice
what it contains. But no matter! So much the better! It even
gives me encouragement to hope for great success at the
prospect of a mighty legion of brave and valiant soldiers of
Jesus and Mary, both men and women, who will fight the
devil, the world, and corrupt nature in the perilous times that
are sure to come."Let the reader understand. Let him accept
this teaching who can” (TD 114).

Redemption will be accomplished when the Father's will is done in

all men; only then will the heavenly Jerusalem come down upon the
earth and take the place of the present Babylon. When will this hap-
pen?

“My dear friend, when will that happy time come, that age of
Mary, when many souls, chosen by Mary and given her by the
most High God, will hide themselves completely in the depths
of her soul, becoming living copies of her loving and glorify-
ing Jesus? That day will dawn only when the devotion I teach
is understood and put into practice. "Lord, that your kingdom
may come, may the reign of Mary come” (TD 217).

Today more than ever, Montfort's prophetic words are being carried
out in mysterious ways. The power of grace contained in the
Treatise is being manifested in its marvellous propagation35 thanks
to this “legion” whose members can no longer be counted.
35 “From Europe to Africa, from the Americas to Asia, to Oceania: we often discover the
presence of people or groups that live out the consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary
according to the method taught by Montfort, even before a missionary arrives in that area or
the Church is organized in that place. It is the vanguard of the Gospel, it is the Spirit who
encourages its Church, it is Mary who carries Jesus in her womb, still hidden, but destined
to then reveal himself as the light of the peoples and the salvation of the world”, B. CORTI-
NOVIS, Presentazione delle Opere di S. Luigi Maria da Montfort, Roma 1990.
48
Even in this aspect the “prophet” Montfort is ahead of his times
when he grants lay people an active participation in the salvific
action of the Spirit which will be endorsed and made official by the
Church in Vatican Council II36.

36 “To intensify the apostolic activity of the people of God, the most holy synod earnestly
addresses itself to the laity…” Decree on the APOSTOLATE OF THE LAITY, 1..

49
 Chapter IV

The updating of Montfort's teachings

on the last times

The second coming of Jesus, therefore, will not take place with
exterior phenomena, but in our hearts thanks to the work of the
Company of priests and of the mighty legion of lay people who are
totally united to Mary “her humble servants and her poor children”
who will crush the head of the serpent.
The “humble servants” are the “Company” of priests who have vol-
untarily denied their own freedom, according to the spirit of “True
Devotion”. The “poor children” are the “mighty legion” of lay peo-
ple, the “heel” of Mary, that is the category of the weakest: all those
who suffer and the children “infirma mundi” as Pope Benedict XV
called them37, who have consecrated themselves totally to Mary.

The salvific value of suffering is an expected and fundamental

theme of Catholic spirituality, from Saint Paul's “in my flesh I do my
share on behalf of His body in filling up what is lacking in Christ's
afflictions” (Col 1,24) to John Paul II's Salvifici Doloris38.
Instead, the inclusion of children in the great plan of redemption is
something new, even though various passages of Scriptures are
indicative in this respect. When we say “children” we mean adults

37 Osservatore Romano, 30 July 1916.

38 Apostolic Letter, 11 February 1984.

50
who have denied themselves39, by dying40 and being reborn in spir-
it41, and children in age42: only children are allowed to enter into the
kingdom of heaven, that is in the dimension of the spirit.

1. Children in spirit

These are all those who have followed Jesus and who must obey the
conditions laid down by the Master: “Unless you are converted and
become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heav-
en” (Mt 18,3). They are adults to whom Mary gives new life and
who Montfort refers to with the word “enfanter”, which appears
several times in his works (TD 31, 37; SR 57; LFC 4) and which
means “donner le jour à un enfant”, “mettre au monde”43, that is
“to give birth” and it expresses the action of Mary who brings forth
to supernatural life and then nourishes and rears.

We have a confirmation of this in other passages of Montfort's work

in which there is a better explanation of the life-giving action of
Mary whom the Father wanted as the mother of his Only begotten
son and of all men, even though in different ways: with Jesus, her
function of giving birth didn't involve pain (“Blessed is the fruit of
your womb (…) which you bore without suffering and which you
brought forth without pain” SMR 57); on the other hand, with men
(“children of pain and of the law, brought forth in her sorrowful
heart”) (LAC 4).

39 “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself” (Mt 16,24).
40 “For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall
find it” (Mt 16,25).
41 “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a children will not
enter it at all” (Lk 18,17).
42 “Let the children come to me, and do not keep them away, for of such is the kingdom of
heaven” (Lk 18,16).
43 Grande Larousse, ad vocem, Paris 1863

51
 Thus Mary has received a very special grace to bring forth (“enfan-
ter”) to the life of the spirit the “predestined” as well. They can be
born only by means of Her, by becoming children (“enfant”) who
draw life and nourishment from their Mother (SM 14. 8, TD 31). In
them She can “take up her abode” (TD 29); she can “form them in
Jesus and Jesus in them” (TD 37), by collaborating with the Holy
Spirit in an indissoluble way. God the Father, having given her
power over his own Son, also gave her power over these “children”
(TD 37) whom she rears - and in them the whole Church - in a bind-
ing and heroic, and at the same time liberating, holiness because she
shows them the true face of the Father44.

The “Treatise on true devotion” is the forge of this ultimate holiness

in which Mary shapes, in the fire of the Holy Spirit, “her poor chil-
dren” with whom she leads humanity toward salvation, toward the
Father, the “fold” into which she enters through the “door” which
is Jesus (Jn 10,9).

Catholic tradition has always pointed out Mary's function of giving

new life. What is new is the inclusion of children in the list of fight-
ers: could their decisive inclusion in the battle be the “manner least
expected by men” by which the mysterious plan of God, carried out
by Mary, will be fulfilled (SM 58)45?

Montfort speaks of “a short time” (TD 152 and following); he con-

templates the action of the Spirit in adults who, before “receiving

44 “The Mother of fair love will rid your heart of all scruples and inordinate servile fear. She
will open and enlarge it to obey the commandments of her Son with alacrity and with the holy
freedom of the children of God. She will fill your heart with pure love of which she is the treas-
ury. You will then cease to act as you did before, out of fear of the God who is love, but rather
out of pure love. You will look upon him as a loving Father and endeavour to please him at
all times. You will speak trustfully to him as a child does to its father”. (TD 215).
45 “But I do know that God, whose thoughts are further from ours than heaven is from earth,
will come at a time and in a manner least expected, even by the most scholarly of men and
those most versed in Holy Scripture, which gives no clear guidance on this subject” (SM 58).

52
new life”, must die to themselves; this can take place only after they
have been destroyed in an act of purification which involves its own
times, even if they are shortened compared to the past.
Thanks to their innocence, children are already in the world of the
spirit (Mt 19,14) and this work of purification, although necessary46,
is much quicker and easier.

The ecclesiastic events which have given these times a clearly

Marian impression help us to glimpse a flash of light in this
“obscure” plan of God by directing us precisely toward children.

