The Marks of True and False Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary

The images of Nuestra Señora de Guia, Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa, Nuestra Señora del
Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Manila and Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepcion- Mater Purisima
in the early years of the Grand Marian Procession in Intramuros, Manila

Editors note: Devotion to the Saints – most importantly, to the Blessed Virgin Mary – is one of the defining elements of our Catholic faith. In the mind of the Church, devotions are not required by the Church to attain salvation yet they are greatly instrumental for us to obtain the graces necessary in life, especially in our spiritual journey, such as spiritual strength and inspiration. St. Teresa of Avila in one of her works also explained that devotion should be treated as a tool help us in prayer in order to have a have a special communication to God. It can also be said that devotion is an expression of love. That is why if we say that we love the Saints, in order to show our love, we must desire to be more spiritual and devoted like them, to grow in virtues like they did while on earth, and to be one with them in loving God.

Virgen de los Remedios de Pampanga in procession

There are many widely popular Marian devotions, especially in our country, including the Rosary, which is probably the most prominent, the wearing of the Brown Scapular and the Miraculous Medal, the praying of Novenas, especially in celebration of Marian liturgical feasts, joining processions in her honor, and many other practices such as The First Saturdays devotion. In fact, all of us Catholics are encouraged to honor the Blessed Mother of God by having a special devotion to her.

In the recent years , even before this blog existed, I've seen, noticed and somehow practiced several Marian devotions but I have to admit that I did have some trouble on keeping them or practicing them on a regular basis until I read the book "True Devotion to Mary " by St. Louis de Montfort when I was a college student in UST that changed my perspective on how a Marian devotion should be and how a Marian devotee should act. In the years that of observations to almost every kind of Marian devotion, real or otherwise, I have also took notice on how some devotees acted on their so-called "devotions" for I did see how some of their acts are a contrary to the Our Lady's virtues that we should emulate, or in other cases, heeding to her call to repent and be holy as she stated in her appearances across the globe. I do even witnessed how some of them doing some questionable acts that focused more on frivolities and cater to one's egom or worse a cover up to their true human nature as "true devotion" while in reality it provokes division and discord - which Our Lady never wanted. I know that I'm not in the right position to be critical yet it gets worse as years passed by and as a blogger and a devotee of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is imperative for me to do such because in these dark times in our society, we need to seriously heed to Our Lady's call to holiness and conversion to attain peace for the world and to be reconciled with Our Lord.

During my dark times that occurred sometime in 2018, before I delved on the writings of the great St. Teresa of Avila, i once again encountered the famed book of St. Louis de Montfort "True devotion to Mary" and it helped me refreshed my mind, my spirituality, and re-examined my own devotion to Our Lady. I re-reading his work also acted as my first step towards my own quest for recovery from depression and a step to my spiritual reformation.

The following treatise presented in this blog post is taken from St. Louie de Montfort's famous work "True Devotion to Mary" in verbatim to get the whole point of his renown treatise. I am doing this as an act of fraternal correction and I do encourage the readers to read them carefully and ponder on these points that this great saint presented. One might realize that maybe some people that you know, or perhaps, yourself, have these spiritual flaws as devotees and how can this can be remedied so that we can our devotions in conformity to what Our Lord and Our Lady wanted for us, their children.

A replica of Nuestra Señora de la
Soledad de Porta Vaga, Private collection

[...] It is all the more necessary to make the right choice of the true devotion to our Blessed Lady, for now more than ever there are false devotions to her which can easily be mistaken for true ones. The devil, like a counterfeiter and crafty, experienced deceiver, has already misled and ruined many Christians by means of fraudulent devotions to our Lady.

Day by day he uses his diabolical experience to lead many more to their doom, fooling them, lulling them to sleep in sin and assuring them that a few prayers, even badly said, and a few exterior practices, inspired by himself, are authentic devotions. A counterfeiter usually makes coins only of gold and silver, rarely of other metals, because these latter would not be worth the trouble. Similarly, the devil leaves other devotions alone and counterfeits mostly those directed to Jesus and Mary, for example, devotion to the Holy Eucharist and to the Blessed Virgin, because these are to other devotions what gold and silver are to other metals.

It is therefore very important, first, to recognize false devotions to our Blessed Lady so as to avoid them, and to recognize true devotion in order to practice it. Second, among so many different forms of true devotion to our Blessed Lady we should choose the one most perfect and the most pleasing to her, the one that gives greater glory to God and is most sanctifying for us.

Replica of Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados
de Marikina, private collection

False devotion to our Lady

There are, I find, seven kinds of false devotion to Mary, namely, the devotion of (1) the critical, (2)
the scrupulous, (3) the superficial, (4) the presumptuous, (5) the inconstant, (6) the hypocritical, (7) the self-interested.

