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 43–45
This optional reading accompanies the phase; Montfort’s preparation instructions above remain the guide.
43. If devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin is necessary to all men simply to work out their salvation, it is still much more necessary to those who are called to a particular perfection; and I do not believe that a person can acquire an intimate union with Our Lord and a perfect fidelity to the Holy Spirit without a very great union with the Most Blessed Virgin and a great dependence on her help.
44. It is Mary alone who found grace before God, without the aid of any other pure creature. It is only through her that all those who have found grace before God since her time have found it, and it is only through her that all those who shall come hereafter shall find it. She was full of grace when she was greeted by the archangel Gabriel; she was superabundantly filled with grace by the Holy Spirit when he covered her with his ineffable shadow; and she has so increased this twofold fullness from day to day and from moment to moment that she has arrived at a point of grace immense and inconceivable; so that the Most High has made her the sole treasurer of his treasures and the sole dispenser of his graces, to ennoble, raise up, and enrich whom she wills, to bring whom she wills into the narrow way of heaven, to bring whom she wills, in spite of everything, through the narrow gate of life, and to give the throne, the scepter, and the crown of a king to whom she wills. Jesus is everywhere and always the fruit and the Son of Mary; and Mary is everywhere the true tree that bears the fruit of life, and the true mother who produces it.
45. It is Mary alone to whom God has given the keys of the cellars of divine love, and the power to enter into the most sublime and most secret ways of perfection, and to bring others into them. It is Mary alone who gives entrance into the earthly paradise to the wretched children of Eve the unfaithful, that they may walk there pleasantly with God, hide there securely from their enemies, and feed there deliciously, without any longer fearing death, on the fruit of the trees of life and of the knowledge of good and evil, and drink there in long draughts the heavenly waters of that beautiful fountain which springs forth there in abundance; or rather, since she is herself that earthly paradise, or that virgin and blessed land from which Adam and Eve the sinners were driven out, she gives entrance into herself only to those men and women whom she pleases, in order to make them become saints.
St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary §§43–45. 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.
O mother of mercy, you are full of charity towards all; do not forget my miseries. You already see them. Commend me to that God who denies you nothing. Obtain for me the grace to be able to imitate you in holy charity, both towards God and towards my neighbour. Amen.
St. Alphonsus de Liguori · The Glories of Mary · On the Charity of Mary towards Our NeighbourPrayer 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.