2. The “manner least expected by men”

After studying his writings, the first censors of Montfort's work

remained perplexed about his way of describing the action of Mary
in the “last times”. Today, strengthened by the events of the XX
century, Montfort's vision has continued to emerge in a more precise
manner:

“Today we must affirm - on more sound bases than those of

Roman censors in 1853 and father Lhomeau in 1919 - that
history runs in the direction which Montfort anticipated. The
charismatic renewal in the Spirit and the discovery of pneu-
matology in the present Catholic theology, together with the
mariaphanies and the promotion of the Marian cult in the
Church are “signs of the times and spaces” in tune with
Monfort's perspectives and on the progressive revelation of
Mary in the age of the Spirit”47.

46 At the school of the Angel of Portugal (saint Michael, the patron of this nation), the chil-
dren carried out this purification by much prayer and voluntary sacrifices, as Lucia clearly
describes in her Memoirs (Memorias de Sor Lucia, cit., 63-65).
47 S. DE FIORES, ibid., 33.

53
 Never before in history has Mary made herself so present in the
world as in our times, in which there has been a succession of
Marian manifestations in an endless crescendo which doesn't show
signs of decreasing:

“Paradoxically, while theologians and authors of spirituality

had relegated the visions among the adiaphora48, the age of
the great apparitions has begun, which will arouse a great
deal of interest in the Church (…) If we consult the bibliogra-
phy on apparitions, we can note that the multiplication of the
apparitions and the increase in their studies go hand in hand.
From the list established by B. Billet, who has counted 232
extraordinary phenomena, true or estimated, from 1928 to
1975 in 32 nations, it emerges that they reach the highest
peak between 1947-1954 with a total of 105. (…) In the
1980's, especially with the massive presence of the appari-
tions of Medjugorje, the figures of the previous periods are
widely exceeded, reaching the record of a few thousands of
visions”49.

The majority of the Marian apparitions of the last two centuries are
directed toward children (La Salette 1846, Lourdes 1854, Pontmain
1871, Fatima 1917, Beauring 1932, Banneux 1933, Tre Fontane
Rome 1944, Medjugorje 1980, Civitavecchia 1994…) some of
whom were later proclaimed saints by the Church.

Montfort couldn't have imagined this massive involvement of chil-

dren from Heaven, which had never taken place before in the histo-
ry of the Church.

48 “Adiaphora”: what a wise person considers insignificant, of no importance.

48 S. DE FIORES, Le apparizioni all'incrocio degli studi teologico-interdisciplinari. Stato della
questione nell'odierna riflessione culturale, in Actas do Congresso Internacional de Fátima
(9-12 de Octubro de 1997), Fenomenologia e teologia das Apariçoes, Santuário de Fátima
1998, 31.

54
Even the prophetic words of the most recent Popes and saints direct
us toward children as a fount of salvation.

Looking back at Scriptures, this doesn't surprise us: God, in the

most dramatic moments of the history of Israel, has always come to
his people's aid by using “children”, that is humanly fragile means:
“From the mouth of infants and nursing babes you have established
strength because of your adversaries, to make the enemy and the
revengeful cease” (Psalm 8).

Montfort himself receives some insight on God's “obscure” style

when he compares his apostles to “second Davids”:

“(…) carry out your will to the full and, like David of old, lay
low all your enemies, with the Cross for their staff and the
Rosary for their sling” (FP 8)50.

Goliath is the symbolic figure of Satan who enslaves God's people

on earth and whom no human force can thwart.

He plans to strike and humiliate God in men, but God humiliates

him by using a child to whom he gives his strength (1 Sam 17,42-46).

God uses this style in choosing Mary precisely for her “humility”
(Lk 1,48). Therefore, wouldn't it be consistent with this biblical logic
if God - “with Mary, in Mary and for Mary” (TD 257) - intervened
against modern man's excessive pride by using his smallest chil-
dren?

50 We must keep in mind that in all six apparitions of Fatima the Blessed Virgin urged the
children to pray the Rosary, and Lucia dos Santos later declared: “there is no problem,
whether it be personal, familiar, national or international, that we cannot resolve by the
prayer of the Holy Rosary”.

55
 3. Mary's “heel” includes children as well

“But Mary's power over the evil spirits will especially shine
forth in the latter times, when Satan will lie in wait for her
heel, that is, for her humble servants and her poor children
whom she will rouse to fight against him” (TD 54).

Children who consecrate themselves to Mary are the first to be

included among these “mighty legion of brave and valiant soldiers
of Jesus and Mary, both men and women, who, united with priests
and lead by them, will fight the devil, the world, and corrupt nature
in the perilous times that are sure to come” (TD 114).
Montfort doesn't speak explicitly about children being the protago-
nists of the last battle. As we have already noted, he couldn't have
foreseen what Our Lady would manifest to three children two cen-
turies later at Fatima, on 13 May 1917, summarizing in this first
encounter all the elements he outlines in his “True Devotion”:

1. Consecration meant as the offering of one's life (“Do you wish to

offer yourselves to God…”);

2. The acceptance of suffering, a fundamental element of True

Devotion (“… to bear all the suffering He will send you…”);

3. The victory of the apostles of the last times who overcome the
great adversary hidden in men (“… in an act of reparation for the
conversion of sinners…”);

4. The universality of this battle which will lead to the complete

freedom of humanity and to a new creation (“… for peace in the
world?”).

In a flash, in an encounter which lasted a few minutes, the three

children pronounce their “yes” and are immersed in the “divine
mould” of Mary and are totally renewed by the fire of the Holy
56
Spirit which comes forth from Mary (“The Lady opened her hands,
and from them came a most intense light which (…) penetrated us
in the innermost part of our souls. We saw ourselves in this light, as
it were, immersed in God. That light was God…”51).

Saint Pio of Pietralcina, who received the stigmata in 1918, imme-

diately after the apparitions at Fatima, and who lived his priesthood
in the purest spirit of “offering himself”, “sees” this mysterious
plan of God and he often repeats: «children will save the world!».

His Holiness Benedict XVI, in making his theological Commentary

on the Message of Fatima, while he was still Prefect of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, thus declared:

“Perhaps this explains why children tend to be the ones to

receive these apparitions: their souls are as yet little dis-
turbed, their interior powers of perception are still not
impaired. “On the lips of children and of babes you have
found praise”, replies Jesus with a phrase of Psalm 8 (v. 3) to
the criticism of the High Priests and elders, who had judged
the children's cries of “hosanna” inappropriate (cf. Mt
21:16).”52

Montfort understands that there is something mysterious in God's

plan which he can't figure out: “No one knows how and when this
will come to pass, but we do know that God, whose thoughts are fur-
ther from ours than heaven is from earth, will come at a time and in
a manner least expected, even by the most scholarly of men and
those most versed in Holy Scripture, which gives no clear guidance
on this subject” (SM 58).

51 Memorie di Suor Lucia, cit., 162.

52 CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH , The Message of Fatima, Theological
Commentary, Rome 2000.

57
 Today, in light of the Gospel, of Mary's numerous apparitions to
children and of the recent teachings of the Church, we can include
children as the forerunners of this marvellous army of Mary which
will fight the last apocalyptic battle against evil in order to free all
humanity53.

