2 This well-known expression of Brémond is clarified by the excellent article of V.Devy, s.m.m., "Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort: Le dernier des grands Bérulliens" in Revue de l'Université d'Ottawa 18 (1948) 294-315.

3 André Frossard and Pope John Paul II, "Be Not Afraid!", Saint Martin's Press, New York, pp. 125-126.

4 Cf. True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin in God Alone, pp. 289-397. In number 114 of this marian masterpiece, Saint Louis de Montfort foresees that his manuscript "will lie hidden in the darkness and silence of a chest" and so it was during the times of the French Revolution until it was accidentally found at the Motherhouse of the Missionaries of the Company of Mary (Montfort Missionaries) at St. Laurent-sur-Sèvre, France, in 1842.

5 Montfort Publications, Bay Shore NY, 1994.

6 The well known formula of consecration written by Saint Louis de Montfort is found only in his christological work, The Love of the Eternal Wisdom. See God Alone, pp. 112-114.

7 For a study of this interesting facet of a saint's personality, cf. S. De Fiores s.m.m., Itinerario spirituale di s. Luigi Maria di Montfort (1673-1716) nel periodo fino al sacerdozio (5 Giugno 1700), Marian Library Studies, University of Dayton, 1974. De Fiores' work details much of what is found in this first section of this article.

8 Cf. Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis Jesu. Auctoritate Septimae Congregationis Generalis aucta, Romae, in Collegio Romano ejusdem Societatis, 1591, Regulae Provinciales 1.

9 C. Flachaire, speaking of the Jesuits Binet, de Barry and Poiré, states that the devotion of the Jesuits to Our Lady "is first of all a constant call to affection and tenderness." (La dévotion à la Vierge dans la littérature catholique au commencement du XVIIe siècle, Paris, Apostolat de la Presse, 1957, p. 34.). Cf. P. Gaffney s.m.m., The Spiritual Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary According to Saint Louis de Montfort, Montfort Publications, Bay Shore, NY, 1976.

10 Cf. A. van der Hulst "Discernment" in Jesus Living in Mary, pp.303-304.

11 De Fiores emphasizes the differences between Olier and Tronson (cf. Itinerario, pp. 146-165); Deville, on the other hand, writes: "Perhaps too much has been made of the way J.J. Olier's successors, especially L. Tronson, distorted and hardened the teaching given at Saint-Sulpice in its early stages." (R. Deville, "The French School of Spirituality" in Jesus Living in Mary, p.442.)

12 Father de la Barmondière's staunch allegiance to the successors of Peter became a characteristic of Louis Grignion: cf. A.Rum, "Popes/Bishops" in Jesus Living in Mary, pp. 941-952.

13 Cf. Henri-Marie Boudon, Dieu Seul ou le saint esclavage de l'admirable Mère de Dieu, in Oeuvres Complètes de Boudon, ed. Migne, Paris 1857, col. 377-586; Les saintes voies de la croix, in ibid., 2 109-112.

14 J.B. Blain, Abrégé de la vie de Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, Centre International Montfortain, Rome, 1973, #86. This work of Blain who is also the biographer of Saint John Baptist de la Salle, dates from 1722-1724.

15 De Fiores quotes the Sulpician General Assembly of 1691: "L'esprit de quêteur et de demandeur ... ne convenait nullement à celui de Saint Sulpice." (Itinerario, p.132.)

16 This is especially true of Montfort's esteem for Tronson. In True Devotion no.244, the saint writes: "Father Tronson, Superior General of the Seminary of St. Sulpice, renowned for his rare prudence and consummate piety." Moreover, Montfort's Rule of the Daughters of Wisdom contains large sections attributable to Tronson.

17 Cf. The Exemplar: The Life and Writings of Blessed Henry Suso, O.P., 2 vols., The Priory Press, Dubuque, 1962. For the dependence of Montfort on Suso, see J.P. Prévost, "Love of Eternal Wisdom" in Jesus Living in Mary, p. 637.

18 Cf. Jean-Baptiste Crasset, La véritable dévotion envers la Sainte Vierge établie et défendue, Chez François Muguet, Paris 1679. Montfort has phrases which are especially reminiscent of the Greek Fathers, e.g., the Second Person of the Trinity is "the breast of the Father," "He Who is has willed to come to that which is not, to make that which is not, become He Who is."