1. Critical devotees

Critical devotees are for the most part proud scholars, people of independent and self-satisfied minds, who deep down in their hearts have a vague sort of devotion to Mary. However, they criticize nearly all those forms of devotion to her which simple and pious people use to honor their good Mother just because such practices do not appeal to them.

They question all miracles and stories which testify to the mercy and power of the Blessed Virgin, even those recorded by trustworthy authors or taken from the chronicles of religious orders. They cannot bear to see simple and humble people on their knees before an altar or statue of our Lady, or at prayer before some outdoor shrine. They even accuse them of idolatry as if they were adoring the wood or the stone. They say that as far as they are concerned they do not care for such outward display of devotion and that they are not so gullible as to believe all the fairy tales and stories told of our Blessed Lady.

When you tell them how admirably the Fathers of the Church praised our Lady, they reply that the Fathers were exaggerating as orators do, or that their words are misrepresented. These false devotees, these proud worldly people are greatly to be feared. They do untold harm to devotion to our Lady. While pretending to correct abuses, they succeed only too well in turning people away from this devotion.

Mater Dolorosa, private collection

2. Scrupulous devotees

Scrupulous devotees are those who imagine they are slighting the Son by honoring the Mother. They fear that by exalting Mary they are belittling Jesus. They cannot bear to see people giving to our Lady the praises due to her and which the Fathers of the Church have lavished upon her. It annoys them to see more people kneeling before Mary's altar than before the Blessed Sacrament, as if these acts were at variance with each other, or as if those who were praying to our Lady were not praying through her to Jesus.

They do not want us to speak too often of her or to pray so often to her. Here are some of the things they say: "What is the good of all these rosaries, confraternities and exterior devotions to our Lady? There is a great deal of ignorance in all this. It is making a mockery of religion. Tell us about those who are devoted to Jesus (and they often pronounce his name without uncovering their heads). We should go directly to Jesus, since he is our sole Mediator. We must preach Jesus; that is sound devotion."

There is some truth in what they say, but the inference they draw to prevent devotion to our Lady is very insidious. It is a subtle snare of the evil one under the pretext of promoting a greater good. For we never give more honor to Jesus than when we honour his Mother, and we honor her simply and solely to honor him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek - Jesus, her Son.

The Church, with the Holy Spirit, blesses our Lady first, then Jesus, "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." Not that Mary is greater than Jesus, or even equal to him - that would be an intolerable heresy. But in order to bless Jesus more perfectly we should first bless Mary. Let us say with all those truly devoted to her, despite these false and scrupulous devotees: "O Mary, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."

La Niña Maria, private collection

3. Superficial devotees

Superficial devotees are people whose entire devotion to our Lady consists in exterior practices. Only the externals of devotion appeal to them because they have no interior spirit. They say many rosaries with great haste and assist at many Masses distractedly. They take part in processions of our Lady without inner fervor. They join her confraternities without reforming their lives or restraining their passions or imitating Mary's virtues.

All that appeals to them is the emotional aspect of this devotion, but the substance of it has no appeal at all. If they do not feel a warmth in their devotions, they think they are doing nothing; they become upset, and give up everything, or else do things only when they feel like it.

The world is full of these shallow devotees, and there are none more critical of men of prayer who regard the interior devotion as the essential aspect and strive to acquire it without, however, neglecting a reasonable external expression which always accompanies true devotion.

4. Presumptuous devotees

Presumptuous devotees are sinners who give full rein to their passions or their love of the world, and who, under the fair name of Christian and servant of our Lady, conceal pride, avarice, lust, drunkenness, anger, swearing, slandering, injustice and other vices. They sleep peacefully in their wicked habits, without making any great effort to correct them, believing that their devotion to our Lady gives them this sort of liberty.

La Niña Maria, private collection

They convince themselves that God will forgive them, that they will not die without confession, that they will not be lost for all eternity. They take all this for granted because they say the Rosary, fast on Saturdays, are
enrolled in the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary or the Scapular, or a sodality of our Lady, wear the medal or the little chain of our Lady.

When you tell them that such a devotion is only an illusion of the devil and a dangerous presumption which may well ruin them, they refuse to believe you. God is good and merciful, they reply, and he has not made us to damn us. No man is without sin. We will not die without confession, and a good act of contrition at death is all that is needed. Moreover, they say they have devotion to our Lady; that they wear the scapular; that they recite faithfully and humbly every day the seven Our Fathers and seven Hail Marys in her honour; that sometimes they even say the Rosary and the Office of our Lady, as well as fasting and performing other good works.

