"If I were to look at these setbacks...

...from a human standpoint,
I would be tempted,
like the foolish people of this corrupt world,
to complain and be anxious and worried,
but that is not how I look at things.
Let me tell you that I expect more serious setbacks,
more painful ones to test your faith and confidence."

Very soon after he wrote these words, this devout and hardworking priest died.

But the religious communities he had barely begun would flourish and his devotional works become widely read, benefiting the humble and the great alike. One of the Great, for example, would later write this:

“At one point I began to question any devotion to Mary, believing that, if it became too great, it might end up compromising the supremacy of the worship owed Christ. At that time, I was greatly helped by a book by Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort entitled 'Treatise of True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin.' There I found the answers to my questions. Yes, Mary does bring us closer to Christ; she does lead us to him, provided that we live her mystery in Christ.”

Pope John Paul II, “Gift and Mystery”
quoted on www.montfortmissionaries.com


Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort died on this very day in 1716 and was canonized in 1947.

(from an earlier post)