4. “Children will save the world”

Mary has pointed out this “manner least expected by men” in her
numerous apparitions to children during the past two centuries. John
Paul II acknowledges this:

“The words of the message were addressed to children aged

from seven to ten. Children, like Bernadette of Lourdes, are
particularly privileged in these apparitions of the Mother of
God”54.

“The humble Servant of God entrusts her evangelical and, at

the same time, maternal message with pleasure to simple and
pure souls: three poor children. This took place precisely at
Fatima. The same thing happened at Lourdes: “because the
kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these” (Mt 19,14),
according to the Lord's words. How can we not be
amazed?”55

There is an evolution and a crescendo in Mary's requests: at La

Salette (1846) she asks for prayers; at Lourdes (1854) she asks for
prayers and penance; at Fatima (1917) she asks for the most, invit-
ing the children to consecrate themselves to the Father by offering
their own lives.
53 In his Rule for the Priests of the Company of Mary, Monfort, ahead of his times, puts much
emphasis on the evangelization of children (“The catechist has the most important function
of the whole mission” RM 79).
54 H.H. JOHN PAUL II, Homily, 13/05/1982, Fatima (Portugal).
55 H.H. JOHN PAUL II, General Audience, 15 May 1991, Vatican City.

58
With Bernadette she gives spiritual renewal to France, attacked by
positivism; with Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, she transforms
Masonic Portugal into “her” land, she preserves it from World War
II and from the “error” of communism and initiates a long possibil-
ity of peace for all humanity.
At Fatima the Blessed Virgin promises the three shepherd children
who welcomed her that she will save their homeland from World
War II. And that is what happened.
If with these children's “yes” Mary was able to save a Nation from
war and communism, what will she be able to do with multitudes of
children who, just as She did, will say their total “yes” to the Father?
She will save the world, as Saint Pio of Pietralcina repeatedly fore-
told.
The Spirit has been guiding the Popes in this direction since the
beginning of the XX century:

With his “Quam Singulari” Decree in 1910, Saint Pius X anticipates

the age of children's First Communion at the first use of reason, stat-
ing that “there will be saints among the children”.

Benedict XV, who became Pope right after Saint Pius X, fully
accepts the spirit of the Decree Quam Singulari and, in July 1916,
addresses all the children in Europe, inviting them to offer their
First Communion so that the terrible war in progress might come to
an end; he defines their prayer as “all-powerful”: “We have trusted
in such omnipotence,o children (…)”56.

56 “Trembling, therefore, on the welfare of humanity, but not despairing of the compassion of
He who healed the peoples, We seek refuge in a thought and in a wish; that it may be pleas-
ing to the tolerant goodness of the Divine Father to look after the innocence of children rather
than the penance of adults. And therefore We have turned to you, o children; just as you
receive all the affection of your parents, you relieve their affliction and make up their future,
thus you receive the special affection of the Father of the Faithful, you sweeten his bitterness
and make up his hopes. Looking at you, dear children, and in you all children, who today in
some parts of the world have received the Holy Eucharist, We see God's very image in a thou-
sand faces, reflected in the pure mirror of your pure souls, and marked by that same omnipo-
tence, which is typical of your imploring lips. An omnipotence, in the first place, which is the.

59
 Pius XII, on 15 April 194557 addresses children: “(…) we again
exhort all - but especially the very young and innocent children - to
humbly entreat the divine Redeemer, through the intercession of
Mary, that the peoples who have been forced into discord, con-
tention, and all kinds of misery, may be able to breathe again after
their long-lasting distress and sorrow” and on 18 December 194758
he insists: “During the present difficulties, We place much trust in
the prayers of innocent children for whom the Divine Redeemer
cherishes a special love”.

On 17 February 196859 Paul VI said: “If you children pray, the Lord
will surely listen to you. Your innocent voices are more powerful
than those of adults”.

In a 1989 audience to 10,000 children from the Armata Bianca John

Paul II said:

“I am very happy to see that you are so numerous and joyful

and I greet you all with great affection. You belong to that
special association of prayer and apostolate which is called
Armata Bianca, because you are consecrated to the Most
Blessed Virgin Mary (…)You know the obligations of your
association: to consecrate yourselves to God the Father and
Mary, by committing yourselves to the recitation of the

child of your innocence, since in the presence of God the accent of a pure heart is much more
effective than that of a penitent and purified heart. An omnipotence, secondly, which is the
companion of your weakness, since the Author of every power chooses only infirma mundi to
confound the vain strength of the world (…)We have trusted in such omnipotence, o children,
when on an anniversary of such mournful memories we have addressed this invitation to
approach the Heavenly Altar (…) Therefore, as at the table in a shipwreck, We have resolved
to have recourse to the invocation of divine assistance with the all-powerful means of your
innocence.” From Osservatore Romano of 30 July 1916
57 H.H. PIUS XII, Epist. Enc. Communium interpretes.
58 H.H. PIUS XII, Epist. Enc. Optatissima pax.
59 H.H. PAUL VI, To the children, winners of the award for the best crib, 17/2/1968, Vatican
City (Rome).

60
 Rosary, with the particular intention of reparation and prayer
for the conversion of many to the Christian message(…) Help
the Church in its mission of Teacher of the Truth, of Mother
of grace. Help it also to spread the faith. Be valid apostles of
Jesus (…)”60.

And:
“We cannot neglect the role of children in the Church. (…)
Actually, already in the Old Testament we can find traces of
the importance given to children. In the first book of Samuel
(1Sam 1-3) there is the calling of the child to whom God
entrusts a message and a mission on behalf of his people.
Children take part in worship and in the prayers of the
assembly of the people. As we read in the prophet Joel (Jl
2,16): “Gather the children and the nursing infants”. (…) In
the book of Judith (Jd 4,10-11) we find the penitent supplica-
tion made by all “with their wives and their children”. (…) In
this catechesis addressed to the “apostolate of laity”, it is
instinctive to conclude with an incisive expression of my
predecessor St. Pius X. In explaining the motivations for
anticipating the age of First Communion, he said: “There
will be saints among the children”. And there actually have
been saints. But we can now add: “There will be apostles
among the children”.61

This theme is repeated once again in his “Letter to children” of

Christmas 1994, the first pontifical document personally addressed
to children:

“It is absolutely true: Jesus and his Mother often choose chil-
dren and give them important tasks for the life of the Church

60 H.H. JOHN PAUL II, Special Audience for the children of the Armata Bianca, 27/5/89,
Vatican City (Rome).
61 H.H. JOHN PAUL II, General audience 17/8/1994, Vatican City (Rome).

61
 and of humanity. (…)He eagerly awaits their prayers. What
enormous power the prayer of children has! (…) it is to your
prayers that I want to entrust the problems of your own fam-
ilies and of all the families in the world. And not only this: the
Pope counts very much on your prayers. We must pray
together and pray hard, that humanity, made up of billions of
human beings, may become more and more the family of God
and able to live in peace. (…)I decided to ask you, dear boys
and girls, to take upon yourselves the duty of praying for
peace.”62

And in 2002, in the Angelus of the Epiphany, John Paul II gives

children a specific mandate: “Today the Church entrusts the mission
of evangelization in a special way to children”63. It is the same task
that Jesus gave his apostles when he ascended into Heaven (Mt
28,19; Mk 16,15).

