Today had POSed day.
what is POSed day?
Its Post secondary education day.Where some tertiary institutes come over to our school to set up booths and give talks to us on our options after the "O" lvls.
We proceeded to the hall,and the event started with a short prayer and then Mr Simen gave a short speech to address the guests. He spoke about the origins of POSed Day and encouraged our students to be engaged in finding out information for ourselves on POSed Day. "Don't be a passenger on a moving bus and view just fleeting images", he said.
Then the guest speaker Mr Christian chua gave a speech on "Breaking through the Glass Ceiling". It was a very meaningful and as usual very humourous talk. He mainly concentrated on the word "MOTIVATION". He say that if we were to break the word up,the word "motivation"comes from the word motive. Motive, as defined by Mr Chua, is a "reason to..". One must have a motive to do something or a reason to be motivated to do something. For example,one might be motivated to score well so that one can get a PSP as a reward if he or she scores well.The reward is the "motive"or rather the stimulus to trigger why he or she wants to do well.
What is the glass ceiling? It is a ceiling that is invisible and we think that it is there above our heads and it is preventing us from breaking away from our comfort zone. This so called "glass ceiling" is placed on us by others,, by ourselves ,and over time we belive in them.For example,people might tell one that he or she cannot make it big in life because he or she is from a poor family. Over time,he or she believes and thus cannot achieve. Thus, to achieve in life,we must first break through this glass ceiling as it is not there at all in the first place,but rather,its there because we think it is there!Very true indeed!
Mr Chua also shared about how he bacame a professional public speaker.He sold his new book at a discounted price at $15-/and then we walked down to canteen to have our refreshments.
Then it was back to the hall where Mr Trevor gave an overview of our options after the O Levels. We next attended talks by the JCs and Polytechnics and visited their exhibition booths.
I went on the polytechnic route and visited the booths with some of my friends. We chatted with the Ngee Ann Polytechnic lecturer who briefed us about the DPA (Direct Poly Admission) and for the benefit of my readers,these are some points she mentioned to us"
a. The DPA is a newly introduced route.
b. Only 100 places are available
c. Candidates are selected through their"talents".which would be written in a summary of about 250 words on why he or she is a suitable candidate for the course of choice.
d. The previous year's results would be taken into consideration though it would not have such a heavy weightage.
e.Candidates would have 3 choices for courses they would like to apply for
f. Sucessful apllicants would be called back for interviews
g Their "talents" must have some relation to their course they are applying for or they have some experience in that field.(e.g for computer courses,a candidate who has won a national competition in computer engineering would stand a better chance then another who did not participate)
h.If candidate is given a place,actual O Level aggregate must be less then 26.
I visted the other booths and collected brochures.
Here are some courses I am intersted in:
.Temasek poly:Tourism and hospitality mgt,Resort and leisure mgt
.Ngee ann poly:Tourism and hospitality mgt
.SP,NYP:Tourism mgt
.Republic poly: Resort and hospitality mgt
.Mass comm or maybe buisness studies too.
Temesek Polytechnic has an academy in sentosa so i guess I am keen to go there. Republic poly is tied in with Raffles hotel and the cut-off point is 17 for 2008.....so i guess i can make it there if all fails for me?
- Excerpts from http://darences-welcometothecescommunity.blogspot.com/
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Shell Science Fair Best Enterprising Science Project - Champs 2008
Our four students from Sec 2Es participated in the Shell Science Fair 2008 (Lower Secondary Category) last week in Singapore Science Centre.
Fifty schools participated and the team won the "Best Enterprising Project" for their project titled "Biodegradable Plastics".
We would like to congratulate the boys on winning the award and thank those who have helped in one way or another in supporting the students.
Fifty schools participated and the team won the "Best Enterprising Project" for their project titled "Biodegradable Plastics".
We would like to congratulate the boys on winning the award and thank those who have helped in one way or another in supporting the students.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Chemical Car Powered Competition 2008
Last saturday on the 24th of May, 5 teams (comprising eighteen students from 3E, 3NA and 4E) represented our school at the Chemical Car Powered Competition 2008 organised by the School of Life Sciences & Chemical Technology, Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
They faced fierce opposition from strong teams like Nanyang Girls', RI, ACS ,CHIJ St Nicholas etc, but kept their cool and blazed through 3 rounds of intensive competition and finally one team made it to the semi-finals. The team clinched 3rd place.
We would like to congratulate the boys on winning the 3rd place in the competition and thank them for their hard work and dedication. We would also like to acknowledge our Lab Asst. Thomas Ang for going out of his way to help the boys in the competition.
They faced fierce opposition from strong teams like Nanyang Girls', RI, ACS ,CHIJ St Nicholas etc, but kept their cool and blazed through 3 rounds of intensive competition and finally one team made it to the semi-finals. The team clinched 3rd place.
We would like to congratulate the boys on winning the 3rd place in the competition and thank them for their hard work and dedication. We would also like to acknowledge our Lab Asst. Thomas Ang for going out of his way to help the boys in the competition.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Last Day of School - May 23rd
You Lift Me Up
It was the last day of school. The day began with Mass Workout and a surprise performance by the choir, which sang "You Raise Me Up". It was connected to Mr Christoper Foran's prayer. We reflected on God giving us comfort and solace, as well as strength. The challenge was for us to also give the same comfort, solace and strength to our peers.
It was also a way for us to engage and contribute to the community. As the choir sang, many students were stunned and moved by the wonderful performance. It was also a performance for members of the public waiting for their buses to go to work, as well as for the workers who were working on our new indoor sports hall
They Workd So Hard! Wave and applaud them!
At the end of the morning assembly, Mr Lloyd Yeo pointed out that while the choir was singing and even during prayer time, several workers working on the new indoor sports hall took a brief respite from their work to appreciate the music and to even prayer. When Mr Edmund Lim announced that the school had raised $22,596.15 for victims of the Myanmar and Sichuan disasters, the workers even stopped and applauded.
The school turned around, waved to the workers, applauded and thanked them for the hard work they were doing for the indoor sportshall.
It was the last day of school. The day began with Mass Workout and a surprise performance by the choir, which sang "You Raise Me Up". It was connected to Mr Christoper Foran's prayer. We reflected on God giving us comfort and solace, as well as strength. The challenge was for us to also give the same comfort, solace and strength to our peers.
It was also a way for us to engage and contribute to the community. As the choir sang, many students were stunned and moved by the wonderful performance. It was also a performance for members of the public waiting for their buses to go to work, as well as for the workers who were working on our new indoor sports hall
They Workd So Hard! Wave and applaud them!
At the end of the morning assembly, Mr Lloyd Yeo pointed out that while the choir was singing and even during prayer time, several workers working on the new indoor sports hall took a brief respite from their work to appreciate the music and to even prayer. When Mr Edmund Lim announced that the school had raised $22,596.15 for victims of the Myanmar and Sichuan disasters, the workers even stopped and applauded.
The school turned around, waved to the workers, applauded and thanked them for the hard work they were doing for the indoor sportshall.
