Montfort’s direction for this phase
229. During the second week, they shall apply themselves, in all their prayers and works of each day, to knowing the Most Blessed Virgin. They shall ask this knowledge of the Holy Spirit. They may read and meditate on what we have said about her. They shall recite, as in the first week, the Litany of the Holy Spirit and the Ave maris Stella, and, in addition, a rosary every day, or at least a chaplet, for this intention.
St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary §229. Our complete English edition.
True Devotion to Mary, paragraphs 17–20
This optional reading accompanies the phase; Montfort’s preparation instructions above remain the guide.
17. God the Father communicated to Mary his fruitfulness, so far as a pure creature was capable of it, to give her the power to produce his Son and all the members of his Mystical Body.
18. God the Son descended into her virginal womb, as the new Adam into his earthly paradise, to take his delight there and to work marvels of grace there in secret. This God made man found his liberty in seeing himself imprisoned in her womb; he made his strength blaze forth in letting himself be carried by this little girl; he found his glory and that of his Father in hiding his splendors from all creatures here below, to reveal them to Mary alone; he glorified his independence and his majesty in depending upon this lovable Virgin in his conception, in his birth, in his presentation in the temple, in his hidden life of thirty years, even to his death, at which she was to be present, that he might make with her but one and the same sacrifice, and be immolated to the eternal Father by her consent, as Isaac of old was by Abraham’s consent to the will of God. It is she who nursed him, fed him, cared for him, brought him up, and sacrificed him for us. O admirable and incomprehensible dependence of a God, which the Holy Spirit could not pass over in silence in the Gospel, although he has hidden from us almost all the admirable things that this incarnate Wisdom did in his hidden life — that he might show us its infinite price and glory. Jesus Christ gave more glory to God his Father by the submission he rendered to his Mother during thirty years than he would have given him by converting the whole earth through the working of the greatest marvels. Oh! how highly we glorify God when, to please him, we submit ourselves to Mary, after the example of Jesus Christ, our only model!
19. If we examine closely the rest of the life of Jesus Christ, we shall see that he willed to begin his miracles through Mary. He sanctified Saint John in the womb of his mother Saint Elizabeth, by the word of Mary; as soon as she had spoken, John was sanctified, and this is his first and greatest miracle of grace. He changed water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana, at her humble prayer, and this is his first miracle of nature. He began and continued his miracles through Mary; and he will continue them until the end of the ages through Mary.
20. God the Holy Spirit, being barren in God — that is to say, producing no other divine Person — became fruitful through Mary, whom he espoused. It is with her, and in her, and of her that he produced his masterpiece, which is a God made man, and that he produces every day, until the end of the world, the predestined and the members of the body of this adorable Head: which is why the more he finds Mary, his dear and indissoluble Spouse, in a soul, the more operative and powerful he becomes in producing Jesus Christ in that soul and that soul in Jesus Christ.
St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary §§17–20. Our complete English edition.
The prayers for this phase
Days 20–26: ask the Holy Spirit for knowledge of the Blessed Virgin. Continue the Litany of the Holy Spirit and Ave Maris Stella, and pray the Rosary daily for this intention—at least five decades, as Montfort permits a chaplet when the full traditional fifteen-decade Rosary is not prayed. Meditate on the mysteries with attention and ask to know, love, and imitate your Mother.
The Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Traditional Catholic prayer.
Litany of the Holy Spirit
Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Spirit, Thou Spirit of wisdom and understanding, have mercy on us.
Spirit of counsel and fortitude, have mercy on us.
Spirit of knowledge and piety, have mercy on us.
Spirit of faith and hope, have mercy on us.
Spirit of holy fear and love, have mercy on us.
Spirit of peace and joy, have mercy on us.
Spirit of patience, longanimity, and goodness, have mercy on us.
Spirit of continency and chastity, have mercy on us.
Spirit of humility and mortification, have mercy on us.
Spirit of life and salvation, have mercy on us.
Spirit of all virtues and graces, have mercy on us.
Spirit of the children of God, have mercy on us.
Teacher and Governor of the Catholic Church, have mercy on us.
Searcher of human hearts, have mercy on us.
Consoler of the afflicted, have mercy on us.
Strength of pious souls, have mercy on us.