What must children do in order to allow the Spirit to carry out his
plan in them? First and foremost they must consecrate themselves
to the Father “in Mary, with Mary and for Mary”.

5. Consecration

In his “Treatise on True Devotion” Montfort presents consecration

in the following way:

“This devotion consists in giving oneself entirely to Mary in

order to belong entirely to Jesus through her. It requires us to
give: (1) Our body with its senses and members; (2) Our soul
with its faculties; (3) Our present material possessions and

62 H.H. JOHN PAUL II, Letter to children in the Year of the Family, 13/12/1994, Vatican City
(Rome).
63 H.H. JOHN PAUL II, Angelus, 6 January 2002, Vatican City (Rome).

62
 all we shall acquire in the future; (4) Our interior and spiri-
tual possessions, that is, our merits, virtues and good actions
of the past, the present and the future…. This we do without
any reservation” (TD 121).

All this is fully simplified in Mary's invitation to the three children

to “offer themselves” to the Heavenly Father without any reserva-
tion.

In his encyclical “Redemptoris Mater” John Paul II refers implicit-

ly to the “Treatise on True Devotion”:

“I would like to recall, among the many witnesses and teach-

ers of this spirituality, the figure of Saint Louis Mary
Grignion de Montfort, who proposes consecration to Christ
through the hands of Mary, as an effective means for
Christians to live faithfully their baptismal commitments”
(n.48).

He had already mentioned it in his speeches at Fatima on 12 and 13

May 1982; the speeches he made during these two days, with ample
autobiographical profiles, are a lively account of his personal con-
secration to Mary which he lived “without any reservation”.

Exactly one year had gone by since the assassination attempt which
brought him on the verge of death, but which opened up for him an

64 From Sister Lucia's Memoirs, cit., 111 and following: “One day (as Lucia writes) we went
to spend the siesta hours near my parents' well. Jacinta sat down on the slabs of the well. (…)
After a while Jacinta called me. “Didn't you see the Holy Father?” “No!” “I don't know how
it happened! I saw the Holy Father in a very big house, kneeling in front of a table, crying
with his face between his hands. Outside the house there were a lot of people, some threw
stones, others cursed and said many bad words. Poor Holy Father! We must pray for him very
much!””.
65 FP 28: “Help! our brother is being murdered!... Help! our children are being massacred!...
Help! our kind father is being stabbed to death!...”

63
 endless horizon of light: “he saw” - as he repeats on 13 May 2000
- in his person, the “stricken” Pope which Jacinta Marto64 and
Montfort65 described; “he saw” and believed that the “Woman
clothed with the sun” had come on earth and therefore the time for
her manifestation had come; “he saw” the present power and
urgency of consecration according to Montfort, focused on the per-
spective of the message of Fatima:

“Consecrating the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

means drawing near, through the Mother's intercession, to
the very Fountain of life that sprang from Golgotha. (…)
Consecrating the world to the Immaculate Heart of the
Mother means returning beneath the Cross of the Son. It
means consecrating this world to the pierced Heart of the
Saviour, bringing it back to the very source of its Redemption.
(…) Consecrating ourselves to Mary means accepting Her
help to offer ourselves and the whole of mankind to “Him
who is Holy”, infinitely Holy; it means accepting Her help -
by having recourse to Her motherly Heart, which beneath the
Cross was opened to love for every human being, for the
whole world - in order to offer the world, the individual
human being, mankind as a whole, and all the nations to Him
who is infinitely Holy. (…) The Mother of Christ calls us,
invites us to join with the Church of the living God in the con-
secration of the world. In this act mankind as a whole, the
nations and each individual person are presented to the
Eternal Father with the power of the redemption won by
Christ. They are offered in the Heart of the Redeemer which
was pierced on the Cross. The appeal of the Lady of the
Message of Fatima is so deeply rooted in the Gospel and the
whole of Tradition that the Church feels that the Message
imposes a commitment on her.”66
66 H.H. JOHN PAUL II, Homily, 13/05/1982 Fatima (Portugal).

64
Why does consecration have this irreplaceable value, already
grasped and described by Montfort and repeated by the Virgin at
Fatima?
Because consecration renews Mary's “yes” at the Annunciation
which allows her to continue being a mother to those who conse-
crate themselves to Her, and allows the Holy Spirit to “renew the
face of the earth” by means of them:

“If you are faithful to the practices of this devotion, the soul
of Mary will be in each one of you to glorify the Lord, the
spirit of Mary will be in each one of you to rejoice in God, her
Saviour (…) When that time comes wonderful things will hap-
pen on earth, because the Holy Spirit, finding his dear Spouse
present again in souls, will come down into them with great
power. He will fill them with his gifts, especially wisdom, by
which they will produce wonders of grace. (…) That day will
dawn only when the devotion I teach is understood and put
into practice: “Lord, that your kingdom may come, may the
reign of Mary come” (TD 217).

For adults, consecration requires a long and demanding preparation

of at least a month ; for children everything is very quick; Mary can
renew the miracle of Nazareth in them in a few words, as she man-
ifested at Fatima - on 13 May 1917, by unveiling God's “obscure”
plan and manifesting the divine dynamics which can bring the
whole Church to a total and quick rebirth.

In order to point out the affinities between the two miraculous

events, let us make a brief analogy between Luke's account and
Lucia dos Santos' account:

67 TD 227: “Those who desire to take up this special devotion (…) should spend at least
twelve days in emptying themselves of the spirit of the world (…) then spend three weeks
imbuing themselves with the spirit of Jesus through the most Blessed Virgin”..

65
 The Angel and Mary Mary and the children
in Luke's Gospel in the description of the first
(Lk 1, 26-38) apparition of Fatima 68

A messenger from heaven appears to an earthly creature

The Angel Gabriel was sent from God When we were near a small holm oak,
to a city in Galilee called Nazareth to a we saw another flash of lightning and,
virgin (…) whose name was Mary. after a few steps, we saw on a holm oak
a Lady all dressed in white, more bril-
liant than the sun.

The creature's fear

She was very troubled (…) We stopped astounded by the apparition.

The messenger from heaven reassures the creature

The angel said to her “Do not be Our Lady said “Please don't be afraid
afraid, Mary, for you have found favour of me, I'm not going to harm you.”
with God.”
God's proposal
“And behold, you will conceive in your “Do you wish to offer yourselves to
womb and bear a son, and you shall God, ready to accept all the sufferings
name Him Jesus. He will be great and He wishes to send you, in reparation
will be called the Son of the Most High for the sins with which He is offended,
(…) The Holy Spirit will come upon
and as a supplication for the conver-
you and the power of the Most High
will overshadow you; and for that rea- sion of sinners?”
son the holy Child shall be called the
Son of God”.
The creature's response
And Mary said: “Behold the handmaid “Yes, we do”.
of the Lord, be it done to me according
to your word”.
The action of the Spirit
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you “The Lady opened her hands, and from
and the power of the Most High will them came a most intense light like a
overshadow you; and for that reason reflection which penetrated us in the
the holy Child shall be called the Son of innermost part of our souls. We saw
God:(…) nothing is impossible with ourselves in this light, as it were,
God”. immersed in God. That light was
God”.

