Today is
the feast day of St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716). It is also
the 304th anniversary of his death. He is noted for promoting the "Total
Consecration to Jesus Christ through the Blessed Virgin Mary" as a way of
growing in grace and in love for Jesus, her Son and our Lord.
To quote
Pope St. John Paul II (the Great), "Thanks to St. Louis de
Montfort, I came to understand that true devotion to the Mother of God is
actually Christocentric, indeed, it is very profoundly rooted in the mystery of
the Blessed Trinity, and the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption."
("Crossing
the Threshold of Hope," 1994) His
heartfelt devotion to Our Lord and our Lady led him to take as his motto:
"Totus Tuus." (Totally Yours)
We sang @
the World Youth Day Opening Ceremonies in 1993 in Denver Mile High
Stadium with our parish choir, the Cherubim Family Choir from
Our Holy Redeemer R.C. Church, Freeport, NY. and were present when Pope
John Paul II arrived. In 1996, we were blessed to have a private audience
with him in Rome, Italy with the same choir. (For those who have our CDs, you will see us with the future
Pope St. JP II, our Papa) At other
events, we sang for Vocation Walks with the Montfort Missionaries.
These events led us to compose the song, "Totus Tuus."
A Montfort Missionary helped us to keep the lyrics in the spirit of
St. Louis Marie.
Totus
Tuus
(St. Louis de Montfort)
Chorus: (2x)
Totus Tuus, we surrender.
1. Seek the wisdom of
Christ
In the company of
Mary. (Chorus)
2. Born again in the womb
of Mary,
We’re shaped into Jesus
And Christ is formed in our
hearts. (Chorus)
3. We depend on the Lord,
our Teacher,
To do something
great in the fire of His Charity. (Chorus)
4. Let us glorify God,
In the spirit of
Mary. (Chorus)
This song is on the
"All Holy Saints" and "Mother of America" CDs.
St.
Louis' devotion, "Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary" inspired
us to make our Consecration to Jesus through Mary in the 2000 Jubilee Year. We
have continued this devotion every year since then. We give witness that this
devotion to Jesus and Mary has changed our lives forever and opened doors for
us to sing and compose songs all over the world. Praise be Jesus Christ now and
forever!
"That
is why perfect consecration to Jesus is but a perfect 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
baptism.”
- St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort
For more
information on the Montforts, visit https://www.ourladyoftheisland.com
