Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, The Secret of Mary, nn. 66-67

Prayer to Jesus of Saint Louis de Montfort

Thanksgiving for having been given to Mary — "Mary is necessary to me"

O most loving Jesus, allow me to thank you for the grace you have given me in giving me to your holy Mother through the devotion of holy slavery, so that she may be my advocate before your majesty and make up for all that is lacking in my great wretchedness.

Alas, Lord! I am so wretched that without this good Mother I would be lost beyond remedy. Yes, Mary is necessary to me, at your side and everywhere: to appease you, for I have offended you so many times; to hold back the punishment I deserve; to look at you, to speak to you, to ask of you, to come near you and to please you; to save my soul and the souls of others. Ah, let me praise you: Mary is necessary to me!

Would that I could proclaim everywhere this grace you have given me! Would that the whole world knew that, without Mary, I would already be lost; that everyone thanked you for this gift as it deserves! But I, at least, thank you with all my heart.

Yet, Lord, how shall I thank you worthily? How shall I glorify you as you deserve? By placing myself in everything and for everything in Mary’s hands. I am neither worthy nor able to praise you, to love you, to please you; but Mary is worthy and able, and she will do it for me. She will make up for what I lack: that is why I ask her of you, and it is in her that I trust.

O Jesus living in Mary, come and live in me, through your Mother, so that, having you in her, I may find you in her, and through her come to you.

Amen.

SourceSaint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, The Secret of Mary, nn. 66-67 · Thanksgiving for having been given to Mary — "Mary is necessary to me"

The history of this prayer

In The Secret of Mary (nn. 66-67), before the prayer to Mary, St Louis de Montfort turns to Jesus to thank him for the greatest of his gifts: having been handed over to his Mother through the consecration. It is a prayer of thanksgiving and trust, built on a repeated sentence, "Mary is necessary to me", and it closes with the invocation of Olier that Montfort loved so much, "O Jesus living in Mary".

It is said after the consecration, preferably together with the prayer to Mary, and in the third week of the 33 days. The original is French; the English is our own translation.

Frequently asked questions

When is Montfort’s Prayer to Jesus said?

After the total consecration, together with the prayer to Mary, and in the third week of the 33 days of preparation.

Why does Montfort say "Mary is necessary to me"?

Because, as he teaches, it is through Mary that Jesus came to us and through her that we must go to Jesus: she appeases, intercedes, draws near and makes up for what the one who prays lacks.

Where does this prayer come from?

From The Secret of Mary, nn. 66-67, by St Louis de Montfort, written around 1712.

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