69 Narration of the Blessed Virgin's first apparition at Fatima (13 May 1917) taken from:
Memorie di Suor Lucia, cit., 160.

66
At Nazareth an Angel goes to Mary and invites her to give herself
to God so that God can become man. Mary says her “yes”, the Holy
Spirit “overshadows her” and the Son of God becomes the Son of
Man.
At Fatima the Virgin Mary goes to Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta and
invites them to give themselves to God just as She did. The three
children respond with a complete “yes” and, through Mary, the Holy
Spirit penetrates them: it is the second motherhood of Mary
described by Montfort which the Holy Spirit brings about in those
consecrated to her:

“The Holy Spirit chose to make use of our Blessed Lady,

although he had no absolute need of her, in order to become
actively fruitful in producing Jesus Christ and his members in
her and by her.” (TD 21)

John Paul II - in line with Montfort - clearly speaks of the two moth-
erhoods of Mary, the divine one and the spiritual one:

“In giving birth to the Son of God made man, Mary is called,
in a certain sense, to another motherhood, or rather to give
birth to the sons of man as the adoptive sons of God”.69

6. Saints “in a short time” in the divine “mould” of Mary

“Please note that I say that saints are moulded in Mary.

There is a vast difference between carving a statue by blows
of hammer and chisel and making a statue by using a mould.
Sculptors and statue-makers work hard and need plenty of
time to make statues by the first method. But the second

69 H.H. JOHN PAUL II, Speech, 06/02/1996, Ciudad de Guatemala (Guatemala).

67
 method does not involve much work and takes very little time.
St. Augustine speaking to our Blessed Lady says, "You are
worthy to be called the mould of God." Mary is a mould
capable of forming people into the image of the God-man.
Anyone who is cast into this divine mould is quickly shaped
and moulded into Jesus and Jesus into him. At little cost and
in a short time he will become Christ-like since he is cast into
the very same mould that fashioned a God-man” (TD 219).

Francisco and Jacinta Marto are examples of this. In less than two
years in the school of Mary, they attained the fullness of holiness.
The Holy Father himself speaks about this at Fatima on 13 May
2000, referring also to the “Treatise”:

“My last words are for the children: Dear boys and girls, (...)
Ask your parents and teachers to enrol you in the "school" of
Our Lady, so that she can teach you to be like the little shep-
herds, who tried to do whatever she asked them. I tell you that
"we advance more in a brief period of submission to Mary
and dependence on her than in whole years of self-will and
self-reliance" (TD 155). Devoting themselves with total gen-
erosity to the direction of such a good Teacher, Jacinta and
Francisco soon reached the heights of perfection.”70

The Holy Father mentions some concrete examples:

“A transformation takes place in Francisco Marto's life, one

we could call radical: a transformation certainly uncommon
for children of his age. He devotes himself to an intense spir-
itual life, expressed in assiduous and fervent prayer, and
attains a true form of mystical union with the Lord. This spurs

71 H.H. JOHN PAUL II, Homily, 13 May 2000, Fatima (Portugal).

68
 him to a progressive purification of the spirit through the
renunciation of his own pleasures and even of innocent child-
hood games. Francisco bore without complaining the great
sufferings caused by the illness from which he died. It all
seemed to him so little to console Jesus: he died with a smile
on his lips. Little Francisco had a great desire to atone for the
offences of sinners by striving to be good and by offering his
sacrifices and prayers. The life of Jacinta, his younger sister
by almost two years, was motivated by these same sentiments.
(…) Little Jacinta felt and personally experienced Our
Lady's anguish, offering herself heroically as a victim for sin-
ners. One day, when she and Francisco had already contract-
ed the illness that forced them to bed, the Virgin Mary came
to visit them at home, as the little one recounts: "Our Lady
came to see us and said that soon she would come and take
Francisco to heaven. And she asked me if I still wanted to
convert more sinners. I told her yes". And when the time came
for Francisco to leave, the little girl tells him: "Give my
greetings to Our Lord and to Our Lady and tell them that I
am enduring everything they want for the conversion of sin-
ners". Jacinta had been so deeply moved by the vision of hell
during the apparition of 13 July that no mortification or
penance seemed too great to save sinners. She could well
exclaim with St Paul: "I rejoice in my sufferings for your
sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's
afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church" (Col
1:24). (…) A woman who gave hospitality to Jacinta in
Lisbon, on hearing the very beautiful and wise advice that the
little girl gave, asked who taught it to her. "It was Our Lady",
she replied. Devoting themselves with total generosity to the
direction of such a good Teacher, Jacinta and Francisco soon
reached the heights of perfection.”71

71 Ibid.

69
 In 1997 Saint Therese of the Child Jesus was proclaimed a Doctor
of the Church. Her doctrine is the “little way”, which the Spirit indi-
cates to those who follow Mary in order to become “ses pauvres
enfants”. It is symptomatic that the Holy Father has pointed out lit-
tle Therese's spirituality as a light for our times:

“Being children, becoming like little children, means enter-

ing into the heart itself of the greatest mission to which Christ
has called man, a mission which penetrates man's very heart.
Therese knew this very well”72(…) “This young Carmelite,
without any particular theological training, but illumined by
the light of the Gospel, feels she is being taught by the divine
Teacher who, as she says, is "the Doctor of Doctors" (Ms A,
83v), and from him she receives "divine teachings" (Ms B, 1r).
She feels that the words of Scripture are fulfilled in her:
"Whoever is a little one, let him come to me.... For to him that
is little, mercy shall be shown" (Ms B, 1v; cf. Prv 9:4; Wis 6:6)
and she knows she is being instructed in the science of love,
hidden from the wise and prudent, which the divine Teacher
deigned to reveal to her, as to babes (Ms A, 49r; cf. Lk 10:21-
22).”73

The proclamation of Saint Therese as a Doctor of the Church, the

beatification of the first holy children in history, Mary who more
and more often appears to children, the teachings of the most recent
Popes and Montfort's prophecies are the “star” that is clearly lead-
ing us toward children, in age and in spirit: the “wine of the last
hour” which the Father has set aside to set off the light of His
Mercy in the darkness of these times.

72 H.H. JOHN PAUL II, Homily 02/06/1980 Lisieux (France).

73 H.H. JOHN PAUL II,, Apostolic Letter “Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face
is proclaimed a doctor of the Universal Church” 19/10/1997.

70
If more than a century ago Domenico Savio's age (15) seemed an
insurmountable obstacle for his canonization, which only took place
in 1954, now the age of holy children is gradually decreasing:
Antonietta Meo, known as Nennolina74, 6 and a half, was declared
a Servant of God in 1972; Laura Vicuña75, 12, was beatified in 1988;
Mari Carmen Gonzáles Valerio76, 9, became the Servant of God in
1996; Jacinta and Francisco Marto, 9 and 11, were beatified in 2000.

All these children offered their own lives for God and for their
brothers, giving a demonstration of extraordinary strength inversely
proportional to their age. There are many witnesses of other chil-
dren who, although still not included in the roll of saints, have given
remarkable manifestations of grace by putting into practice the
prophetic words of Saint Pius X and John Paul II.
The result of the knowledge of these frequent manifestations of
grace in children is an increasing interest in current theology and
psychological sciences77.

