St.Louis-Marie Grignion De Montfort
The Man Who Walked with God
St. Louis de Montfort was born on January 1673 in a small hamlet called Montfort. His parents named him 'Louis'. His mother was a pious woman who worked hard to educate and bring up the large family. From his early age he was devoted to Blessed Virgin Mary. Montfort's devotion to the Mother of Lord Jesus was an integral part of his spiritual life. At the age of eleven he went to Rennes to study in a Jesuit Institution. After 8 years of study, he left for Paris to study at St. Sulpice seminary to become a priest. On his way he crossed a bridge called 'Cesson' and took a radical decision never to be attached to any worldly possessions or material goods and to live a life of total dependence to God. He gave away everything to the poor and even exchanged his clothes with a beggar. He felt that 'God alone' was his Father and Blessed Virgin Mary, his Mother. He prepared well for his future ministry as a priest by reading most of the books in the library and spending a lot of time in prayer. He paid his fees watching over dead bodies at night.He was ordained a priest in 1700 overcoming a lot of difficulties and problems.
Throughout his life he worked with the poor, orphans, destitutes, widows, lepers and the sick. He lived the Gospel radically and challenged the rich who refused to share their wealth with the poor and the needy. He went from parish to parish as a vagabond preaching numerous missions and bringing people back to God. In many places he constructed Calvaries and statues to facilitate people to reflect on the mystery of the cross and salvation. He was a mystic living like Jesus. Yet he found time to write many books and poems such as -True devotion to Blessed Virgin, Love of Eternal Wisdom, Letter to the friends of the Cross, The secret of the Rosary, The secret of Mary, and many other hymns. Due to his prophetic role in the society and radical life as a true disciple of Christ, he had many enemies. He walked all the way to Rome covering nearly 1200 kms to meet Pope Clement XI, in 1706. His love for the cross and his absolute trust in God made him declare "No Cross what a cross", which ultimately became his philosophy and watch word.
