A Little Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort Sampler- Part 1: The Cultivation And Growth Of The Tree Of Life

Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort,

his tomb stone located in the basilica Saint-Laurent,

Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, France.

Picture by © Llann Wé² at Wikimedia Commons.

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Today’s sharing from the Blue House of Via-HYGEIA is a text we have chosen for it’s strong symbolic of the Tree of Life, written by Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, as an introduction and summary of his magnus opus, ‘The true Devotion to Mary‘. It was followed by the popular ‘The secret of the Rosary‘. According to Montfort, “Mary is the safest, easiest, shortest, and most perfect way of approaching Jesus“.

Our source book, ‘Le Secret de Marie‘ was published, in a revised modern edition taken directly from the manuscripts, in 1956 in Lyon-France by the publisher Lescuyer & Sons. Our text immediately follows the main text, from page 70 to 74. A Via-HYGEIA English translation from the original French.

It is not surprising for those who are familiar with Sufi terminology and especially of the malamati branch (the way of the blame) to find similarities with the approach described below: ‘no human support, continuous gaze of the soul, violence to oneself, no self-love, allergy to sin, perseverance with exercises and practices, Inner peace within external trials’. Thomas Bromley, within the golden Boehmian lineage, in his popular ‘Way to the Sabbath of Rest‘ makes use also of similar vocabulary.

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Introduction & Context

Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort,

Apostle of True Devotion to Mary

Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673–1716) was a French Catholic priest, missionary, and mystic whose profound Marian spirituality has left an indelible mark on the Church. Known for his fiery preaching, deep love for the poor, and unwavering devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Montfort dedicated his life to renewing Christian faith through total consecration to Jesus through Mary.

A Life of Radical Love for God and Mary

Born in Brittany, France, Montfort felt an early call to priesthood and was ordained in 1700. He became a wandering missionary, preaching parish missions with extraordinary zeal, often facing opposition but winning countless souls through his humility and fervor. His greatest legacy lies in his spiritual writings, particularly ‘The true Devotion to Mary‘ and ‘The Secret of the Rosary‘, which present a path of holiness centered on surrendering entirely to Christ through Mary.

A Lasting Influence in the Catholic Church

Montfort’s teachings emphasize that Mary is the surest and shortest path to Jesus, calling believers to a ‘Holy Slavery of Love‘—a total gift of self to God through her. His spirituality has influenced popes, saints (including St. John Paul II, who took his papal motto ‘Totus Tuus‘ from Montfort), and millions of faithful worldwide. The Marian congregations and religious orders he founded (the Montfort Fathers, the Daughters of Wisdom & the Brothers of Saint Gabriel) continue his mission today.

Why Montfort’s Message is More Relevant Than Ever

In our modern age—marked by spiritual restlessness, individualism, and a crisis of faith—Montfort’s call to radical trust in Mary and abandonment to Divine Providence offers a remedy. His devotion teaches:

–True freedom in surrender – In a world obsessed with self-reliance, Montfort shows that real strength comes from entrusting ourselves to God.

–The power of the Rosary – At a time of distraction and anxiety, his advocacy for the Rosary provides peace and contemplative depth.

–Mary as spiritual mother – In an era of loneliness and broken relationships, Montfort reminds us that Mary leads us to the heart of Christ.

Montfort’s spirituality is not a relic of the past but a living path for those seeking holiness in a chaotic world. As Pope St. John Paul II affirmed, his teachings are ‘a golden key‘ to unlocking the fullness of Christian discipleship. For those longing for a deeper relationship with Christ, Montfort’s True Devotion remains a timeless and transformative guide.

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Publisher’s Forewords

After revealing to us the secret of a holy life, which consists of giving oneself entirely as a slave to Mary and to Jesus through her, and of doing all things with Mary, in Mary, by Mary, and for Mary, the saint seeks to equip the soul of good will—drawn by God to the path of Holy Slavery—with a practical Code of life.

This path is sublime: it is the life of the most perfect, yet accessible to the humble. But how can one practically live such a life? What must be done? What conduct should be adopted?

It is to this question, asked by many souls, that the saint responds here.

