Montfort’s direction for this phase
227. First practice. Those men and women who wish to enter into this particular devotion, which is by no means erected into a confraternity, although that were to be wished, after having, as I have said in the first part of this preparation for the Reign of Jesus Christ, spent twelve days at least in emptying themselves of the spirit of the world, contrary to that of Jesus Christ, shall spend three weeks in filling themselves with Jesus Christ through the Most Blessed Virgin. Here is the order they may keep:
St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary §227. Our complete English edition.
Montfort unfolds that order in the three weeks that follow: knowledge of self, of Mary, and of Jesus Christ. These first twelve days prepare for those weeks.
True Devotion to Mary, paragraphs 108–110
This optional reading accompanies the phase; Montfort’s preparation instructions above remain the guide.
108. Thirdly, true devotion to the Blessed Virgin is holy, that is to say, it leads a soul to avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of the Most Blessed Virgin, particularly her profound humility, her lively faith, her blind obedience, her continual prayer, her universal mortification, her divine purity, her ardent charity, her heroic patience, her angelic sweetness, and her divine wisdom. These are the ten principal virtues of the Most Blessed Virgin
4. True devotion is constant.
109. Fourthly, true devotion to the Blessed Virgin is constant: it strengthens a soul in good, and it leads her not to abandon her practices of devotion easily; it makes her courageous in opposing the world in its fashions and maxims, the flesh in its weariness and its passions, and the devil in his temptations; so that a person truly devout to the Blessed Virgin is not at all changeable, fretful, scrupulous, or fearful. It is not that she does not fall, and does not sometimes change in the sensible feeling of her devotion; but if she falls, she rises again by stretching out her hand to her good Mother; if she finds herself without taste or sensible devotion, she does not trouble herself at all over it: for the just man and the faithful devotee of Mary lives by the faith of Jesus and of Mary, and not by the feelings of the body.
5. True devotion is disinterested.
110. Fifthly and finally, true devotion to the Blessed Virgin is disinterested; that is to say, it inspires a soul not to seek herself at all, but God alone in his holy Mother. A true devotee of Mary does not serve this august Queen out of a spirit of lucre and self-interest, nor for his temporal or eternal good, bodily or spiritual, but solely because she deserves to be served, and God alone in her; he does not love Mary precisely because she does him good, or because he hopes for good from her, but because she is lovable. That is why he loves her and serves her as faithfully in distaste and dryness as in sweetness and sensible fervor; he loves her as much on Calvary as at the wedding feast of Cana. Oh, how pleasing and precious in the eyes of God and of his holy Mother is such a devotee of the Blessed Virgin, who seeks himself in nothing in the services he renders her! But how rare he is now! It is so that he may no longer be so rare that I have taken pen in hand to write on paper what I have taught with fruit, in public and in private, in my missions, for many years.
St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary §§108–110. Our complete English edition.
The prayers for this phase
Turn away from the spirit of the world and ask to be filled with the Spirit of Jesus. The prayers below are this companion’s selection for these first twelve days. Continue your accustomed Rosary.
The Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Traditional Catholic prayer.
Act of Contrition
O my God! I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.
Baltimore Catechism No. 1 (1885).
Veni Creator Spiritus · Come, Creator Spirit
Come, Creator Spirit, visit the minds of those who are Thine; fill with heavenly grace the hearts which Thou hast made.
Thou who art called the Paraclete, gift of God Most High, living fountain, fire, and charity, and spiritual anointing:
Thou art sevenfold in Thy gifts, the finger of the Father’s right hand; Thou art the Father’s promised gift, enriching our tongues with speech.
Kindle light within our minds; pour love into our hearts; sustain the weakness of our bodies with Thy enduring strength.
Drive the enemy far away, and grant us peace without delay; with Thee going before us as our guide, may we avoid all harm.
Through Thee may we know the Father, and know the Son as well; and may we believe in Thee, the Spirit of them both, for ever.
Glory be to God the Father, and to the Son who rose from the dead, and to the Paraclete, unto ages without end. Amen.
Traditional Latin hymn; English rendering for The Marian Way.
Ave Maris Stella · Hail, Star of the Sea
Hail, Star of the Sea, loving Mother of God, and ever Virgin, blessed gate of heaven.
Receiving that Ave from Gabriel’s mouth, establish us in peace, reversing the name of Eve.
Loosen the bonds of the guilty; bring light to the blind; drive away our evils; ask for us every good.
Show thyself a mother: through thee may He receive our prayers who, born for us, willed to be thy Son.
Virgin without equal, meek above all others, make us, freed from sin, meek and chaste.
Grant us a pure life; prepare a safe journey, that, seeing Jesus, we may rejoice together for ever.
Praise be to God the Father, glory to Christ Most High, and to the Holy Spirit: one honor to the Three. Amen.
Traditional Latin hymn; English rendering for The Marian Way.
Close in prayer.
Ah my most sweet Lady, you who were innocent suffered with such patience, and shall I, who deserve Hell, refuse to suffer? My Mother, this grace I ask of you today: not indeed to be delivered from crosses, but to bear them with patience. For the love of Jesus I beg you to obtain me this grace from God without fail; from you I hope for it.
St. Alphonsus de Liguori · The Glories of Mary · On the Patience of MaryPrayer sources and translation notes
Days 1–12: turn away from the spirit of the world and ask to be filled with the Spirit of Jesus. Montfort appoints at least twelve days for this purpose in True Devotion 227 but does not supply a fixed daily prayer list there. The Act of Contrition, Veni Creator, and Ave Maris Stella are the traditional prayers chosen for this companion; they are an editorial aid, not an additional rule attributed to Montfort. Continue your accustomed Rosary. Read Montfort’s direction.
The Sign of the Cross
Traditional formula; Holy Spirit matches the site’s prayer register.
Act of Contrition
Complete historical public-domain prayer; no wording borrowed from a modern prayer adaptation.
Veni Creator Spiritus · Come, Creator Spirit
Traditional Latin hymn; fresh English rendering for The Marian Way. All seven stanzas are included.
Ave Maris Stella · Hail, Star of the Sea
Traditional Latin hymn; fresh English rendering for The Marian Way. All seven stanzas are included; Ave and Eva retain the hymn’s contrast between Mary’s welcome and Eve’s disobedience.
An optional memory aid saved on this device. You may read any day at any time.
The preparation follows St. Louis de Montfort’s directions in True Devotion to Mary §§227–233. The readings are his words in our English translation. Their day-by-day selection and the first twelve days’ prayer selection are this companion’s arrangement; Montfort does not assign a separate reading for each day.