Blinding themselves still more, they quote stories they have heard or read - whether true or false does not bother them - which relate how people who had died in mortal sin were brought back to life again to go to confession, or how their soul was miraculously retained in their bodies until confession, because in their lifetime they said a few prayers or performed a few pious acts, in honor of our Lady. Others are supposed to have obtained from God at the moment of death, through the merciful intercession of the Blessed Virgin, sorrow and pardon for their sins, and so were saved. Accordingly, these people expect the same thing to happen to them.

Nothing in our Christian religion is so deserving of condemnation as this diabolical presumption. How can we
truthfully claim to love and honor the Blessed Virgin when by our sins we pitilessly wound, pierce, crucify and outrage her Son? If Mary made it a rule to save by her mercy this sort of person, she would be condoning wickedness and helping to outrage and crucify her Son. Who would even dare to think of such a thing?

I declare that such an abuse of devotion to her is a horrible sacrilege and, next to an unworthy Communion, is the greatest and the least pardonable sin, because devotion to our Lady is the holiest and best after devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. I admit that to be truly devoted to our Lady, it is not absolutely necessary to be so holy as to avoid all sin, although this is desirable.

But at least it is necessary (note what I am going to say),

To be genuinely determined to avoid at least all mortal sin, which outrages the Mother as well as the Son;
To practice self-restraint in order to avoid sin;
To join her confraternities, say the Rosary and other prayers, fast on Saturdays, and so on.

Such means are surprisingly effective in converting even the hardened sinner. Should you be such a sinner, with one foot in the abyss, I advise you to do as I have said. But there is an essential condition. You must perform these good works solely to obtain from God, through the intercession of our Lady, the grace to regret your sins, obtain pardon for them and overcome your evil habits, and not to live complacently in the state of sin, disregarding the warning voice of conscience, the example of our Lord and the saints, and the teaching of the holy gospel.

5. Inconstant devotees

Inconstant devotees are those whose devotion to our Lady is practiced in fits and starts. Sometimes they are fervent and sometimes they are lukewarm. Sometimes they appear ready to do anything to please our Lady, and then shortly afterwards they have completely changed. They start by embracing every devotion to our Lady. They join her confraternities, but they do not faithfully observe the rules. They are as changeable as the moon, and like the moon Mary puts them under her feet.

Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza Macarena, private collection

Because of their fickleness they are unworthy to be included among the servants of the Virgin most faithful, because faithfulness and constancy are the hallmarks of Mary's servants. It is better not to burden ourselves with a multitude of prayers and pious practices but rather adopt only a few and perform them with love and perseverance in spite of opposition from the devil the world and the flesh.

6. Hypocritical devotees

There is another category of false devotees of our Lady, - hypocritical ones. These hide their sins and evil habits under the mantle of the Blessed Virgin so as to appear to their fellow-men different from what they are.

7. Self-interested devotees

Then there are the self-interested devotees who turn to her only to win a court-case, to escape some danger, to be cured of some ailment, or have some similar need satisfied. Except when in need they never think of her. Such people are acceptable neither to God nor to his Mother.

Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario -

La Naval de Manila for her iconic fiesta procession

We must, then, carefully avoid joining the critical devotees, who believe nothing and find fault with everything; the scrupulous ones who, out of respect for our Lord, are afraid of having too much devotion to his Mother; the exterior devotees whose devotion consists entirely in outward practices; the presumptuous devotees who under cover of a fictitious devotion to our Lady wallow in their sins; the inconstant devotees who, being unstable, change their devotional practices or abandon them altogether at the slightest temptation; the hypocritical ones who join confraternities and wear emblems of our Lady only to be thought of as good people; finally, the self-interested devotees who pray to our Lady only to be rid of bodily ills or to obtain material benefits.

The Marks of authentic devotion to our Lady

After having explained and condemned false devotions to the Blessed Virgin we shall now briefly describe what true devotion is. It is interior, trustful, holy, constant and disinterested.

1. True Devotion to Our Lady is Interior

First, true devotion to our Lady is interior, that is, it comes from within the mind and the heart and follows from the esteem in which we hold her, the high regard we have for her greatness, and the love we bear her.

The veneration of the original icon of Our Mother of Pereptual Help
of Baclaran in her National Shrine in Parañaque City

2. True Devotion to Our Lady is Trustful

Second, it is trustful, that is to say, it fills us with confidence in the Blessed Virgin, the confidence that a child has for its loving Mother. It prompts us to go to her in every need of body and soul with great simplicity, trust and affection.