Comparing holy slavery to the tree of life planted by the Holy Spirit in our soul, he offers a brief series of advice of paramount importance. Written under the powerful inspiration of the most Holy Spirit of Mary, these words possess inexhaustible fruitfulness. They must be read and re-read, and the more one meditates on them and strives to follow them, the more one will discover in them depth & prudence, victorious strength, and divine wisdom.

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 The Cultivation

& Growth Of The Tree Of Life,

also the mean to let Mary live & rule in our souls

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1. That the holy slavery of Love is the true Tree of Life.

Did you understand, predestined souls, through the operation of the Holy Spirit, what i have just said? Praise God ! It is a secret unknown to almost everybody. If you have found this hidden secret in Mary’s garden-the precious pearl of the Church-you must sell everything to acquire it; you ought to make a sacrifice of yourself and put yourself in the hands of Mary, so to blissfully lose yourself in her to find God alone.

If the Holy Spirit has planted in your soul the true Tree of Life, which consists in the devotion i have just delineated earlier, you ought to take all of your care to cultivate it, so that it will give you its fruits in time. This devotion is the mustard seed the Gospel speaks about, which is it seems the smallest of all seeds, but becomes so tall and it grows its branches so high that the birds of Heaven, the predestined, make their nest there and rest in its shadow under the heat of the sun, hidden from wild beasts.

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2. The method to cultivate the Tree of Life

No human support

This tree having been planted in your faithful heart, wants to be in full reach of the wind, without any human support; this tree, being divine, always wants to be without any creature on it that would prevent it to rise towards its principle, which is God. Therefore, we ought not to leans upon our own natural talents or upon the authority of Men: we ought to seek Mary’s help and lean upon it.

Continuous gaze of the soul

The soul, in which this tree has been planted, ought to be continuously busy, like a good gardener, to care for it and to watch upon it. Because this tree, being alive and being due to produce fruits of life, wants to be cultivated and grown through the continuous gaze and contemplation of the soul; and, it is the signature of a perfect soul to be thinking about it continuously and to make it its main occupation.

Violence to oneself

We ought to cast out the thistles and thorns that would suffocate this tree in time and prevent it to bear fruit: which means that we ought to faithfully cut and withdraw through mortification and violence to oneself, all of the vain and useless pleasures in connection with the material world and, in other words, we ought to crucify our flesh, to keep silence and mortify the senses.

No Self love

We ought to ensure that the caterpillars will not damage the tree of Life. These caterpillars are self-love and ease that consume the green leaves and the beautiful hopes the tree has for its fruits: because self-love and the love for Mary cannot cohabit.

Allergy to sin

We ought not to allow the beasts to come close to the tree. These beasts are the sins, that bring death to it just by a single touch: even their breath ought not to be close to it, as they are the venial sins, always a threat if we do not pay attention.

Perseverance with exercises and practices

We ought to water this divine tree continuously, with the holy communion, attendance and participation to  daily masses and other public or private prayers; without them this tree will cease to bear fruit.

Inner peace within external trials

We ought to become indifferent if there are winds blowing upon us, as these are the winds of temptations blowing to bring the tree down; Also, we ought not be unsettled if rain and hail rage to destroy it: this particular devotion to the virgin Mary will be without doubt attacked and denied; but, due to our perseverance and our focused cultivation, we ought to fear nothing.

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3. The fruit of the Tree of Life,

is the kind and adorable Jesus

Predestined soul, if you cultivate in this way your Tree of Life newly planted in you by the Holy Spirit in your soul, I assure you that in no time it will grow so high that the birds of Heaven will live there and it will become so perfect that finally it will give its honorable and graceful fruit in time: the kind & adorable Jesus, who has always been and will always be Mary’s unique fruit.

Blessed is a soul in which Mary-the tree of Life-has been planted; even more blessed is the soul which has grown and cultivated such a blossoming tree; most blessed is the soul in which the Tree of Life has bared its fruit; but the happiest of all those souls is the one that tastes and keeps its fruit until death, and so, for ever. So be it. ‘Qui tenet, teneat‘, (which means, according to Saint Grinion de Montfort: ‘who understand this precious secret keeps it with the outmost care‘).

Soli Deo gloria

(Glory to God Alone)

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Source

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Appendix

Mary’s Virtues

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The Tree of Jesse

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