We must do everything with Mary; that is to say, in all our actions we must look upon Mary, although a simple human being, as the perfect model of every virtue and perfection, fashioned by the Holy Spirit for us to imitate, as far as our limited capacity allows.
In every action, then, we should consider how Mary performed it or how she would perform it if she were in our place. For this reason, we must examine and meditate on the great virtues she practiced during her life, especially:
1) Her lively faith, by which she believed the angel’s word without the least hesitation, and believed faithfully and constantly even to the foot of the Cross on Calvary.
2) Her deep humility, which made her prefer seclusion, maintain silence, submit to every eventuality, and put herself in the last place.
3) Her truly divine purity, which never had and never will have its equal on this side of heaven.
And so on for her other virtues.
Remember what I told you before, that Mary is the great, unique mould of God, designed to make living images of God at little expense and in a short time. Anyone who finds this mould and casts himself into it is soon transformed into Our Lord because it is the true likeness of Him.
To do all actions with Mary means essentially to take Mary as our model
The idea to perform all our actions with Mary means to have Mary as our model. Why should we have Mary as our model and perform our actions with Mary? Why does the word “with” apply in this case?
It applies because of the idea of the mould that St. Louis describes in his book. He shows the difference between a sculptor making a statue and someone who makes a statue from a mould. Whether the mould be of metal or wood, the task is much simpler. One only needs to put the plaster in, let it dry, and a figure is obtained. Whereas the work of a sculptor, with hammer and chisel, is much greater and riskier, as a piece of the stone or marble can just break off. A mould, on the contrary, is quick, inexpensive, and without flaw, as the figure thus molded will be an exact copy of the original.
St. Louis says that Our Lady is the mould of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and that she is also our mould. In other words, if we, as plaster, mould ourselves entirely according to her, since she is the mould of Christ, we will be like Our Lord. So, to have her as our model is to have her as our mould. If she is our mould, we will do everything with her. This is the meaning of doing everything “with her”.
To have Mary as our model presupposes a type of soul who is constantly aware of everything happening within it.
How can we have Mary as our model? He gives some elements for this. First, it presupposes that the soul knows Our Lady, and thus has a clear idea of the ideal that needs to be imitated.
Second, the soul must have her in mind in everything it does. This presupposes that the soul has the habit of interior vigilance and of continuous meditation. This means that, for each action, I need to have Our Lady as my model. I should pay good attention to everything I do. Is it in accordance with Our Lady or not? So much vigilance over ourselves is necessary. At all times my soul needs to see what is happening within it and judge it.
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(The above is a commentary on excerpts from St. Louis de Montfort’s famous book Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, made in 1972 by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, founder of the Brazilian TFP.
The text is an adaptation of a transcription from the recording of a conference given to members of the TFP and never revised by Prof. Corrêa de Oliveira.
He was a man of profound piety and unshakable faith, and was intensely devoted to the Holy Virgin Mary, to whom he consecrated himself according to the method of St. Louis de Montfort. Above, he comments on paragraph no. 260 of the Treatise.)
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