We implore our Mother's help always, everywhere, and for everything. We pray to her to be enlightened in our doubts, to be put back on the right path when we go astray, to be protected when we are tempted, to be strengthened when we are weakening, to be lifted up when we fall into sin, to be encouraged when we are losing heart, to be rid of our scruples, to be consoled in the trials, crosses and disappointments of life.

"Alay Lakad" procession of Nuestra Señora de la Paz
y Buen Viaje de Antipolo

Finally, in all our afflictions of body and soul, we naturally turn to Mary for help, with never a fear of importuning her or displeasing our Lord.

3. True Devotion to Our Lady is Holy

Third, true devotion to our Lady is holy, that is, it leads us to avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of Mary. Her ten principal virtues are: deep humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer, constant self-denial, surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience, angelic kindness, and heavenly wisdom.

4. True Devotion to Our Lady is Constant

Fourth, true devotion to our Lady is constant. It strengthens us in our desire to do good and prevents us from giving up our devotional practices too easily. It gives us the courage to oppose the fashions and maxims of the world, the vexations and unruly inclinations of the flesh and the temptations of the devil.

"Lupi' procession of Nuestra Señora
de los Dolores de Turumba

Thus a person truly devoted to our Blessed Lady is not changeable, fretful, scrupulous or timid. We do not say however that such a person never sins or that his sensible feelings of devotion never change. When he has fallen, he stretches out his hand to his Blessed Mother and rises again. If he loses all taste and feeling for devotion, he is not at all upset because a good and faithful servant of Mary is guided in his life by faith in Jesus and Mary, and not by feelings.

5. True Devotion to Our Lady is Disinterested

Fifth, true devotion to Mary is disinterested. It inspires us to seek God alone in his Blessed Mother and not ourselves. The true subject of Mary does not serve his illustrious Queen for selfish gain.

He does not serve her for temporal or eternal well-being but simply and solely because she has the right to be served and God alone in her. He loves her not so much because she is good to him or because he expects something from her, but simply because she is lovable. That is why he loves and serves her just as faithfully in weariness and dryness of soul as in sweet and sensible fervor. He loves her as much on Calvary as at Cana.

How pleasing and precious in the sight of God and his holy Mother must these servants of Mary be, who serve her without any self-seeking. How rare they are nowadays! It is to increase their number that I have
taken up my pen to write down what I have been teaching with success both publicly and in private in my
missions for many years.

Fiesta procession in honor of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario
de Manaoag

Interior Practices of True Devotion to Our Lady

There are several interior practices of true devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Here briefly are the main
ones:

Honoring her, as the worthy Mother of God, by the cult of hyperdulia, that is, esteeming and honoring her more than all the other saints as the masterpiece of grace and the foremost in holiness after Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Meditating on her virtues, her privileges and her actions.
Contemplating her sublime dignity.
Offering to her acts of love, praise and gratitude.
Invoking her with a joyful heart.
Offering ourselves to her and uniting ourselves to her.
Doing everything to please her.
Beginning, carrying out and completing our actions through her, in her, with her, and for her in order to do them through Jesus, in Jesus, with Jesus, and for Jesus, our last end.

The Holy Spirit has inspired saintly souls with other practices of true devotion to the Blessed Virgin, all of which are conducive to holiness.These devotions are a wonderful help for souls seeking holiness provided they are performed in a worthy manner, that is:

With the right intention of pleasing God alone, seeking union with Jesus, our last end, and giving edification to our neighbor.
With attention, avoiding willful distractions.
With devotion, avoiding haste and negligence.
With decorum and respectful bodily posture

________________________

Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort

About the Saint

Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, born in January 13, 1673, was a French priest and Confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made an apostolic missionary by Pope Clement XI. As well as preaching, Montfort found time to write a number of books which went on to become classic Catholic titles and influenced several popes and saints. Montfort is known for his particular devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the practice of praying the Rosary.

Montfort is considered as one of the early writers in the field of Mariology. His most notable works regarding Marian devotions are contained in Secret of the Rosary and his magnum opus True Devotion to Mary. st. Louie de Montfort died on April 28, 1716.

Pope Pius XII, canonized Montfort on July 20, 1947. A "founders statue" created by Giacomo Parisini is located in an upper niche of the south nave of St. Peter's Basilica.

References:

Grignon De Montfort, Louis Marie. "True Devotion to Mary", (F.W. Faber, trans.) Montfort Missionaires, USA, 1863.
Kavanaugh, Kieran, "The Collected Works of St Teresa of Avia, Vol.1" Washington: ICS Publications, Washington, USA, 1991.

Credits to the owner of the photographs of Our Lady of Manaoag, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Our Lady of Antipolo and St. Louis de Montfort that were utilized in this blogpost.