19 True Devotion, no.26.

20 Cf. Rule of the Missionary Priests of the Company of Mary in God Alone, pp. 422-424.

21 For a study of Saint Louis de Montfort's doctrine on consecration and relevant bibliography, cf. P.Gaffney, "Consecration" in Jesus Living in Mary, pp. 199-234.

22 Cf. ibid., pp. 206-207.

23 True Devotion, no. 61, 62. The saint writes that devotion to Mary "is necessary, simply and solely because it is a way of reaching Jesus perfectly, loving him tenderly and serving him faithfully" (ibid., no. 62).

24 Ibid., no.125.

25 Ibid., no. 120.

26 Love of the Eternal Wisdom, no.223.

27 Cf. E. Cousins & P. Gaffney, "Trinity" in Jesus Living in Mary, pp. 1177-1190.

28 Cantique 52:11 in Oeuvres Complètes, p.1248. R. Laurentin has used this expression of Saint Louis de Montfort as the title of his work on the saint's spirituality: Dieu Seul est ma tendresse, O.E.I.L., Paris, 1984.

29 Cf. Jean Audusseau, "Covenant" in Jesus Living in Mary, p. 240, note 2: "We might even speak of an 'erotic' vocabulary if the term had not taken on, in our modern language, a connotation of license and immorality in the use of sex ... "

30 See the excellent article of M. Gilbert, "L'exégèse spirituelle de Montfort" in Nouvelle Revue Théologique, (104) 1982, pp. 678-691.

31 In Love of the Eternal Wisdom, no. 32, Saint Louis de Montfort paraphrases the Vulgate of Pr 8:30-31 ("ludens coram eo ... ludens in orbe terrarum"): "I (Wisdom) was with God and I disposed everything with such perfect precision and such pleasing variety that it was like playing a game [une espèce de jeu que je jouais ... ce jeu ineffable de la divine Sagesse] to entertain my Father and myself."

32 Love of the Eternal Wisdom, nos. 31-34.

33 Ibid., no.64.

34 Cf. Montfort's mystical hymns on the theme of Wisdom, especially Cantiques 78, 103, 124, 125, 126.

35 Cf. Love of the Eternal Wisdom, no. 170-171; cf. 1 Cor 1:18-2:13.

36 Ibid., 180.

37 Cf. ibid., 167-172; Cantique 102 in Oeuvres Complètes, pp. 1423-1428.

38 Cf. True Devotion, no. 122-124.

39 Cf. ibid., no. 68-77.

40 J. Hémery, "Baptism" in Jesus Living in Mary, p. 49.

41 True Devotion, no. 120.

42 Ibid., no. 248.

43 For a study of Montfort's understanding of the nature of Mary's consent at the Incarnation, cf. P.Gaffney, "Mary" in Jesus Living in Mary, pp. 706-708.

44 True Devotion, no. 18.

45 Ibid., no.157.

46 Ibid., no. 86; cf. no. 83-85.

47 Secret of Mary, no.70; cf. True Devotion, no. 222, 264.

48 Cf. True Devotion, no. 257.

49 Cantique 20:17 in Oeuvres Complètes, p.1030.

50 Cf. Secret of Mary, 59.

51 Cf. True Devotion, no.133.

52 Ibid., no. 114, 58; cf. no. 23-27. For an explanation of Montfort's unique concept of the end-times, cf. S. De Fiores, "End Times" in Jesus Living in Mary, pp.345-368.

53 Cf. Prayer for Missionaries, pp. 401-410.

54 Ibid., no.17. So unlike Bérulle, Condren, Olier and St. John Eudes, Louis de Montfort's apostolate remains almost exclusively a preacher of parish missions and retreats, never becoming involved in the education of the clergy. He goes so far as to refuse explicitly any member of his Missionary Priests of the Company of Mary to be teachers in schools, even in seminaries. Cf. Rule of the Missionary Priests of the Company of Mary in God Alone, no.2.

55 Saint Louis Marie describes the True Devotion as "the preparation for the reign of Jesus Christ" (no. 227). His burning desire is to "establish the reign of Jesus Christ." (cf. Secret of Mary, no.59.)