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 216–217
This optional reading accompanies the phase; Montfort’s preparation instructions above remain the guide.
216. 4. The Blessed Virgin will fill you with great confidence in God and in herself: 1. because you will no longer approach Jesus Christ by yourself, but always through this good Mother; 2. because, having given her all your merits, graces, and satisfactions, to dispose of at her will, she will communicate her virtues to you and will clothe you with her merits, so that you will be able to say to God with confidence: Behold Mary your handmaid: may it be done to me according to your word: Ecce ancilla Domini, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum; 3. because, having given yourself entirely to her, body and soul, she who is liberal with the liberal, and more liberal than even the liberal themselves, will give herself to you in return, in a marvelous but true manner; so that you will be able to say to her boldly: Tuus sum ego, salvum me fac: I am yours, Blessed Virgin, save me; or, as I have already said, with the beloved Disciple: Accepi te in mea: I have taken you, holy Mother, for all my goods. You will also be able to say, with Saint Bonaventure: Ecce Domina salvatrix mea, fiducialiter agam, et non timebo, quia fortitudo mea, et laus mea in Domino es tu...; and in another place: Tuus totus ego sum, et omnnia mea tua sunt, o Virgo gloriosa, super omnia benedicta; ponam te ut signaculum super cor meum, quia fortis est ut mors dilectio tua (S. Bon. In psal. min. B.V.): My dear Mistress and savior, I will act with confidence and I will not fear, because you are my strength and my praise in the Lord... I am wholly yours, and all that I have belongs to you; O glorious Virgin, blessed above all created things, may I set you as a seal upon my heart, because your love is strong as death! You will be able to say to God in the sentiments of the Prophet: Domine, non est exaltatum cor meum, neque elati sunt oculi mei; neque ambulavi in magnis, neque in mirabilibus super me; si non humiliter sentiebam, sed exaltavi animam; sicut ablactatus super matre sua, ita retributio in anima mea: Lord, neither my heart nor my eyes have any cause to lift themselves up and grow proud, nor to seek after great and marvelous things; and, with all that, I am not yet humble, but I have lifted up and encouraged my soul by confidence; I am like a child weaned from the pleasures of the earth and resting upon its mother’s breast; and it is upon that breast that I am filled with good things. 4. What will still further increase your confidence in her is that, having given her in trust all the good that you have, for her to give or to keep, you will have less confidence in yourself and much more in her, who is your treasure. Oh! what confidence and what consolation for a soul that can say that the treasure of God, where he has placed all that is most precious to him, is its own as well! Ipsa est thesaurus Domini: She is, says a saint, the treasure of the Lord.
Communication of the soul and spirit of Mary.
217. 5. The soul of the Blessed Virgin will communicate itself to you, to glorify the Lord; her spirit will enter in place of yours, to rejoice in God her Savior, provided that you be faithful to the practices of this devotion. Sit in singulis anima Mariae ut magnificet Dominum, sit in singulis spiritus Mariae, ut exultet in Deo (S. Amb.): May the soul of Mary be in each one, to glorify the Lord therein; may the spirit of Mary be in each one, to rejoice therein in God. Ah! when will that happy time come, said a holy man of our own days who was wholly lost in Mary, ah! when will that happy time come, when the divine Mary shall be established Mistress and Sovereign in hearts, to subject them fully to the empire of her great and only Jesus? When will souls breathe Mary as much as bodies breathe the air? Then marvelous things will come to pass in these lowly places, where the Holy Spirit, finding his dear Spouse as it were reproduced in souls, will come upon them abundantly, and will fill them with his gifts, and particularly with the gift of his wisdom, to work marvels of grace. My dear brother, when will that happy time come, that age of Mary, when many chosen souls, obtained from the Most High by Mary, losing themselves in the abyss of her interior, will become living copies of Mary, to love and glorify Jesus Christ? That time will come only when men know and practice the devotion that I teach: Ut adveniat regnum tuum, adveniat regnum Mariae [That your kingdom may come, may the kingdom of Mary come].
St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary §§216–217. 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.
Grace of the Resurrection, descend into my soul and make it truly faithful.
St. Louis de Montfort · The Secret of the Rosary · First Method, eleventh decadePrayer 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.