Montfort in the News - Tamil Murarasu
Montfort school was featured in the news for the special brand of education they provide. Below is a translation of the Tamil Murarasu report which appeared on the main newspaper, front page and youth section. The originals can be found outside the school office for parents, students and teachers to read.
Summary of Student Reports
“It was a day when our hearts felt heavy and our eyes shed tears. We had a special assembly today to send our condolences and to spare a thought for those who were affected by the China and Myanmar disaster. We prayed for the continued safety of the survivors. All of us also observed a moment of silence to pay our respects to those who had lost their lives in the disaster.
The assembly was very informative. With the use of visual aids, teachers explained the causes for earthquakes and cyclones. Students saw devastation and destruction caused by nature. They also say the crying faces of pain. A girl was screaming because her legs had been amputated.
Our Principal, Mr Simen Lourds, also shared his personal experience with us. He told us what death and sorrow meant to him. We were almost in tears and our hearts ached and hurt for those affected by the disaster.
Because our school vision is to be Men for Others, we decided to help the victims of he disasters. All the students came forward to donate generously. The donation will be channeled through the Singapore Red Cross Society to the disaster victims. Parents also supported our effort whole-heartedly.
The Day I Still Remember
We can only imagine the suffering of the victims of the China and Myanmar disaster. 14-year old Mohamed Jameel of Montfort Secondary School has however, personally experienced both war and the Tsunami disaster from a first-hand account.
He had returned to India from Kuwait when war broke out in 1991. He had also seen the Tsunami tragedy when he was in India. “My memories returned to those events I experienced when I saw pictures of children crying and the elderly people waiting to be rescued”, he said, “These memories sadden me”.
He said,” I saw vehicles burning and bomb blasts from the windows of of my plane while I was waiting to take off from the airport. Even now, the scene remains vivid to me”.
In Our Hands
Every Thursday morning, as part of the Mother Tongue Reading Program, 30 minutes is spent reading the Tamil Newspaper at Montfort Secondary School.
Tamil teachers encourage all students to read the newspapers and to summarize interesting news. They must also reflect on the news in writing. This helps the students improve their linguistic skills and vocabulary.
.
Summary of Student Reports
“It was a day when our hearts felt heavy and our eyes shed tears. We had a special assembly today to send our condolences and to spare a thought for those who were affected by the China and Myanmar disaster. We prayed for the continued safety of the survivors. All of us also observed a moment of silence to pay our respects to those who had lost their lives in the disaster.
The assembly was very informative. With the use of visual aids, teachers explained the causes for earthquakes and cyclones. Students saw devastation and destruction caused by nature. They also say the crying faces of pain. A girl was screaming because her legs had been amputated.
Our Principal, Mr Simen Lourds, also shared his personal experience with us. He told us what death and sorrow meant to him. We were almost in tears and our hearts ached and hurt for those affected by the disaster.
Because our school vision is to be Men for Others, we decided to help the victims of he disasters. All the students came forward to donate generously. The donation will be channeled through the Singapore Red Cross Society to the disaster victims. Parents also supported our effort whole-heartedly.
The Day I Still Remember
We can only imagine the suffering of the victims of the China and Myanmar disaster. 14-year old Mohamed Jameel of Montfort Secondary School has however, personally experienced both war and the Tsunami disaster from a first-hand account.
He had returned to India from Kuwait when war broke out in 1991. He had also seen the Tsunami tragedy when he was in India. “My memories returned to those events I experienced when I saw pictures of children crying and the elderly people waiting to be rescued”, he said, “These memories sadden me”.
He said,” I saw vehicles burning and bomb blasts from the windows of of my plane while I was waiting to take off from the airport. Even now, the scene remains vivid to me”.
In Our Hands
Every Thursday morning, as part of the Mother Tongue Reading Program, 30 minutes is spent reading the Tamil Newspaper at Montfort Secondary School.
Tamil teachers encourage all students to read the newspapers and to summarize interesting news. They must also reflect on the news in writing. This helps the students improve their linguistic skills and vocabulary.
.
14th ASEAN Schools Badminton Championship in Manila
The following students from Montfort will represent us in the 14th ASEAN Schools Badminton Championship in Manila, Philippines from 22nd June to 29th June 2008.
Agrippina P P
Andrianus Prasojo A
Christian Yahya C
We wish them well and know that they will do us proud!
Agrippina P P
Andrianus Prasojo A
Christian Yahya C
We wish them well and know that they will do us proud!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Morning Reflection for 15 May 2008 - Mr Azman
Morning Reflection on 15th May 2008 - Building a contributive community
In the past few days, we’ve heard the news about the cyclone that hit Myanmar, killing thousands of people.
Recently, we’ve also read the news on the earthquake in China that killed more than 8,000 people. When we sit and ponder, we couldn’t help but feel how fortunate we are to be safe from such natural disaster.
However, the self-satisfaction and contentment we feel about being spared such tragedy needs to breed in us understanding, compassion, charity and action.
Always think of how we can contribute effectively and meaningfully to help others, no matter how small.
In the holy book of Islam, the Quran, it was mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah verse 148:
“Then strive together (as in a race), toward all that is good, wheresoever ye are, Allah will bring you together. For Allah hath power over all things.”
The meaning is that "It is only when we begin to move and compete to do good, that change that we desire will come".
By doing this, our thoughts, sympathy, prayers and donations are few of the many ways we can contribute to help others in need.
Mr Azman then led us in united and universal prayer,
"Oh Allah (God), the compassionate , the merciful, grant us peace and safety. Save this earth from harm. Grant our country and the entire world safety, peace, calmness and tranquility. Amin"
In the past few days, we’ve heard the news about the cyclone that hit Myanmar, killing thousands of people.
Recently, we’ve also read the news on the earthquake in China that killed more than 8,000 people. When we sit and ponder, we couldn’t help but feel how fortunate we are to be safe from such natural disaster.
However, the self-satisfaction and contentment we feel about being spared such tragedy needs to breed in us understanding, compassion, charity and action.
Always think of how we can contribute effectively and meaningfully to help others, no matter how small.
In the holy book of Islam, the Quran, it was mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah verse 148:
“Then strive together (as in a race), toward all that is good, wheresoever ye are, Allah will bring you together. For Allah hath power over all things.”
The meaning is that "It is only when we begin to move and compete to do good, that change that we desire will come".
By doing this, our thoughts, sympathy, prayers and donations are few of the many ways we can contribute to help others in need.
Mr Azman then led us in united and universal prayer,
"Oh Allah (God), the compassionate , the merciful, grant us peace and safety. Save this earth from harm. Grant our country and the entire world safety, peace, calmness and tranquility. Amin"
Monday, May 19, 2008
Special Morning Assembly Program - Sichuan Earthquake & Nargis Cyclone
1. PRAYER
Morning prayer was led by our Hindu & Tamil Language teacher, Mr Perumaland Mr Christopher Foran who is our Catholic English Language teacher from India.
Mr Lloyd Yeo also led a prayer about how to pray, how to give charity and how to give love.
On Love
He makes his sun shine on band and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that! And if you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary? Even the pagans do that! You must be perfect – Just as your father in heave is perfect.
