
The Call to Total Consecration from St. Louis de Montfort
“They will know the grandeurs of that Queen, and will consecrate themselves entirely to her service as subjects and slaves of love. They shall be the true apostles of the latter times.” St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, now that’s a strange sounding name – de Montfort – what’s it mean? Well, it’s not as strange as it sounds. St. John the Baptist said, “ He must increase while I must decrease” (Jn. 3:30). St. John meant that God must become more in him as he became less. As we empty ourselves, God fills us. And so it was that St. Louis emptied himself – even of his name. His middle name was Marie and his surname was Grignion. He dropped them both and preferred to be called simply le Pere de Montfort (the Father of Montfort) after his birthplace. “De” means “of” in French and that’s why we call him St. Louis de Montfort. His name is like “Joe from Kalamazoo.” He’s a nobody, so he preferred the name of a nobody.