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 105–107
This optional reading accompanies the phase; Montfort’s preparation instructions above remain the guide.
105. After having exposed and condemned the false devotions to the Blessed Virgin, we must in a few words establish the true one, which is: 1. interior; 2. tender; 3. holy; 4. constant, and 5. disinterested.
1. True devotion is interior.
106. First, true devotion to the Blessed Virgin is interior, that is to say, it proceeds from the mind and the heart; it comes from the esteem in which one holds the Blessed Virgin, from the high idea one has formed of her grandeurs, and from the love one bears her.
2. True devotion is tender.
107. Secondly, it is tender, that is to say, full of confidence in the Most Blessed Virgin, like a child’s confidence in its good mother. It causes a soul to have recourse to her in all its needs of body and mind with great simplicity, confidence, and tenderness; it implores the aid of its good Mother at all times, in all places, and in all things: in its doubts, to be enlightened; in its strayings, to be set right; in its temptations, to be upheld; in its weaknesses, to be strengthened; in its falls, to be raised up; in its discouragements, to be heartened; in its scruples, to be freed of them; in its crosses, toils, and adversities of life, to be consoled. Finally, in all its ills of body and mind, Mary is its ordinary recourse, without fear of importuning this good Mother or of displeasing Jesus Christ.
St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary §§105–107. 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.
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 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.