On Charity
When you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. But when you help a needy person, do it in sucha way that even your closest friend will not know about it. Then it will be a private matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private will reward you.
On Prayer
And when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private will reward you.
2. SHARINGS
Earthquakes
Mr Kevin Pang, led off with the geographical causes for earthquake and explained that Mount Everest and the rest of the Himalayas form part of the Tibetan Plateau and are still rising because of the collision, 45 million years ago, between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Wenchuan was the epicentre of the earthquake and was especially bad because the quake occured only 6.2 miles below the surface. The nearer the quake is to the surface, the more devestating the quake. It also measured 7.8 on the richter scale and the tremors, could be felt in Bangkok, Hong Kong and in Shanghai, more than 930 miles away.
Earthquakes could never occur in Singapore but tremors could be fault. He warned that the best way to survive an earthquake indoors was to couch under a heavy desk or table, well away from windows or glass dividers and to crouch your body so that heavy debris would not hurt you. Outside, stand away from buildings, trees, telephones and electrical lines. On the road, drive away from underpasses and overpasses; stop in safe area; stay in vehicle.
2. Cyclones
Miss Xu Wanjing explained the main source of energy for tropical cyclones is the warm water in the tropical regions. To initiate a tropical cyclone the sea-surface temperature generally needs to be above 26.5°C.
Miss Xu demonstrated how Cyclone occur by getting boys to demonstrate low pressure, moist air and high pressure. She asked the boys to imagine that she was warm water and moist air. Because there is low pressure there and high temperature, the moist air rises. HEat A cyclone develops when it taps into heat released from nearby air particles. This results in condensation of water vapour contained in the moist air.
While tropical cyclones can produce extremely powerful winds and torrential rain, they are also able to produce high waves and damaging storm surge. They develop over large bodies of warm water, and lose their strength if they move over land. This is the reason coastal regions can receive significant damage from a tropical cyclone, while inland regions are relatively safe from receiving strong winds. Heavy rains, however, can produce significant flooding inland, and storm surges can produce extensive coastal flooding up to 40 kilometres from the coastline. If the conditions around the system deteriorate or the tropical cyclone makes landfall, the system weakens and eventually dissipates.Windspeed was close to 190 km per hour, that is three times the speed of a car travelling on the highway.
Morning prayer was led by our Hindu & Tamil Language teacher, Mr Perumaland Mr Christopher Foran who is our Catholic English Language teacher from India.
Mr Lloyd Yeo also led a prayer about how to pray, how to give charity and how to give love.
On Love
He makes his sun shine on band and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that! And if you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary? Even the pagans do that! You must be perfect – Just as your father in heave is perfect.
On Charity
When you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. But when you help a needy person, do it in sucha way that even your closest friend will not know about it. Then it will be a private matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private will reward you.
On Prayer
And when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private will reward you.
2. SHARINGS
Earthquakes
Mr Kevin Pang, led off with the geographical causes for earthquake and explained that Mount Everest and the rest of the Himalayas form part of the Tibetan Plateau and are still rising because of the collision, 45 million years ago, between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Wenchuan was the epicentre of the earthquake and was especially bad because the quake occured only 6.2 miles below the surface. The nearer the quake is to the surface, the more devestating the quake. It also measured 7.8 on the richter scale and the tremors, could be felt in Bangkok, Hong Kong and in Shanghai, more than 930 miles away.
Earthquakes could never occur in Singapore but tremors could be fault. He warned that the best way to survive an earthquake indoors was to couch under a heavy desk or table, well away from windows or glass dividers and to crouch your body so that heavy debris would not hurt you. Outside, stand away from buildings, trees, telephones and electrical lines. On the road, drive away from underpasses and overpasses; stop in safe area; stay in vehicle.
2. Cyclones
Miss Xu Wanjing explained the main source of energy for tropical cyclones is the warm water in the tropical regions. To initiate a tropical cyclone the sea-surface temperature generally needs to be above 26.5°C.
Miss Xu demonstrated how Cyclone occur by getting boys to demonstrate low pressure, moist air and high pressure. She asked the boys to imagine that she was warm water and moist air. Because there is low pressure there and high temperature, the moist air rises. HEat A cyclone develops when it taps into heat released from nearby air particles. This results in condensation of water vapour contained in the moist air.
While tropical cyclones can produce extremely powerful winds and torrential rain, they are also able to produce high waves and damaging storm surge. They develop over large bodies of warm water, and lose their strength if they move over land. This is the reason coastal regions can receive significant damage from a tropical cyclone, while inland regions are relatively safe from receiving strong winds. Heavy rains, however, can produce significant flooding inland, and storm surges can produce extensive coastal flooding up to 40 kilometres from the coastline. If the conditions around the system deteriorate or the tropical cyclone makes landfall, the system weakens and eventually dissipates.Windspeed was close to 190 km per hour, that is three times the speed of a car travelling on the highway.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Exam Week - The Week of Compassion & Tragedy
Montfort For Myanmar's Aid
12 May 2008
Morning prayer for the week was dedicated to the victims of Cyclone Nargis which hit Myanmar on May 2 and 3. Total death toll may be between 68,833 and 127,990. More than 100,000 may have died. Between 1.6 million to 2.5 million people are in urgent need of food, water and shelter. Only 270,000 have been reached so far.
Members of the Ecumenical Council led morning prayers for the week and shared about 'compassion' and 'charity', common denominators found in all religions. They also prayed for all who were suffering and lost loved ones in Myanmar
.
During the week, another earthquake hit Sichuan, China. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Wenchuan County, about 159 km northwest of the provincial capital of Chengdu, has severely affected an area of more than 100,000 square kilometers, according to the rescue headquarters. The confirmed death toll in Sichuan was 19,509 on 15 May, and more than 50,000 people were feared dead.
There was also some special pictures and information put out on the tragedies
outside the office. On 21st May, Wednesday, there will be a special collection for Myanmar and the Sichuan victims
Death of Former Montfort Boy (2005 Batch)
Montfort School also said prayers for one of our Montfort boys, Roslan Saharo, 18, who was just two months into his basic training. He was a police trainee and passed away on 16 May 2008 after collapsing during a 2.4km. A cheerful, helpful and good-natured student, he will be remembered by his form teacher, Ms Vivian Tan & those who taught him.
The Principal, Vice-Principals, Mr Faizan, Mr Vincent Loh and Ms Vivian Tan visited him to pay their final respects and to offer their condolences to the family.
On their own, more than 20 former Montfort boys had also gathered at the wake and funeral to give their final respects and to offer their condolences to the family. It was indicative of the class unity and special experience they shared with Roslan.
Straits Times Article
Police trainee, 18, dies 2 days after collapsing during run
By Esther Tan. 16 May 2008
A GROUP of 120 full-time police national servicemen set out on a 2.4km run early Tuesday morning around the parade square of the Home Team Academy.
But one of them never completed the run and was found lying unconscious in the camp in Old Choa Chu Kang Road.
Mr Roslan Saharo, 18, who was just two months into his basic training, would never wake up again.
After two days in a coma, his family decided yesterday morning to take him off life support.