74 (1930-1937) Italian, at the age of five she is diagnosed with cancer in her knee. She writes
“letters” to Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit which are then collected and published.
Her leg is amputated and she offers all her suffering so that there may be an end to the war in
Abyssinia: two days after her death, the hostilities end. L. BORRIELLO, Con occhi semplici.
Antonietta Meo, Nennolina, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano, 2001.
75 (1891-1902) Chilean. Her mother lived with a rich Argentinean farmer. Her educator,
Sister Rosa, left this witness: “the first time I explained the sacrament of matrimony, Laura
fainted, because she then discovered that her mother was living in a state of sin”. She offers
her life for her mother's conversion. After her death, her mother returned to her town and the
Salesian Father Zaccaria Genghini, her confessor, said about her: “only in heaven will we be
able to value the merits of this woman” and her other daughter Amanda said: “I always
believed that my mother was a saint”. J. AUBRY, Laura Vicuña, Elledici, Collana Testimoni,
Leumann Torino 2004.
76 (1930-1939) Spanish, her father is killed during the Spanish Civil War under the order of
Manuel Diaz Azaña, the head of the Communist government. The young girl is just six and
as soon as she hears the news she asks her mother: “Mommy, will Azaña go to Heaven?” Her
mother answers: “If you make sacrifices and pray for him, yes, he will be saved.”. The young
girl offers her life to God for this intention. She undergoes great sufferings which end with
her death three years later on 17 July 1939. A year later Manuel Azana dies in exile in France,
assisted by a priest who gave this witness: “Azaña expired at peace with God after receiving
with lucidity the sacraments.” His Holiness John Paul II proclaimed her “venerable” on 12
January 1996. P. RISSO, Mari Carmen, figlia di un martire e vittima in Messaggero di Gesù
Bambino di Praga, Anno XCVIII (2002), n.1.
77 There are many publications on this topic, to cite a few: K. RAINER, Per una teologia del-

71
 l'infanzia, in Presenza Pastorale 39, (1969) 3; A. FROSSARD, Non ci sono che i bambini che
siano dei veri metafisici, in Le Figaro 10 agosto 1970; M. MONTESSORI, I bambini viventi
nella Chiesa, Morano, Napoli 1922; S. GALLO, Genesi del sentimento religioso nell'infanzia,
ed. Paoline, Roma 1955; J.M. ARAGO-MIJANS, Psicologia religiosa e morale del bambino e
del fanciullo, LDC, Torino Leumann 1970; P. ALBEROA AGARRA, Una experencia educativo-
religiosa en niños de cero a cinco años, degree thesis discussed at the Salesian University of
Rome, in 1971; R. VIANELLO, La religiosità infantile, Giunti Barbera, Firenze 1976; R.
COLES, La vita spirituale dei bambini, Il senso religioso nell'esperienza infantile, Milano
1992; M. ALETTI, La religiosità del bambino, Leumann (TO) 1993.

72
 Chapter V

The “last times” in Montfort and in Scriptures

Could the two perspectives which are seen in Montfort's work - the
pneumatological one in which “the divine anger will reduce the
whole world to ashes” (FP 16-17) and the Christological one in
which “God will come and reign over all the earth and judge the
living and the dead” (SM 58) - be summarized in a single manifes-
tation of fiery love by the Holy Spirit?

Montfort, in repeating often that the final battle will take place
above all in man's inner soul, points out an interpretation which we
also try to apply to other passages of Scripture which deal with the
last times. From this perspective let us briefly examine Matthew 24
and the second Letter of Peter in order to have a complete overview
of the subject.

1. The last times in Matthew's Gospel and in Montfort

“And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun

shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and

78 Cfr.S. DE FIORES, “Dernier temps” in Dictionnaire cit., 346-367.

73
 the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of heaven
shall be moved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of
man in heaven. And then shall all tribes of the earth mourn:
and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of
heaven with much power and majesty. And he shall send his
angels with a trumpet and a great voice: and they shall gath-
er together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest
parts of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them.” (Mt 24,29-
31).

In “heaven”, that is in the dimension of the spirit, the “sun” which

is God “will be darkened”: this is the result of a century of theoret-
ical and practical atheism in which man has wanted to banish God,
renewing on earth the “non serviam” which already resounded in
heaven. It is the dreadful “silence of God” dreaded by Israel.

As a result “the moon shall not give her light”: the Church, which
reflects the light of the sun which is God, will enter into a profound
crisis whose most visible sign will be “the stars which will fall from
heaven”. In God's heaven the “stars” are the priests (“You are the
light of the world” Mt 5,14): from post Vatican II until today about
100,000 priests have abandoned their ministry, and this exodus
doesn't show signs of coming to an end.

“The powers of heaven shall be moved”: The heavens are the souls
of men who, having become orphans because they have lost their
Father and Mother, will find themselves in a profound moral and
spiritual chaos. This situation is already clear as well.

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. And
then shall all tribes of the earth mourn”.
The only sign of the Son of man is the Cross. This sign will appear
impressed with fire in every soul. In suffering, all souls will com-

74
prehend their ingratitude and neglect for this crucified Love, they
will mourn and they will be saved.

In “Dives in Misericordia” we read: “That son, who receives from

the father the portion of the inheritance that is due to him and leaves
home to squander it in a far country "in loose living," in a certain
sense is the man of every period”79 who, in despair, decides to
return to his Father's house.

The last times are those of the greatest moral decay in which we are
living and of which Montfort prophesies. This vision makes his
great supplication to God the Almighty Father spring from his heart:

“Be mindful, Lord, of your Congregation, when you come to

dispense your justice. (…) Will everything come to the same
end as Sodom and Gomorrah? Is it not true that your will
must be done on earth as it is in heaven? Is it not true that
your kingdom must come? Did you not give to some souls,
dear to you, a vision of the future renewal of the Church? Are
not the Jews to be converted to the truth and is this not what
the Church is waiting for? All the blessed in heaven cry out
for justice to be done. And the faithful on earth join in with
them and cry out: Amen come, Lord!” (FP 5).

“And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven
with much power and majesty”. The coming of the Son “with
power” is the response of the Father who will come with His own
power: a creative and renewing power, a power of love, a power of
light… He will certainly not come to destroy, because the Father
creates, and doesn't destroy; He will not come to punish, because He
is a Father of Mercy; He will not come to add darkness to darkness,
because He is a Father of Light who generates and gives Light.

79 S.S. JOHN PAUL II, Dives in Misericordia, n.5.

75
 He will come and “will swallow up the covering which is over all
peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations” (Is 25,7)
and which prevented men from seeing him and thus loving him. The
Son of man will reveal himself with the fiery “power” of his Spirit
which is Mercy (“that Love which is more powerful than death,
more powerful than sin and every evil”80) and will enkindle in every
man the fire of his love.

“And he shall send his angels with a trumpet and a great voice: and
they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the far-
thest parts of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them.” Could
these “angels” be the priests Montfort speaks about, “men as free as
the clouds that sail high above the earth, filled with the dew of heav-
en, and moving, without let or hindrance, according to the inspira-
tion of the Spirit” (FP 9)?

