Long before I converted to Catholicism, I loved the Virgin Mary. Although my mother was Catholic, she was not a practicing one. I never saw her pray or recite the rosary. She only attended mass if I begged her to go with me. She never taught me anything about the Catholic religion. She did let me take her ivory rosary, which she had kept from her youth, and later gave me her old, tattered Catholic prayer book, which I still treasure.
As a teenager, I fell in with a group of fundamentalist Catholics, and that's where I learned about the Virgin Mary and the rosary. They gave me St. Louis de Montfort's book, The Secret of the Rosary, and I was hooked for life. I fell in love with the Virgin Mary. Later on in life, I went through RCIA and officially converted.
During one of the most difficult periods in my life, when God severely tested me, I relied on the Virgin Mary, the rosary, and St. Louis de Montfort's book to keep going. The alternative would have been suicide. And even though I suffered greatly during that time, God pointed me in the right direction and made sure that my life turned around. He blessed me with a beautiful and productive life. I have learned a lot from all of my mistakes. I have learned a lot from all of my suffering. The Virgin Mary never left me. She lifted me up and made me whole. I found redemption and salvation in Christ. I found safety and security in my Catholic faith. And even though it is easy to be discouraged with the world and its current direction, we must all as Catholics stand fast and pray and put our faith in God, Jesus Christ, and the Virgin Mary.
I highly recommend St. Louis de Montfort's book to every Catholic. It is just as relevant today as when he wrote it.
St. Louis de Montfort's Prayer to Mary
Hail Mary, beloved Daughter of the Eternal Father! Hail Mary, admirable Mother of the Son! Hail Mary, faithful Spouse of the Holy Ghost! Hail Mary, my dear Mother, my loving mistress, my powerful sovereign! Hail my joy, my glory, my heart and my soul! Thou art all mine by mercy, and I am all thine by justice. But I am not yet sufficiently thine. I now give myself wholly to thee without keeping anything back for myself or others. If thou still seest in me anything which does not belong to thee, I beseech thee to take it and to make thyself the absolute mistress of all that is mine. Destroy in me all that may be displeasing to God, root it up and bring it to nought; place and cultivate in me everything that is pleasing to thee.
May the light of thy faith dispel the darkness of my mind; may thy profound humility take the place of my pride; may thy sublime contemplation check the distractions of my wandering imagination; may thy continuous sight of God fill my memory with His presence; may the burning love of thy heart inflame the lukewarmness of mine; may thy virtues take the place of my sins; may thy merits be my only adornment in the sight of God and make up for all that is wanting in me. Finally, dearly beloved Mother, grant, if it be possible, that I may have no other spirit but thine, to know Jesus and His Divine will; that I may have no other soul but thine, to praise and glorify the Lord; that I may have no other heart but thine, to love God with a love as pure and ardent as thine. I do not ask thee for visions, revelations, sensible devotion or spiritual pleasures. It is thy privilege to see God clearly; it is thy privilege to enjoy Heavenly bliss; it is thy privilege to triumph gloriously in Heaven at the right hand of thy Son and to hold absolute sway over Angels, men and demons; it is thy privilege to dispose of all the gifts of God, just as thou wilIest.
Such is, O Heavenly Mary, the "best part," which the Lord has given thee and which shall never be taken away from thee, and this thought fills my heart with joy. As for my part here below, I wish for no other than that which was thine: to believe sincerely without spiritual pleasures; to suffer joyfully without human consolation; to die continually to myself without respite; and to work zealously and unselfishly for thee until death as the humblest of thy servants. The only grace I beg thee to obtain for me is that every day and every moment of my life I may say: "Amen, so be it, to all that thou didst do while on earth. Amen, so be it, to all that thou art now doing in Heaven. Amen, so be it, to all that thou art doing in my soul, so that thou alone mayest fully glorify Jesus in me for time and eternity." Amen.
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Dawn Pisturino
September 6, 2022
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