Relatives said doctors told them he had heat stroke which caused multiple-organ failure and left him brain dead. An autopsy will be performed today to determine the cause of death.
Family members and relatives were devastated by his sudden death. 'He was such a lively and jovial boy. We will miss his laughter and never-ending smile,' said uncle Dzulkifli Wasnam, 33.
They are now trying to find out the circumstances of his death.
Two of his uncles said a police officer told them at the hospital that Mr Roslan was discovered missing from the group only after the run ended.
But last night, a police spokesman told The Straits Times an instructor had seen him 'stumble and fall' and he was given 'prompt medical attention'.
His brother, Mr Riduwan Saharo, who was a combat medic during his national service days, said there should have been a 'last man' at the back of the group to ensure no one lagged behind.
'Where was the last man when my brother fell?' asked the 26-year-old. 'And where was his buddy?'
Mr Roslan's family said he was healthy and active - he played floorball for Institute of Technical Education College Central.
But on Sunday, when he had to report back to camp, he was coughing badly and told his father he was ill, said his sister Rubiah Saharo, 29. She advised him to see a doctor, but he said he was rushing back to camp.
One of Mr Roslan's uncles said the police told them an instructor had asked the group before the run if anyone was not feeling well, but Mr Roslan did not speak up.
Police said they will render support and assistance to Mr Roslan's family.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Montfort Feast Day Special
1. Books of Montfort
Among his books are " The Secret of the Rosary" and "True Devotion to the Virgin" first published as " Preparation for the reign of Jesus Christ." The title of which, in the light of revelations given to Sister Faustina Kowalska, makes his teachings on spirituality relevant for today.H
ere are a few lines from his "True Devotion" book;(54)" ...Mary will always triumph over Satan, the proud one, so great will be her victory that she will crush his head, the very seat of his pride. She will always unmask his serpent's cunning and expose his wicked plots, she will scatter to the winds his devilish plans and to the end of time keep her faithful servants from his cruel claws.But Mary's power over the evil spirits will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will wait for her "heel" that is; her humble servants.Her poor servants she will rouse to fight against him. In the eyes of the world they will be little and poor, and like the heel, lowly in the eyes of all, downtrodden and crushed, as is the heel by the other parts of the body.But in compensation for this they will be rich in God's graces, which Mary will bestow abundantly upon them.They will be superior to all creatures by their great zeal and so strongly supported by Divine Assistance that in union with Mary, they will crush Satan's head with their heel. That is; their humility.(59)....Such are the great men who are to come. By the will of God, Mary is to prepare them to extend His rule over the impious and unbeleivers. But when and how will this come about? Only God knows.
St Louis Marie's death in 1716, his followers in the Company of Mary continued to make this devotion a major part of their teaching and preaching, but, for some reason, they never thought to publish his book, although they possessed the manuscript. They did, however, value the manuscript sufficiently that, when the French Revolution brought chaos to the Vendée region where the Mother-house of the Company of Mary was, they hid it, along with other precious papers, in a field nearby. After the revolutionary fury had abated, they retrieved these papers and put them back in the library of the Mother-house, but then, it seems, forgot about them. It was only in 1842 that one of the members of the Company of Mary, doing some research in the library, came across the old manuscript and recognised the handwriting of St. Louis Marie. The manuscript was quickly authenticated, and in 1843 was published for the first time as "Traité de la Vraie Dévotion à la Sainte Vierge" (Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin).
Legacy of Montfort
His greatest contribution to the Church is "Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin." Such did Pope John Paul II, embrace this devotion that he consecrated himself and every place he visited as pope to Mary.
The phrase of " Totus Tuus" on his Papal flag was taken from the prayer of St. Louis:Totus TuusTotus tuus ego sum, et omnia mea tua sunt, O Virgo, super omnia benedicta. All YoursI am all yoursand all that is mineis yours O VirginBlessed above all.
Totus tuus (completely yours) was Louis's personal motto; Karol Wojtyla/ Pope John Paul III chose it as his episcopal motto
On 8 December 2003, Pope John Paul II wrote to the Religious of the Montfortian Congregations, a letter to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the publication in 1843 of the "Traité de la Vraie Dévotion à la Sainte Vierge" (True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin). In the letter he reflects on certain aspects of the teaching of St. Louis Marie de Montfort concerning consecration of oneself to Jesus through Mary.
http://www.montfort.org/English/Letter160.htm
Biography of Montfort
Louis Marie de Grignion was born 31 January 1673 in the small town of Montfort-sur-Meu, just West of Rennes in Brittany, France. He was the eldest surviving child of the large family of Jean-Baptiste Grignion and his wife Jeanne Robert.
Louis Marie passed most of his infancy and early childhood in Iffendic, a few miles from Montfort, where his father had bought a farm known as "Le Bois Marquer". According to those who knew him at this early stage, he showed signs even then of a spiritual maturity uncommon in one of his age.
At the age of 12, he entered the Jesuit College of St Thomas Becket in Rennes, where, as well as doing well in his studies, he developed some of the enthusiasms which were to mark his later life. Listening to the stories of a local priest, the Abbé Julien Bellier, about his life as an itinerant missionary, he was fired with zeal to preach missions. And, under the guidance of some other priests he began to develop his strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin. At the same time, he began to experience the deprivations suffered by the very poor, and his love and care for them grew, not only in theory but in a practical way.
At some time during his college days, he became aware of a call to the priesthood, and at the end of his ordinary schooling, began his studies of philosophy and theology, still at St Thomas in Rennes. However, he was given the opportunity, through a benefactor, to go to Paris to study at the renowned Seminary of Saint-Sulpice. He set out for Paris towards the end of 1693.
Preparing for the Priesthood
As he left Rennes, to begin a new stage in his life, Louis Marie acted out a little drama which was symbolic of the life-style he had now determined to pursue. His family had offered him a horse to ride to Paris, but this he refused; his mother provided him with a new suit of clothes, and his father presented him with 10 écus to cover the expenses of his journey. Some of his family accompanied him as far as Cesson, where the road to Paris crossed the River Villaine, and there said their good-byes to him. Crossing over the bridge, Louis Marie took the first opportunity offered to him to give away his 10 écus, and then to exchange his new clothes for those of a beggar, and continued on his way, determined from then on to rely solely on Providence for his needs, and to live close to the poor.
When he arrived in Paris after a 200 mile journey, it was to find that his benefactor had not provided enough money for him to enter even the "Little Saint-Sulpice", as it was called - a separate college linked with the main seminary, but provided especially for the poorer students. So he lodged instead in a succession of boarding houses run by some of the Sulpician priests, where the diet was poor and the accomodation sparse, in the meantime attending the Sorbonne University for lectures in theology. Perhaps with rash over-enthusiasm .he added his own penances to the rigours of this life, with the result that, after less than two years, he became very ill and had to be hospitalized in the Hotel-Dieu. It was almost a miracle that he survived both his illness and the blood-lettings administered as part of his hospital treatment; and perhaps even more of a miracle that, on his release from hospital, he found himself with a place reserved at the Little Saint-Sulpice, which he entered in July 1695.