Crown of all saints, have mercy on us.
Joy of the angels, have mercy on us.
Light of the patriarchs, have mercy on us.
Inspirer of the prophets, have mercy on us.
Wisdom of the apostles, have mercy on us.
Victory of martyrs and confessors, have mercy on us.
Purity of virgins, have mercy on us.
Be merciful: spare us, O Holy Spirit.
Be merciful: graciously hear us, O Holy Spirit.
From the spirit of heresy, deliver us, O Holy Spirit.
From the spirit of blasphemy, deliver us, O Holy Spirit.
From all sin and temptation, deliver us, O Holy Spirit.
From impugning the known truth, deliver us, O Holy Spirit.
From presumption of God’s mercy, deliver us, O Holy Spirit.
From despair, deliver us, O Holy Spirit.
From envy, malice, and ill-will, deliver us, O Holy Spirit.
From obstinacy in sin, deliver us, O Holy Spirit.
From all sloth and indifference in the service of God, deliver us, O Holy Spirit.
From all bad and impure thoughts and desires, deliver us, O Holy Spirit.
From a sudden and unprovided death, deliver us, O Holy Spirit.
From everlasting death, deliver us, O Holy Spirit.
We sinners, we beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou wouldst exalt the Catholic Church, enlighten her pastors, and sanctify her members, we beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou wouldst grant us the grace never to offend Thee, we beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou wouldst increase in us devotion and resignation to the will of God, we beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou wouldst infuse in us zeal, meekness, and love, we beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou wouldst sanctify all our thoughts, words, and actions, we beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou wouldst cleanse our hearts and make them Thy dwelling, we beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou wouldst preserve our body and soul, as Thy temple, from all stain, we beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou wouldst confirm us in Thy grace, we beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou wouldst enlighten the erring and bring them back to the true fold, we beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou wouldst take us all into the company of the elect, we beseech Thee to hear us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Manual of Adoration (1897); English text with limited wording updates.
Prayer after the Litany of the Holy Spirit
Let us pray.
We beseech Thee, O Holy Spirit, descend with Thy light and consolation lovingly into our souls, enlighten our understanding, and consecrate the hearts which Thou hast sanctified as Thy temples. O Holy Spirit, come and bring us God’s blessing and peace; console us and all the afflicted, encourage and strengthen the weak; instruct and support the wavering; rouse the sinners to penance, and enkindle in their cold hearts the fire of divine love and a filial confidence in Thee, that all men, in peace and joy, may thankfully praise and adore Thee, together with the Father and the Son, one God, world without end. Amen.
Manual of Adoration (1897); prayer following the litany.
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.
Pray at least five decades of the Rosary.
Ask Mary for knowledge of her and the grace to share her faith and charity. Our complete companion provides the mysteries, meditations, and every prayer. Return to this day afterward to finish your prayer.
Pray the Rosary with MaryClose in prayer.
Most holy Virgin, obtain for us the love of prayer and of solitude, so that, detaching ourselves from the love of creatures, we may aspire to God alone and to Paradise, where we hope one day to see you and for ever to praise and love together with you your Son Jesus, world without end. Amen.
St. Alphonsus de Liguori · The Glories of Mary · On the Prayer of MaryPrayer sources and translation notes
Days 20–26: ask the Holy Spirit for knowledge of the Blessed Virgin. Continue the Litany of the Holy Spirit and Ave Maris Stella, and pray the Rosary daily for this intention—at least five decades, as Montfort permits a chaplet when the full traditional fifteen-decade Rosary is not prayed. Meditate on the mysteries with attention and ask to know, love, and imitate your Mother. Read Montfort’s direction.
The Sign of the Cross
Traditional formula; Holy Spirit matches the site’s prayer register.
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.
Litany of the Holy Spirit
Complete historical English text from Manual of Adoration (1897), pages 235–238. “Holy Ghost” is rendered “Holy Spirit”; capitalization, punctuation, and the spelling of counsel are regularized, and printed response abbreviations are expanded.
Prayer after the Litany of the Holy Spirit
Complete prayer printed immediately after this litany in Manual of Adoration (1897), pages 238–239, with the same limited spelling and register changes.
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.