'Week 0' of St Louis de Montfort's Total Consecration preparation (Prayers, practices and reading)
The first week is focused on emptying ourselves of the spirit of the world.
The first week is focused on emptying ourselves of the spirit of the world.
‘Week 0’ – The spirit of the world
The first period – which we could call “Week 0” – is focused on knowing and divesting ourselves of the spirit of the world:
“Those who desire to take up this special devotion, (which has not been erected into a confraternity, although this would be desirable), should spend at least twelve days in emptying themselves of the spirit of the world, which is opposed to the spirit of Jesus, as I have recommended in the first part of this preparation for the reign of Jesus Christ.” (True Devotion, n. 227)
Our preparation will consist of relevant meditations from the first two weeks of the Spiritual Exercises, along with readings from Fr Aloysius Ambruzzi on these meditations and from Liberalism is a Sin on the ways in which worldliness affects us all.
The Tan edition of The Secret of Mary, which contains what some consider to be an “official” preparation – although its provenance is difficult to verify – offers the following reflections for Week 0:
“The spirit of the world consists essentially in the denial of the supreme dominion of God, a denial which is manifested in practice by sin and disobedience; thus, it is principally opposed to the spirit of Christ, which is also that of Mary.
“It manifests itself by the concupiscence of the flesh, by the concupiscence of the eyes, and by the pride of life; by disobedience to God’s laws and the abuse of created things.
“Its works are, first, sin in all its forms; and then all else by which the devil leads to sin; works which bring error and darkness to the mind and seduction and corruption to the will. Its pomps are the splendor and the charms employed by the devil to render sin alluring in persons, places and things.”
It further offers the following practices:
“Examine your conscience, pray, practice renouncement, mortification, purity of heart; this purity is the indispensable condition for contemplating God in Heaven, to see Him on earth and to know Him by the light of faith.”
This Tan edition recommends the following prayers, practices and readings. However, as noted elsewhere, this schema does not seem to come from St Louis de Montfort himself. The saint does not seem to have recommended any reading or vocal prayers for this initial period.
As such, we should feel free to do whatever is conducive to achieving the purpose of this “Week 0,” and not feel any obligation to follow the Tan schema. The prayers – and indeed all the practices of the period of preparation – are not the ends in themselves, but the means to attain the goal of each of the four periods.
We advise readers to follow the meditations, drawn from the Spiritual Exercises, which we will be serialising throughout the preparation as potentially more conducive for attaining the ends in question.
Nonetheless, we include the prayers below for those who wish to use them.
Readings for Week 0
The Tan edition suggests the following readings for Week 0:
Gospel according to St. Matthew
Chapters 5, 6, 7.
Imitation of Christ
Book I, Chapters 13, 18, 25
Book III, Chapters 10, 40.
In our opinion, there are other readings which are more appropriate for this period of the preparation, including from the texts cited. We will be providing texts throughout.
Prayers for Days 1-12
St Louis does not suggest any specific prayers for Week 0. The Tan edition suggests the following:
Veni Creator
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,
and in our souls take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heavenly aid
to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
O comforter, to Thee we cry,
O heavenly gift of God Most High,
O fount of life and fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.
Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known;
Thou, finger of God’s hand we own;
Thou, promise of the Father,
Thou Who dost the tongue with power imbue.
Kindle our sense from above,
and make our hearts o’erflow with love;
with patience firm and virtue high
the weakness of our flesh supply.
Far from us drive the foe we dread,
and grant us Thy peace instead;
so shall we not, with Thee for guide,
turn from the path of life aside.
Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow
the Father and the Son to know;
and Thee, through endless times confessed,
of both the eternal Spirit blest.
Now to the Father and the Son,
Who rose from death, be glory given,
with Thou, O Holy Comforter,
henceforth by all in earth and heaven. Amen.
Ave Maris Stella
Hail, O Star of the ocean,
God’s own Mother blest,
ever sinless Virgin,
gate of heav’nly rest.
Taking that sweet Ave,
which from Gabriel came,
peace confirm within us,
changing Eve’s name.
Break the sinners’ fetters,
make our blindness day,
Chase all evils from us,
for all blessings pray.
Show thyself a Mother,
may the Word divine
born for us thine Infant
hear our prayers through thine.
Virgin all excelling,
mildest of the mild,
free from guilt preserve us
meek and undefiled.
Keep our life all spotless,
make our way secure
till we find in Jesus,
joy for evermore.
Praise to God the Father,
honor to the Son,
in the Holy Spirit,
be the glory one. Amen.
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