Saint-Sulpice had been founded by Jean-Jacques Olier, one of the leading exponents of what came to be known as the "French School of Spirituality". With its emphasis on the mystery of the Incarnation, and on the place of Mary in God's Plan of Salvation, it was an ideal place for Louis Marie to develop the themes of his personal spirituality. Yet, other aspects of Sulpician spirituality do not seem to have attracted him so much: the tendency to place the clergy on a pedestal, to the point where there was a danger of their becoming "settled", not to say smug. His time at Saint-Sulpice, however, gave him the opportunity to study most of the available works on spirituality and, in particular, on Mary's place in the Christian life, especially when he was appointed librarian, nor did he waste the opportunity. He also had time to develop catechetical skills, especially among the deprived youth of Saint-Sulpice parish.
The time arrived for him to be ordained a priest in June 1700, and a few days later he said his first Mass at the altar of the Blessed Virgin in the church of Saint-Sulpice. He remained for a few more months in Paris, before setting out on his priestly ministry.Early Priestly Ministry
Louis Marie's first appointment as a priest was to the Community of Saint-Clément in Nantes. As his letters of this period show, however, he felt frustrated there owing to the lack of opportunity to preach as he felt he was called to do. He considered various options, even that of becoming a hermit, but the conviction that he was called to "preach missions to the poor" increased, and he began to think, even at this early stage, of founding "a small company of priests" to do this work under the banner of the Blessed Virgin. After a few months, he was persuaded to go to Poitiers by Mme. de Montespan (the repentant former mistress of King Louis XIV), whom he had first met in Paris. There he agreed, although somewhat reluctantly (since he did not think he was called to "shut himself away in a poor-house") to become chaplain to the inmates of what was known as the "Hôpital Général" - a sort of work-house where the very poor were incarcerated in order to keep them off the streets. Here Louis Marie set about serving these poor people with all the enthusiasm which he normally reserved for such as these. In the course of his reforming efforts, he seems to have fallen foul of the authorities at the poor-house, and around Easter 1703 he left for Paris.
The next year was to be a particularly painful one for him. He first went to join the team of chaplains at the Salpétrière, the first "Hôpital Général" set up by St. Vincent de Paul; but after a few weeks he was asked to leave (we do not know why). This was the beginning of a period when almost all his old friends and acquaintances rejected him. As with many other saints, it seems that his extraordinary sanctity challenged those less inclined to follow the gospel literally, and they accused him of pride and self-deception. He spent almost a year living in a very poor lodging in the Rue du Pot de Fer, without friends and without any definite ministry. This gave him the chance, however, to develop his thoughts on Jesus Christ, as the manifestation of the Wisdom of God, and he probably wrote his book The Love of Eternal Wisdom at this time.
The poor of Poitiers, however, had not rejected him, and they wrote to ask him to return to them. With the agreement of the Bishop, he returned to Poitiers to become the Director of the "Hôpital Général", and once again set about his reforms. He was helped in this by a young woman, Marie-Louise Trichet, who felt called to be a religious and to dedicate herself to the service of the poor. Louis Marie persuaded her to come to work with him at the "Hôpital Général", where later she was joined by another young woman, Catherine Brunet. These two, after many years of waiting, were to become the first members of the Daughters of Wisdom.
Louis Marie still continued to attract opposition by his reforms, and after several more months, he was persuaded by the Bishop and Marie Louis Trichet to leave the Hôpital for the second time. He began preaching missions in and around Poitiers, and probably felt that at last he was doing the work God had called him to do. Among the first missions was one in the very poor suburb of Montbernage, where he put into practice many of the features of his later missions: the call to a renewal of Baptismal Vows, the processions and lively liturgies which attracted the people who had often been neglected in the past. But his success seems to have aroused the jealousy of some who had the ear of the Bishop, and at the beginning of Lent 1706, he was forbidden to preach any more missions in the Diocese of Poitiers.
What was he to do now? He had become more and more convinced that he was called to preach missions, yet here was the Bishop of the Diocese forbidding him to do so. His thoughts turned to the Foreign Missions but he felt he needed some higher guidance. So he set off to make a pilgrimage to Rome, to ask the Holy Father, Pope Clement XI, what he should do. The Pope recognised his real vocation and, telling him that there was plenty of scope for its exercise in France, sent him back with the title of Apostolic Missionary. On his return to France, Louis Marie headed for Mont-Saint-Michel to make a retreat before seeking another field for his missionary endeavours in Brittany.
Missions in Brittany
After making his retreat at Mont-Saint-Michel, Louis Marie set off to find the missionary band headed by one of the greatest of Breton Missioners, Father Leuduger, and having caught up with them in Dinan, was accepted as a member of the team. Over the next few months he was involved in many missions in the dioceses of Saint-Malo and Saint-Brieuc, including one in his own birth-place, Montfort-sur-Meu
and others at Plumieux and La Chèze (where he rebuilt an ancient chapel, long since fallen into ruins, dedicated to Our Lady of Pity). Always he would choose for his own attention the poorest areas of the towns where the missions were held , and would often introduce some new initiatives for the relief of the poor, for example a soup-kitchen which was set up in Dinan.
He was perhaps not at his best, however, working with a team and, after several months, he left the mission band to spend a year at Saint-Lazare, just outside Montfort-sur-Meu, with two lay-brothers who had joined him. Here he occupied himself with teaching catechism to those who came to this ancient priory and schooling the two brothers in the art of community living. At the end of a year, he must have felt that other places offered him more opportunites for preaching missions and in 1708 he left to work in the Diocese of Nantes.
For two years, he preached many missions in and around Nantes, the vast majority of which proved extraordinarily successful in terms of the conversions wrought among the people. His reputation as a great missioner grew, but most of all he began to be known everywhere, by the ordinary people, as "the good Father from Montfort". He tried to perpetuate the spiritual results of his missions by setting up confraternities and associations which would encourage the people to be faithful to their renewal of Baptismal commitment, and by erecting physical reminders of the mission in the form of mission crosses. At Pontchateau, he attracted many thousands of people to help him in the erection of a more imposing reminder of the love of God, in the shape of a huge Calvary.
The Calvary of Pontchateau, however, was to be the cause of one of his greatest disappointments. On the very eve of its blessing, the Bishop, having heard that it was to be destroyed on the orders of the King himself, forbade its benediction. The whole sorry affair of the condemnation of the Calvary was the result of jealousy and petty revenge, but the Bishop evidently felt he had no choice but to curb the "excesses" of this extraordinary priest, and a few days later he forbade Louis Marie to do any more preaching in his diocese. This was just one, though perhaps the greatest, of the many instances where Louis Marie was called to share in the Cross of Christ. He did not let it get him down, but on the contrary reflected and meditated on it, and set down his reflections in one of his short writings, the Letter to the Friends of the Cross.
Although he was not banned from all work in the Diocese of Nantes, it was clear that if he wished to continue his preaching, he would have to go elsewhere. On the invitation of the Bishop of La Rochelle, he left Nantes in 1711 and entered the last period of his life, preaching missions in the Dioceses of La Rochelle and Luçon, in the Vendée region of France.
