The Saint Louis de Montfort Vow
Contains Serious Theological Errors

The modern-day consecration vow movement within the Catholic Church started with a book written by Saint Louis de Montfort entitled A Treatise on the True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Although Saint Louis is considered a good and holy saint whose life displayed many profound deeds of charity, his treatise with the consecration vow contains many exaggerated statements and serious theological errors.

It is not clear how much Saint Louis knew about theology, but from his writings we can discern that there were many theologians during the seventeenth century who were speaking out against excessive Marian devotions. Saint Louis described these men as "Scrupulous devotees" in his book as follows:

"The Scrupulous devotees are those who fear to dishonour the Son by honouring the Mother, to abase the one in elevating the other. They are unwilling that we should speak so often of our Lady, and address ourselves so frequently to her. These are the favourite sentences constantly in their mouths: 'To what end are so many chaplets, so many confraternities, and so many external devotions to the Blessed Virgin? There is much of ignorance in all this. It makes a mummery of our religion. Speak to us of those who are devout to Jesus Christ. We must have recourse to Jesus Christ; He is our only Mediator. We must preach Jesus Christ; this is the solid devotion.'"¹

At the time this books was written, it was not clear what effect Saint Louis' consecration vow would have on the Church in the twentieth century. It is also unclear whether Saint Louis wrote the book as a rebuttal to those theologians who were warning him about excessive Marian devotions. What is clear from the saint's writings is his highly exaggerated tone and manner of flamboyant speech that he used to promote his views. For example, under the section entitled "Admirable Effects of the Perfect Consecration to Jesus by Mary," Saint Louis describes the effect of the consecration vow as follows:

"By the light which the Holy Ghost will give you by His dear Spouse, Mary, you will understand your own evil, your corruption, and your incapacity for any thing good, which is not God's free gift to us, either as Author of nature or of grace. In consequence of this knowledge, you will despise yourself. You will only think of yourself with horror. You will regard yourself as a snail, that spoils every thing with its slime; or a toad, that poisons every thing with its venom; or as a spiteful serpent, only seeking to deceive."²

This statement aims to address humility, but because of the exaggerated tone, many Catholics who have taken the vow, don't feel or think of themselves as "a toad, that poisons every thing with its venom; or as a spiteful serpent, only seeking to deceive."

Another exaggerated statement from the effects of the consecration vow is described as follows: "Our Blessed Lady will give you also a portion of her faith, which was the greatest of all faiths that ever were on earth, greater than the faith of all the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and Saints put together."³

This is an exaggerated statement because many Catholics who have entrusted their souls to the Immaculata have never received a portion of faith greater than all the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and Saints put together.

According to Jesus, if his followers had faith the size of the mustard seed, they could say to the mountain, "Move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."⁴ The eleventh chapter of Hebrews describes the faith of the patriarchs as follows, "Who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight."⁵ Yet according to Saint Louis de Montfort's writings, all we have to do is make the consecration vow and "a portion of faith greater than all the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and Saints put together" will given to us!

In addition to the exaggerated and false statements made in A Treatise on the True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, the consecration vow contains many serious theological errors as follows:

 

A Need to Ratify Baptismal Promises

In the Saint Louis de Montfort consecration, the words read as follows, "I, (Name), a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy hands the vows of my Baptism..."⁶ The participant's baptismal promises are then placed into the possession of the Immaculata.

According to the Catechism, "Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte a new creature, an adopted son of God, who has become a partaker of the divine nature, member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit."⁷

It is through our baptismal promises that we become children of God, co-heirs with Christ, and are filled with the Holy Spirit. There is nothing wrong with the Church's teaching on baptism, and there is no need to ratify or renew baptismal promises into the hands of the Immaculata, the Queen of Heaven, or any other spiritual entity.

 

Turning to Mary for the Forgiveness of Sins

In the Saint Louis de Montfort consecration the words read as follows, "I do not deserve to be called Thy son, nor yet Thy slave; and as there is nothing in me which does not merit Thine anger and Thy repulse, I dare no more come by myself before Thy Most Holy and August Majesty. It is on this account that I have recourse to the intercession of Thy most holy Mother, whom Thou hast given me for a mediatrix with Thee. It is by her means that I hope to obtain of Thee contrition, and the pardon of my sins..."⁸

According to the Catechism in section 1441, "Only God forgives sins." The Catechism also states in section 431, "Because sin is always an offense against God, only he can forgive it." Because Jesus is God in the flesh, Jesus has the authority to forgive man's sin. The power to forgive man's sins can also be granted through the priesthood, but according to the Church's teachings, Mary does not have the ability to forgive sins or grant salvation.

 

Entrusting Salvation and Souls to the Immaculata

In the Saint Louis de Montfort consecration, the words read as follows, "In the presence of all the heavenly court I choose thee this day for my Mother and Mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to thee the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception..."⁹

According to the Catechism in section 450, "From the beginning of Christian history, the assertion of Christ's lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom in an absolute manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."¹⁰

The Catechism also states in section 150, "It is right and just to entrust oneself wholly to God and to believe absolutely what he says. It would be futile and false to place such faith in a creature."¹¹

To find out why some Catholics think consecration vows have the Church's approval, please continue to the next section: Consecration Vows Have Not Been Approved by the Catholic Church.