Will these be the angel-priests, “ministers of the Lord who, like a

flaming fire, will enkindle everywhere the fires of divine love” (TD
56) who will gather “his elect from the four winds” which the gospel
of Matthew speaks about? From what is mentioned in the Fiery
Prayer it would appear so: “Muster your chosen men from every
corner of your dominions. Call them and gather them together.
Mobilise them and make of them an army to fight against your ene-
mies.” (FP 26).

2. Montfort's “deluge of fire” and the “rain of fire” in the sec-

ond letter of Peter

Montfort's deluge of fire calls to mind the rain of fire in the second
letter of Peter (2Pt 3,7-10):

80 Ibid. VIII,15.

76
 “The reign especially attributed to God the Father lasted
until the Flood and ended in a deluge of water. The reign of
Jesus Christ ended in a deluge of blood, but your reign, Spirit
of the Father and the Son, is still unended and will come to a
close with a deluge of fire, love and justice (…) None can
shield himself from the heat it gives, so let its flames rise.
Rather let this divine fire which Jesus Christ came to bring on
earth be enkindled before the all-consuming fire of your
anger comes down and reduces the whole world to ashes.
When you breathe your Spirit into them, they are restored and
the face of the earth is renewed. Send this all-consuming
Spirit upon the earth to create priests who burn with this
same fire and whose ministry will renew the face of the earth
and reform your Church.” (FP 16, 17).

This “before the all-consuming fire of your anger comes down and
reduces the whole world to ashes” justly leads us to believe that
Montfort foresaw a catastrophic end of the world, a cosmic Sodom
and Gomorrah. But couldn't this “before” be understood as the “if”
we often find in Scriptures when a great calamity is threatened, con-
ditional however on man's response, as, for example, in the case of
Sodom and Gomorrah81, Nineveh82 and in the Gospel of Luke 1383,
etc.?

In this case, if the predestined accepted Mary's invitation to conse-

crate themselves totally to God, the earth wouldn't be reduced to
ashes because of man, but rather it would be renewed by the Fire of
the Holy Spirit which would spring from Mary's champions. The
“end of the world” would only be “the end of the world of evil” and
everything would end in a positive horizon of light and life.
81 “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their
account” (Gen 18,26)..
82 Cf. Jonah 3.
83 “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Lk 13,3).

77
 The description, full of hope and joy, which Montfort establishes as
the result of the “deluge of fire” in the last times recalls the “rain
of fire” which Saint Peter speaks about in his second Letter:

“Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with

water, perished. But the heavens and the earth which are now,
by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against
the day of judgment and perdition of the ungodly men. But of
this one thing be not ignorant, my beloved, that one day with
the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day. The Lord delays not his promise, as some imagine, but
deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should per-
ish, but that all should return to penance. But the day of the
Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass
away with great violence and the elements shall be melted
with heat and the earth and the works which are in it shall be
burnt up” (2 Pt 3,7-10).

We are under the impression that Montfort and Saint Peter are
expressing the same message of life, by describing with different
words the powerful action which, in the last times, the Holy Spirit
will express in an unimaginable Pentecost.

Various elements allow us to catch a glimpse of the blaze of this

Pentecost in Peter's wording, first of all the word “promise”: a
“promise” of destruction, literally and biblically speaking, is uncon-
ceivable. To promise, according to the dictionary, means “to lead
one to expect, to give hope of”; in Scriptures a “promise” always
bears with it hope - which in God is certitude - of beautiful things,
of life and of joy. Negative things, like death and suffering, aren't
announced as a promise, but as a threat.
In order to convince ourselves of this reality, let us examine some
of the most well-known “promises”.

78
- God promises redemption after Adam and Eve's sin (Gen 3,14-15);
- He promises to protect Cain even after Abel's murder (Gen 4,15);
- He promises a childless Abraham to multiply his seed like the dust
of the earth and the stars of heaven (Gen 12,2 following; Gen 15,5);
- He makes the same promise to Hagar, to console her for the abuse
she received from Sarai (Gen 16,10);
- He promises the Jews, through Moses, that He will lead them to
“a land that flows with milk and honey” (Ex 3,17), namely the
“promised” land;
- God promises the prophets the Redeemer, the utmost sign of his
faithfulness, his covenant and his love.
- When Jesus is about to return to his Father, and he sees his apos-
tles saddened and bewildered, he consoles them with a promise:
“I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you… the Father will
give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever,
the Spirit of Truth” (Jn 14,15-18).

Scriptures are made up of a progression of shining promises, all

kept by God who is “faithful”: Egypt's liberation from slavery; the
promised land; the Messiah and the freedom from sin and the
bondage of hell; God with us, God in us… these are all signs of the
powerful action of the Father who proceeds to win back the love of
His sons, of His creatures, of the whole universe.

The “promise” of a fire of destruction seems inconsistent with this

description of an ever comprehensive love.
This “rain of fire” will take place, but it will be the one the Church
asks for: “Emitte Spiritum tuum et creabuntur, et renovabis faciem
terrae”.

And Saint Peter, who well knows the action of the Holy Spirit,
given the “promise” of a universal Pentecost, can confidently guar-
antee its effects:

79
 “But we look for new heavens and a new earth according to
his promises, in which justice dwells” (2 Pt 3,13).

This universal Pentecost couldn't have taken place at the time Peter
wrote his letters, because all men had to be ready to receive it first,
because God “deals patiently for our sake, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should return to penance” (2 Pt 3,9).

This is what Montfort sees and asks for:

“But your reign, Spirit of the Father and the Son, is still
unended and will come to a close with a deluge of fire, love
and justice. When will it happen, this fiery deluge of pure love
with which you are to set the whole world ablaze and which
is to come, so gently yet so forcefully, that all nations,
Moslems, idolaters and even Jews, will be caught up in its
flames and be converted?” (FP 16, 17)

We are aware of the Holy Spirit's effect on the first disciples: the fire
of the Spirit pierces them and transforms them; it drives away fear,
human respect, the fog of ignorance and they don't hesitate to face
scourging and imprisonment in order to bear witness to the Truth.

It will have a more transfiguring effect on the men of the last times
described by Montfort, after they are totally renewed in body and
soul (“heaven and earth”) by the Divine Fire:

“These followers of the Apostles will preach with great power

and effect. So powerful will their impact be that they will stir
the minds and hearts of all who hear them. It is to them that
you will give your word; the very words of your own mouth
and wisdom, and none of their enemies will be able to with-
stand them” (FP 22-24).

80
It may also help to examine the minor Pentecost which we read
about in the Acts of the Apostles:

“And when they had prayed, the place was moved wherein
they were assembled: and they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost: and they spoke the word of God with confidence. And
the multitude of believers had but one heart and one soul…”
(Acts 4,31-32).

Acts 4,32: “The multitude of believers had but one heart and one
soul”.
2 Pt 3,12: “On the day of the Lord the heavens being on fire shall
be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with the burning heat”.

The fusion of metals is characteristic of fire, which alone can melt

them, purify them and amalgamate them. The “fusion” of men is
characteristic of the “fire” of the Holy Spirit: the multitude who had
“but one heart and one soul” is just a foretaste of the “Unum sint”
for which Jesus prayed and offered himself: “Father, that they may
be one, as we also are” (Jn 17,11).