Last Years
The next five years, until his death in 1716, were extraordinarily busy ones for Louis Marie. He was constantly occupied in preaching missions, always travelling on foot between one and another. Yet he found time also to write - his True Devotion to Mary and The Secret of Mary, rules for the Company of Mary and the Daughters of Wisdom, and many Hymns which he used in his missions, often set to contemporary dance tunes. He made two major journeys, to Paris and to Rouen, to try to find recruits for his Company of Mary, of which he dreamt more and more as he drew towards the end of his life. And from time to time, he felt it necessary to withdraw to a place of quiet and isolation, in the Forest of Mervent or in his little "hermitage" at Saint-Eloi near La Rochelle.
His missions made a great impact, especially in the Vendée. It has been said that one of the reasons for the vigourous resistance of the people of this region to the anti-religious and anti-Catholic tendencies of the French Revolution 80 years or so later, was the strengthening of their faith by the preaching of St. Louis Marie. Yet he found it very difficult to persuade other priests to join him in his work as members of his Company of Mary. Finally, in the last year, two priests, Fr René Mulot and Fr Adrien Vatel, did join him, and he also gathered a certain number of lay-brothers to help him in his work.
The Bishop of La Rochelle, Mgr Stephen de Champflour, proved a great friend to him, although others continued to oppose him, and there was even an attempt made on his life< Together with the Bishop, he established free schools for the poor boys and girls of La Rochelle, and called Marie Louise Trichet and Catherine Brunet, who had waited patiently in Poitiers for 10 years, to come to help him. At last, they made their religious profession and the congregation of the Daughters of Wisdom was born. Soon there were others too who joined them.
Worn out by hard work and sickness, Louis Marie finally came in April 1716 to Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre to begin the mission which was to be his last. During it, he fell ill and died on 28 April. Thousands gathered for his burial in the parish church, and very quickly there were stories of miracles performed at his tomb. The two priests of the Company of Mary, Fathers Mulot and Vatel, retired to Saint-Pompain, with the handful of Brothers, where they waited for two years before taking up again the mission preaching so beloved of Louis Marie.
He had hoped after his ordination in 1700 to go to the foreign missions, favouring the French colonnies of Canada. His spiritual director however, sent him to minister to the needs of the French Church.
Recognising there was a lack of priests to minister to the people, he prayed for and eventually began a small society of priests. Walking from diocese to diocese his outspokenness on wrongdoing and the erroneous doctrines of the day made him many enemies.He met continuously with opposition and disapproval. He began to wonder (as had Saint James!) whether he was truly following the path of God.
To find his answer he travelled the thousand miles or so on foot to a private audience with Pope Clement XI. The Pope encouraged him to continue his apostolic works and evangelisation of France.
For the next sixteen years He travelled throughout the west of France, preaching, teaching catechism, organising the building of shrines and schools and renovating delapidated churches.All of this strenuous work, his heavy penances and an attempt on his life by poisoning eventually took its toll.
At a mission in the village of St. Laurent - sur Sevre, having struggled to give his sermon on "the kindness of Jesus" he became seriously ill. That afternoon on the 28th of April 1716, it beame certain that death was near. Holding his little statue of Our Lady in his hands, and kissing his crucifix he exclaimed " In vain do you attack me; I am between Jesus and Mary. I have finished my course; all is over. I shall sin no more". Then he died peacefully.Thousand came to pay their respects, and his tomb in St- Laurent has been a place of pilgrimage ever since.
He was canonized by Pope Pius XII on July 20th 1947, and his feast is kept on the anniversary of his death, April 28th.
You who pass this way, what do you see?
A light quenched,
A man consumed with the fire of charity,
Who became all things to all men,
Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort.
If you would know his life,
there was none more holy;
If his penance, none more mortified;
If his zeal, none more ardent;
If his devotion to Mary, none more like Bernard.
A priest of Christ, he showed forth Christ in his actions,
and preached him everywhere in his words;
unwearied, he rested only in the grave.
A father to the poor,protector of orphans,reconciler of sinners,his glorious death was the image of his life.As he lived, so did he die.
The epitaph engraved in Latin on his tomb is an excellent summary of his life:
Visit
http://bobandpennylordblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/saint-louis-marie-de-montfort.html for a clip on the lift of Montfort
Among his books are " The Secret of the Rosary" and "True Devotion to the Virgin" first published as " Preparation for the reign of Jesus Christ." The title of which, in the light of revelations given to Sister Faustina Kowalska, makes his teachings on spirituality relevant for today.H
ere are a few lines from his "True Devotion" book;(54)" ...Mary will always triumph over Satan, the proud one, so great will be her victory that she will crush his head, the very seat of his pride. She will always unmask his serpent's cunning and expose his wicked plots, she will scatter to the winds his devilish plans and to the end of time keep her faithful servants from his cruel claws.But Mary's power over the evil spirits will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will wait for her "heel" that is; her humble servants.Her poor servants she will rouse to fight against him. In the eyes of the world they will be little and poor, and like the heel, lowly in the eyes of all, downtrodden and crushed, as is the heel by the other parts of the body.But in compensation for this they will be rich in God's graces, which Mary will bestow abundantly upon them.They will be superior to all creatures by their great zeal and so strongly supported by Divine Assistance that in union with Mary, they will crush Satan's head with their heel. That is; their humility.(59)....Such are the great men who are to come. By the will of God, Mary is to prepare them to extend His rule over the impious and unbeleivers. But when and how will this come about? Only God knows.
St Louis Marie's death in 1716, his followers in the Company of Mary continued to make this devotion a major part of their teaching and preaching, but, for some reason, they never thought to publish his book, although they possessed the manuscript. They did, however, value the manuscript sufficiently that, when the French Revolution brought chaos to the Vendée region where the Mother-house of the Company of Mary was, they hid it, along with other precious papers, in a field nearby. After the revolutionary fury had abated, they retrieved these papers and put them back in the library of the Mother-house, but then, it seems, forgot about them. It was only in 1842 that one of the members of the Company of Mary, doing some research in the library, came across the old manuscript and recognised the handwriting of St. Louis Marie. The manuscript was quickly authenticated, and in 1843 was published for the first time as "Traité de la Vraie Dévotion à la Sainte Vierge" (Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin).
Legacy of Montfort
His greatest contribution to the Church is "Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin." Such did Pope John Paul II, embrace this devotion that he consecrated himself and every place he visited as pope to Mary.
The phrase of " Totus Tuus" on his Papal flag was taken from the prayer of St. Louis:Totus TuusTotus tuus ego sum, et omnia mea tua sunt, O Virgo, super omnia benedicta. All YoursI am all yoursand all that is mineis yours O VirginBlessed above all.
Totus tuus (completely yours) was Louis's personal motto; Karol Wojtyla/ Pope John Paul III chose it as his episcopal motto
On 8 December 2003, Pope John Paul II wrote to the Religious of the Montfortian Congregations, a letter to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the publication in 1843 of the "Traité de la Vraie Dévotion à la Sainte Vierge" (True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin). In the letter he reflects on certain aspects of the teaching of St. Louis Marie de Montfort concerning consecration of oneself to Jesus through Mary.
http://www.montfort.org/English/Letter160.htm
Biography of Montfort
Louis Marie de Grignion was born 31 January 1673 in the small town of Montfort-sur-Meu, just West of Rennes in Brittany, France. He was the eldest surviving child of the large family of Jean-Baptiste Grignion and his wife Jeanne Robert.
