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 25–27
This optional reading accompanies the phase; Montfort’s preparation instructions above remain the guide.
25. God the Holy Spirit communicated to Mary, his faithful Spouse, his ineffable gifts, and he chose her to be the dispenser of all that he possesses: so that she distributes to whom she wills, as much as she wills, how she wills, and when she wills, all his gifts and graces, and no heavenly gift is given to men that does not pass through her virginal hands. For such is the will of God, who has willed that we should have everything through Mary; for thus will she be enriched, exalted, and honored by the Most High — she who impoverished, humbled, and hid herself even to the depth of nothingness by her profound humility, throughout her whole life. Such are the sentiments of the Church and of the Holy Fathers.
26. If I were speaking to the freethinkers of this age, I would prove more at length all that I state simply, by Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers, whose Latin passages I would quote, and by several solid reasons which may be seen set forth at length by the Reverend Father Poiré in his Triple Crown of the Blessed Virgin. But as I speak particularly to the poor and the simple, who, being of good will and having more faith than the common run of the learned, believe more simply and with more merit, I content myself with declaring the truth to them simply, without stopping to cite for them all the Latin passages, which they do not understand; though I do not fail to quote a few of them, without searching them out overmuch. Let us continue.
27. Since grace perfects nature, and glory perfects grace, it is certain that Our Lord is still in heaven as much the Son of Mary as he was on earth, and that, consequently, he has kept the submission and obedience of the most perfect of all children toward the best of all mothers. But we must take care not to conceive in this dependence any abasement or imperfection in Jesus Christ. For Mary, being infinitely below her Son, who is God, does not command him as a mother here below would command her child, who is beneath her. Mary, being wholly transformed into God by grace and by the glory which transforms all the saints into him, asks nothing, wills nothing, does nothing that is contrary to the eternal and immutable will of God. When we read, then, in the writings of Saints Bernard, Bernardine, Bonaventure, etc., that in heaven and on earth everything, even God himself, is subject to the Most Blessed Virgin, they mean that the authority which God has been pleased to give her is so great that it seems she has the same power as God, and that her prayers and petitions are so powerful with God that they always pass for commands with his Majesty, who never resists the prayer of his dear Mother, because she is always humble and conformed to his will. If Moses, by the force of his prayer, stayed the anger of God against the Israelites in a manner so powerful that this most high and infinitely merciful Lord, unable to resist him, told him to let him be angry and punish that rebellious people, what must we think, with all the more reason, of the prayer of the humble Mary, the worthy Mother of God, which is more powerful with his Majesty than the prayers and intercessions of all the angels and saints of heaven and earth?
St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary §§25–27. 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.
Permit me, then, to say to you: my mother, my most amiable mother. So I call you, and so I will always call you. You, after God, are to be always my hope, my refuge, and my love in this valley of tears.
St. Alphonsus de Liguori · The Glories of Mary · Mary Our Mother, prayer (excerpt)Prayer 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.