20 Holy Souls Hermitage Heroes and Heroines — Saint Louis Marie Grignon di Montfort

Saint Louis was my introduction to an understanding of Catholic devotion to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God. I didn’t know about him until after high school. Before that, I knew the scapular and the rosary and all about lighting candles in front of the Pieta statue in the Cathedral crypt of my home town. I was a Blue Army member since the mid-1960s. “Very cool!” thought I. This is the Church Militant going against the Red Army with the sword of the rosary. I even went to Fatima at the age of sixteen, and had the great privilege of carrying the statue of our Lady during the vigil candlelight procession of for 13 July. But I knew nothing of “To Jesus through Mary” or “Totus Tuus” (made even more famous by Blessed Pope John Paul II) until I was introduced to Saint Louis.

Many despise his writings, not understanding the French mentality back in the day, when rhetoric and literary convention and poetry was the best one could do for our Lord and His blessed Mother. “Too flowery!” the critics scream in all nervousness as they back away from the mention of this saint, and then turn tail and run. I think that such criticism is just immature escaping of the message he brings, a case of throwing out the message with the messenger. Too bad, that.

By my third year in an unofficial pre-seminary program, after a bit of a profound conversion, coming to understand the faith more both intellectually and personally (I hadn’t received much at my Collegeville parish), I basically had “True Devotion” memorized, word for word. Saint Louis was my beakon in the darkness all about me. He’s definitely one of my heroes and perfect for Holy Souls Hermitage. I recommend reading and praying what he has to offer.

The Legion of Mary and many other groups incorporate his “Total Consecration” in their wonderfully in-your-face Church Militant spirituality. As it is, you’ll hardly find someone more apostolic than Saint Louis and those who have been inspired by him to become little children of Mary (with Jesus), and it is precisely this that I think is the difficulty people have with Saint Louis: Too. Much. Reality!