Louis Marie passed most of his infancy and early childhood in Iffendic, a few miles from Montfort, where his father had bought a farm known as "Le Bois Marquer". According to those who knew him at this early stage, he showed signs even then of a spiritual maturity uncommon in one of his age.
At the age of 12, he entered the Jesuit College of St Thomas Becket in Rennes, where, as well as doing well in his studies, he developed some of the enthusiasms which were to mark his later life. Listening to the stories of a local priest, the Abbé Julien Bellier, about his life as an itinerant missionary, he was fired with zeal to preach missions. And, under the guidance of some other priests he began to develop his strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin. At the same time, he began to experience the deprivations suffered by the very poor, and his love and care for them grew, not only in theory but in a practical way.
At some time during his college days, he became aware of a call to the priesthood, and at the end of his ordinary schooling, began his studies of philosophy and theology, still at St Thomas in Rennes. However, he was given the opportunity, through a benefactor, to go to Paris to study at the renowned Seminary of Saint-Sulpice. He set out for Paris towards the end of 1693.
Preparing for the Priesthood
As he left Rennes, to begin a new stage in his life, Louis Marie acted out a little drama which was symbolic of the life-style he had now determined to pursue. His family had offered him a horse to ride to Paris, but this he refused; his mother provided him with a new suit of clothes, and his father presented him with 10 écus to cover the expenses of his journey. Some of his family accompanied him as far as Cesson, where the road to Paris crossed the River Villaine, and there said their good-byes to him. Crossing over the bridge, Louis Marie took the first opportunity offered to him to give away his 10 écus, and then to exchange his new clothes for those of a beggar, and continued on his way, determined from then on to rely solely on Providence for his needs, and to live close to the poor.
When he arrived in Paris after a 200 mile journey, it was to find that his benefactor had not provided enough money for him to enter even the "Little Saint-Sulpice", as it was called - a separate college linked with the main seminary, but provided especially for the poorer students. So he lodged instead in a succession of boarding houses run by some of the Sulpician priests, where the diet was poor and the accomodation sparse, in the meantime attending the Sorbonne University for lectures in theology. Perhaps with rash over-enthusiasm .he added his own penances to the rigours of this life, with the result that, after less than two years, he became very ill and had to be hospitalized in the Hotel-Dieu. It was almost a miracle that he survived both his illness and the blood-lettings administered as part of his hospital treatment; and perhaps even more of a miracle that, on his release from hospital, he found himself with a place reserved at the Little Saint-Sulpice, which he entered in July 1695.
Saint-Sulpice had been founded by Jean-Jacques Olier, one of the leading exponents of what came to be known as the "French School of Spirituality". With its emphasis on the mystery of the Incarnation, and on the place of Mary in God's Plan of Salvation, it was an ideal place for Louis Marie to develop the themes of his personal spirituality. Yet, other aspects of Sulpician spirituality do not seem to have attracted him so much: the tendency to place the clergy on a pedestal, to the point where there was a danger of their becoming "settled", not to say smug. His time at Saint-Sulpice, however, gave him the opportunity to study most of the available works on spirituality and, in particular, on Mary's place in the Christian life, especially when he was appointed librarian, nor did he waste the opportunity. He also had time to develop catechetical skills, especially among the deprived youth of Saint-Sulpice parish.
The time arrived for him to be ordained a priest in June 1700, and a few days later he said his first Mass at the altar of the Blessed Virgin in the church of Saint-Sulpice. He remained for a few more months in Paris, before setting out on his priestly ministry.Early Priestly Ministry
Louis Marie's first appointment as a priest was to the Community of Saint-Clément in Nantes. As his letters of this period show, however, he felt frustrated there owing to the lack of opportunity to preach as he felt he was called to do. He considered various options, even that of becoming a hermit, but the conviction that he was called to "preach missions to the poor" increased, and he began to think, even at this early stage, of founding "a small company of priests" to do this work under the banner of the Blessed Virgin. After a few months, he was persuaded to go to Poitiers by Mme. de Montespan (the repentant former mistress of King Louis XIV), whom he had first met in Paris. There he agreed, although somewhat reluctantly (since he did not think he was called to "shut himself away in a poor-house") to become chaplain to the inmates of what was known as the "Hôpital Général" - a sort of work-house where the very poor were incarcerated in order to keep them off the streets. Here Louis Marie set about serving these poor people with all the enthusiasm which he normally reserved for such as these. In the course of his reforming efforts, he seems to have fallen foul of the authorities at the poor-house, and around Easter 1703 he left for Paris.
The next year was to be a particularly painful one for him. He first went to join the team of chaplains at the Salpétrière, the first "Hôpital Général" set up by St. Vincent de Paul; but after a few weeks he was asked to leave (we do not know why). This was the beginning of a period when almost all his old friends and acquaintances rejected him. As with many other saints, it seems that his extraordinary sanctity challenged those less inclined to follow the gospel literally, and they accused him of pride and self-deception. He spent almost a year living in a very poor lodging in the Rue du Pot de Fer, without friends and without any definite ministry. This gave him the chance, however, to develop his thoughts on Jesus Christ, as the manifestation of the Wisdom of God, and he probably wrote his book The Love of Eternal Wisdom at this time.
The poor of Poitiers, however, had not rejected him, and they wrote to ask him to return to them. With the agreement of the Bishop, he returned to Poitiers to become the Director of the "Hôpital Général", and once again set about his reforms. He was helped in this by a young woman, Marie-Louise Trichet, who felt called to be a religious and to dedicate herself to the service of the poor. Louis Marie persuaded her to come to work with him at the "Hôpital Général", where later she was joined by another young woman, Catherine Brunet. These two, after many years of waiting, were to become the first members of the Daughters of Wisdom.
Louis Marie still continued to attract opposition by his reforms, and after several more months, he was persuaded by the Bishop and Marie Louis Trichet to leave the Hôpital for the second time. He began preaching missions in and around Poitiers, and probably felt that at last he was doing the work God had called him to do. Among the first missions was one in the very poor suburb of Montbernage, where he put into practice many of the features of his later missions: the call to a renewal of Baptismal Vows, the processions and lively liturgies which attracted the people who had often been neglected in the past. But his success seems to have aroused the jealousy of some who had the ear of the Bishop, and at the beginning of Lent 1706, he was forbidden to preach any more missions in the Diocese of Poitiers.
What was he to do now? He had become more and more convinced that he was called to preach missions, yet here was the Bishop of the Diocese forbidding him to do so. His thoughts turned to the Foreign Missions but he felt he needed some higher guidance. So he set off to make a pilgrimage to Rome, to ask the Holy Father, Pope Clement XI, what he should do. The Pope recognised his real vocation and, telling him that there was plenty of scope for its exercise in France, sent him back with the title of Apostolic Missionary. On his return to France, Louis Marie headed for Mont-Saint-Michel to make a retreat before seeking another field for his missionary endeavours in Brittany.