When the “day of the Lord” comes, thanks to the action of the last
apostles seen and requested by Montfort, such a great power of Fire
will be poured upon humanity that all men will form a perfect unity
among themselves and with God, and they will be “but one heart
and one soul” (Acts 4,32).

It will be the triumph of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary which St.
Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort saw and hoped for:

“When will that happy day come, when God's Mother is

enthroned in men's hearts as Queen, subjecting them to the
dominion of her great and princely Son?” (TD 217)

81
 It will be the fulfilment of Saint Peter's great promise:

“Seeing then that all these things are to be dissolved, what

manner of people ought you to be in holy conversation and
godliness? Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the
day of the Lord, by which the heavens being on fire shall be
dissolved, and the elements shall melt with the burning heat?
But we look for new heavens and a new earth according to his
promises, in which justice dwells” (2 Pt 3,11-13).

It will be the kingdom of Jesus Christ preconized by Montfort:

“Our loving Jesus will certainly come in glory once again to

reign upon earth, (…) The difference between his first and his
second coming is that the first was secret and hidden, but the
second will be glorious and resplendent. Both are perfect
because both are through Mary” (TD 158).

It will be the fulfilment of the “promise” made by the Virgin at

Fatima:

“In the end a long period of peace will be granted to the

world… my Immaculate Heart will triumph!”84

84 Memorie di Suor Lucia, cit. 168.

82
 Conclusion

These reflections attempt to interpret our times in light of the free-

dom of man who can change the course of history by his choices:

“Consider that I have set before thee this day life and good,
and on the other hand death and evil (…) I have set before
you life and death, blessing and cursing; choose therefore
life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Dt 30,15 following.)

Along these lines, John Paul II, after illustrating the evil in action
and the great dangers to which humanity is exposed, gave us the
Dives in Misericordia.

Montfort also prophetically “saw” and described the evil of our

times, its “negative” diagnosis is completely up-to-date; we now
wait for a “positive” confirmation of his prophecies, that is the birth
of the “Company” of fiery priests and of the “legion” of new apos-
tles who, “in union with Mary, will crush the head of Satan with
their heel, that is, their humility, and bring victory to Jesus Christ”
(TD 54).

In the spiritual dreariness in which we are living this will be the

most unprecedented manifestation of the Spirit, it will be the tri-
umph of Mary and her “humble esclave et pauvre enfant” which
She, Mother and Queen, will establish among the greatest prophets
of Christianity.
83
 The apostles of the last times will be the new wine of the wedding
at Cana which Mary will let spring from the Father's Heart when
today in the Church the Light of the Spirit is fading away85. They
“will surpass in holiness most other saints as much as the cedars of
Lebanon tower above little shrubs… they will enkindle everywhere
the fires of divine love… they will extend the rule of the Almighty
One over that of the impious, idolaters and Moslems… “in union
with Mary, they will crush the head of Satan with their heel, that is,
their humility, and bring victory to Jesus Christ…”.

Will their action be able to stop “the anger which will reduce the
whole world to ashes”? We don't have Saint Michael's scales to be
able to quantify the action of Grace, however the “victory of Jesus
Christ” which Montfort speaks about cannot coexist with his
“anger which will reduce the whole world to ashes”; these are two
antithetic realities which we can only interpret as an ultimatum:
either the deluge of Fire of Mercy which transforms and renews or
the rain of fire of anger which destroys and reduces to ashes. Just
like at Sodom and Gomorrah, in a global dimension.

It's not up to us to emphasize God's Mercy, but it is our duty as obe-

dient sons of the Church to believe in the official word of the Pope
and put it into practice:

“The more the human conscience succumbs to secularization,

loses its sense of the very meaning of the word "mercy,"
moves away from God and distances itself from the mystery
of mercy, the more the Church has the right and the duty to
appeal to the God of mercy "with loud cries." These "loud
cries" should be the mark of the Church of our times, cries
uttered to God to implore His mercy, the certain manifesta-
tion of which she professes and proclaims as having already
come in Jesus crucified and risen, that is, in the Paschal
Mystery. It is this mystery which bears within itself the most
complete revelation of mercy, that is, of that love which is

86 “However, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Lk 18,8)

84
 more powerful than death, more powerful than sin and every
evil, the love which lifts man up when he falls into the abyss
and frees him from the greatest threats” (Dives in Misericordia,
VIII, 15).

Let us do away with all sterile controversies and raise up “loud

cries” so that, in these last times, Mary may give the Church the
“Company” and the “Mighty Legion” which Montfort prophesied.
Who will belong to it? The Holy Father's exhortation is addressed
to everyone: each one of us - by obeying the Shepherd's words - is
invited to carry out the Father's kingdom by becoming an Apostle of
Mercy.

“With our eyes fixed on Christ,

sustained by the hope which never disappoints,
let us walk together
at the beginning of the new millennium:
Rise, let us be on our way!”
(John Paul II)

85
 References and Bibliography

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 Index

Introductions…………………………………………………………………pag. 7

Chapter I
THE “LAST TIMES” ACCORDING TO SAINT LUIS MARY GRIGNION DE MONTFORT .. 11
1. The “last times” in Montfort's works ………………………………...11
2. Continuity and new prospects ……………………..…………….… 13
3. Scenario of the last times …………………………………………. 14
4. The action of the Spirit and Mary in the final stage of history …... 17

Chapter II
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND MARY HEAVENLY PROTAGONISTSIN THE LAST TIMES …….. 21
1. The Holy Spirit and his relationship with Mary
in Montfort's work ………………………………………………… 21
2. Mary in Montfort's works………………………………………….. 23
3. The very special presence of Mary and the action
of the Holy Spirit in the last times ………………………………… 28

Chapter III
THE “ APOSTLES OF THE LAST TIMES”
ACCORDING TO SAINT LUIS MARY GRIGNION DE MONTFORT …………………….. 31
1. “Who will these servants, slaves and children of Mary be?” ………. 32
2. The “secret” of such grace consists in consecration ………………... 36
3. The establishment of the “Company” ………………………………. 38
4. The priests of the “Company of Mary” ……………………………... 42
5. “Other priests who will join them” ………………………………... 46
6. The “mighty legion of brave and valiant soldiers of Jesus and Mary” 47

Chapter IV
THE UPDATING OF MONTFORT’S TEACHINGS ON THE LAST TIMES ……………….. 50
1. Children in spirit ……………………………………………………. 51
2. The “manner least expected by men” ……………………………….. 53
3. Mary's “heel” includes children too ………………………………… 56
4. “Children will save the world” ……………………………………. 58
5. Consecration ………………………………………………………. 62
6. Saints “in a short time” in the “divine mould” of Mary…………… 66

Chapter V
THE “LAST TIMES” IN MONTFORT AND IN SCRIPTURES ………………………….. 73
1. The last times in Matthew's Gospel and in Montfort………………... 73
2. Montfort's “deluge of fire” and the “rain of fire”
in the second letter of Peter ………………………………………... 76

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………….. 83
Bibliography …………………………………………………………………... 8
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