Missions in Brittany
After making his retreat at Mont-Saint-Michel, Louis Marie set off to find the missionary band headed by one of the greatest of Breton Missioners, Father Leuduger, and having caught up with them in Dinan, was accepted as a member of the team. Over the next few months he was involved in many missions in the dioceses of Saint-Malo and Saint-Brieuc, including one in his own birth-place, Montfort-sur-Meu
and others at Plumieux and La Chèze (where he rebuilt an ancient chapel, long since fallen into ruins, dedicated to Our Lady of Pity). Always he would choose for his own attention the poorest areas of the towns where the missions were held , and would often introduce some new initiatives for the relief of the poor, for example a soup-kitchen which was set up in Dinan.
He was perhaps not at his best, however, working with a team and, after several months, he left the mission band to spend a year at Saint-Lazare, just outside Montfort-sur-Meu, with two lay-brothers who had joined him. Here he occupied himself with teaching catechism to those who came to this ancient priory and schooling the two brothers in the art of community living. At the end of a year, he must have felt that other places offered him more opportunites for preaching missions and in 1708 he left to work in the Diocese of Nantes.
For two years, he preached many missions in and around Nantes, the vast majority of which proved extraordinarily successful in terms of the conversions wrought among the people. His reputation as a great missioner grew, but most of all he began to be known everywhere, by the ordinary people, as "the good Father from Montfort". He tried to perpetuate the spiritual results of his missions by setting up confraternities and associations which would encourage the people to be faithful to their renewal of Baptismal commitment, and by erecting physical reminders of the mission in the form of mission crosses. At Pontchateau, he attracted many thousands of people to help him in the erection of a more imposing reminder of the love of God, in the shape of a huge Calvary.
The Calvary of Pontchateau, however, was to be the cause of one of his greatest disappointments. On the very eve of its blessing, the Bishop, having heard that it was to be destroyed on the orders of the King himself, forbade its benediction. The whole sorry affair of the condemnation of the Calvary was the result of jealousy and petty revenge, but the Bishop evidently felt he had no choice but to curb the "excesses" of this extraordinary priest, and a few days later he forbade Louis Marie to do any more preaching in his diocese. This was just one, though perhaps the greatest, of the many instances where Louis Marie was called to share in the Cross of Christ. He did not let it get him down, but on the contrary reflected and meditated on it, and set down his reflections in one of his short writings, the Letter to the Friends of the Cross.
Although he was not banned from all work in the Diocese of Nantes, it was clear that if he wished to continue his preaching, he would have to go elsewhere. On the invitation of the Bishop of La Rochelle, he left Nantes in 1711 and entered the last period of his life, preaching missions in the Dioceses of La Rochelle and Luçon, in the Vendée region of France.
Last Years
The next five years, until his death in 1716, were extraordinarily busy ones for Louis Marie. He was constantly occupied in preaching missions, always travelling on foot between one and another. Yet he found time also to write - his True Devotion to Mary and The Secret of Mary, rules for the Company of Mary and the Daughters of Wisdom, and many Hymns which he used in his missions, often set to contemporary dance tunes. He made two major journeys, to Paris and to Rouen, to try to find recruits for his Company of Mary, of which he dreamt more and more as he drew towards the end of his life. And from time to time, he felt it necessary to withdraw to a place of quiet and isolation, in the Forest of Mervent or in his little "hermitage" at Saint-Eloi near La Rochelle.
His missions made a great impact, especially in the Vendée. It has been said that one of the reasons for the vigourous resistance of the people of this region to the anti-religious and anti-Catholic tendencies of the French Revolution 80 years or so later, was the strengthening of their faith by the preaching of St. Louis Marie. Yet he found it very difficult to persuade other priests to join him in his work as members of his Company of Mary. Finally, in the last year, two priests, Fr René Mulot and Fr Adrien Vatel, did join him, and he also gathered a certain number of lay-brothers to help him in his work.
The Bishop of La Rochelle, Mgr Stephen de Champflour, proved a great friend to him, although others continued to oppose him, and there was even an attempt made on his life< Together with the Bishop, he established free schools for the poor boys and girls of La Rochelle, and called Marie Louise Trichet and Catherine Brunet, who had waited patiently in Poitiers for 10 years, to come to help him. At last, they made their religious profession and the congregation of the Daughters of Wisdom was born. Soon there were others too who joined them.
Worn out by hard work and sickness, Louis Marie finally came in April 1716 to Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre to begin the mission which was to be his last. During it, he fell ill and died on 28 April. Thousands gathered for his burial in the parish church, and very quickly there were stories of miracles performed at his tomb. The two priests of the Company of Mary, Fathers Mulot and Vatel, retired to Saint-Pompain, with the handful of Brothers, where they waited for two years before taking up again the mission preaching so beloved of Louis Marie.
He had hoped after his ordination in 1700 to go to the foreign missions, favouring the French colonnies of Canada. His spiritual director however, sent him to minister to the needs of the French Church.
Recognising there was a lack of priests to minister to the people, he prayed for and eventually began a small society of priests. Walking from diocese to diocese his outspokenness on wrongdoing and the erroneous doctrines of the day made him many enemies.He met continuously with opposition and disapproval. He began to wonder (as had Saint James!) whether he was truly following the path of God.
To find his answer he travelled the thousand miles or so on foot to a private audience with Pope Clement XI. The Pope encouraged him to continue his apostolic works and evangelisation of France.
For the next sixteen years He travelled throughout the west of France, preaching, teaching catechism, organising the building of shrines and schools and renovating delapidated churches.All of this strenuous work, his heavy penances and an attempt on his life by poisoning eventually took its toll.
At a mission in the village of St. Laurent - sur Sevre, having struggled to give his sermon on "the kindness of Jesus" he became seriously ill. That afternoon on the 28th of April 1716, it beame certain that death was near. Holding his little statue of Our Lady in his hands, and kissing his crucifix he exclaimed " In vain do you attack me; I am between Jesus and Mary. I have finished my course; all is over. I shall sin no more". Then he died peacefully.Thousand came to pay their respects, and his tomb in St- Laurent has been a place of pilgrimage ever since.
He was canonized by Pope Pius XII on July 20th 1947, and his feast is kept on the anniversary of his death, April 28th.
You who pass this way, what do you see?
A light quenched,
A man consumed with the fire of charity,
Who became all things to all men,
Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort.
If you would know his life,
there was none more holy;
If his penance, none more mortified;
If his zeal, none more ardent;
If his devotion to Mary, none more like Bernard.
A priest of Christ, he showed forth Christ in his actions,
and preached him everywhere in his words;
unwearied, he rested only in the grave.
A father to the poor,protector of orphans,reconciler of sinners,his glorious death was the image of his life.As he lived, so did he die.
The epitaph engraved in Latin on his tomb is an excellent summary of his life:
Visit
http://bobandpennylordblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/saint-louis-marie-de-montfort.html for a clip on the lift of Montfort
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)