Education

JESUS LIVING IN MARY:
HANDBOOK OF THE SPIRITUALITY OF ST. LOUIS DE MONTFORT

EDUCATION

Summary

I. Pedagogical Context of the Seventeenth Century: 1. Primary schools; 2. Secondary schools. II. Stages in the Journey of Montfort’s Development: 1. Primary education; 2. Secondary education; 3. Higher education. III. Montfort’s Pastoral Guidance for the Education of the Baptized: 1. Biblical orientation; 2. Theocentric orientation; 3. Marian orientation; 4. Eschatological orientation; 5. Baptismal orientation; 6. Liturgical and pedagogical orientation. 7. Concern for the poor. IV. Montfort the Educator: 1. Establishment of charitable schools; 2. General principles of education. V. Education and Development Today: 1. Christocentrism and pneumatology; 2. Meaning of baptism and value of the laity; 3. Presence of Mary; 4. Value of spiritual guidance; 5. Energetic devotion to schools.

I. PEDAGOGICAL CONTEXT OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

In order to understand better the milieu of Louis Marie’s educational development and its implications for the establishment of the charitable schools (schools for the poor), it will be helpful to summarize the nature of schooling during his lifetime. In the seventeenth century, schooling was considered a charitable activity and thus one of the works of the Church.

1. Primary schools

In the first half of the century, there were few primary schools, and there was no consistent principle of organization underlying methods and programs.1 Where schools did exist, teachers, under ecclesiastical authority, used individual instruction, a primitive pedagogy based on fear of corporal punishment and a mechanical recitation of lessons.2

Between 1650 and 1700, three important and interrelated factors signaled the advent of pedagogy in primary schools and influenced the pedagogical thought of Louis Marie.

a. First, there appeared, probably in 1654, a treatise on pedagogical organization entitled The Parochial School. Edited by "a priest of a parish of Paris," Jacques de Batencour, the work marks the birth of modern pedagogy.

b. The Parochial School inspired the works and writings of Charles Démia, who founded charitable schools in Lyons beginning in 1667. He wanted to make Christians of the homeless children roaming the cities. Within thirty years, sixteen free institutions, administered by the Department of Schools, had been established.

At the end of his life, Démia published a book entitled Rules for the Schools of the City and Diocese of Lyons (n.d.). Inspired by The Parochial School, this volume is a compilation of pedagogical practices that Démia had instituted in the schools founded through his intervention.3 In the preface to his volume, Démia emphasizes the profound ignorance that he discovered: "The children of the poor were in the furthest reaches of antisocial and libertine behavior for want of instruction."4

c. The third factor was the foundation of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools by Jean-Baptiste de la Salle and the establishment of several charitable schools, including one in Paris, from 1688 on. The shared method and teaching used by the Brothers, as well as the pedagogical characteristics of their instruction, were the subject of a publication by Jean-Baptiste de la Salle in 1720, under the title The Administration of Christian Schools. This manual was inspired largely by the ideas of Démia on pedagogical organization and by the Port-Royal method for teaching the native language.5

2. Secondary schools

Under the ancien régime, secondary education produced the most important doctrinal and pedagogical developments. There appear to be three reasons for this pedagogical ferment: the decadence of universities, the adaptation of secondary education, and the establishment of numerous colleges by religious communities. It is worthwhile to summarize the colleges run by the Jesuits, since it was within this framework that Louis Marie received his secondary education.

Toward the end of the seventeenth century, the Jesuits controlled more than 120 colleges, where they followed the Ratio Studiorum and pursued their own pedagogical direction.6 The studies were organized with the goal of ensuring the moral, religious, and literary development of the student. The curriculum included four years of grammar, from its rudiments to versification, and one year of rhetoric, followed by several years of philosophy and theology. The courses were conducted in Latin, and Greek had priority over French. The exercises, for the most part, were in Latin. Study of rhetoric and classical literature served as training in the art of oratory. In addition to their formal education, the students were required to participate in theatrical presentations, literary exercises, and other extracurricular activities.

Elite groups of students were invited to participate in confraternities, which had originated in Italy, and been spiritually renewed through the Company of Jesus. In these confraternities, the Jesuits gathered together the best students with the aim of deepening their growth in the Christian life under the protection of the Virgin Mary. There were meditation, spiritual readings, the office of Our Lady, rosaries, fasting on the eve of the Blessed Virgin’s feast days, and frequent confession and communion. In sum, they required from these youths an oblatio, or consecration, to Our Lady, whose virtues they strove to reawaken in themselves.7

II. STAGES IN THE JOURNEY OF MONTFORT’S DEVELOPMENT8

1. Primary education

We know little about the earliest years of Louis Marie’s development. He seems to have received his instruction in the small family school that was undoubtedly organized with the help of the priest of Iffendic.9 His first biographers describe Louis Marie as a gifted child, very obedient, with a resolute look, attentive and passionate at his studies. He received the first lessons of his spiritual training from his parents. We also know that he loved very much to pray and kneel before an image of the Blessed Virgin and that his brothers and sisters followed in his steps. Louis Marie must have profited from the lessons he received, because at the age of twelve he became qualified to pursue secondary studies.

2. Secondary education

In the academic year 1684-1685, we find Louis Marie at Rennes pursuing his secondary education at the College of Saint Thomas à Becket, administered by the Society of Jesus. It was the foremost Jesuit college in Brittany, with more than 2000 students at the time of Louis Marie’s matriculation. They received a quality education in accordance with the rules of the Ratio Studiorum and the pedagogical methods of the Jesuits. In this extremely rich spiritual and intellectual atmosphere, Louis Marie made progress that brought him to the attention of his masters, who saw in him a model not only of a life of prayer and piety but also of the intellectual life, and he won the major prizes at the end of the year.

Louis Marie was also noticed by Father Gilbert, professor of rhetoric, who completed his catechetical instructions with special visits to his student. His lessons and counsel must have been profitable, because Louis Marie was chosen by Fr. Julien Bellier to teach elementary level catechism and to visit the poor and sick in the hospitals. Other extracurricular activities interested Louis Marie: he enrolled in drawing and painting courses, in which he excelled. Louis Marie also belonged to the Congregation of the Blessed Virgin established at the college. We can thus conclude that, in addition to a remarkable intellectual development, the College of Rennes left as its mark on Louis Marie a deepening of the interior life and the beginning of an active, concrete, and popular apostolate. He was now ready for more advanced studies.

3. Higher education

Louis Marie had begun his theological studies at Rennes in 1692 under the direction of Fathers Magnon and Baron. Through the intervention of Mademoiselle de Montigny, a friend of the family, a woman offered to pay the costs for the student so that he might profit from the advantages of a more extensive education at the Seminary of the Sulpicians in Paris. Montfort read the will of God in this offer. Thus we find him in Paris, in a Saint-Sulpice community led by Claude Bottu de la Barmondière. In this establishment, intended specifically "for poor students, where they may give themselves to intensive Marian devotion,"10 Louis Marie made remarkable progress. He enrolled in the regular courses of the faculty of theology at the Sorbonne. Studies in spirituality completed his course work. "Virtually every book dealing with the spiritual life passed through his hands," says Blain.11 Forced to keep watch over the dead in the parish of Saint-Sulpice in order to avert financial crisis, Louis Marie occupied himself with prayer and meditation for four hours, spiritual reading for two hours, and study of his theological notebooks for the remainder of the time. After the death of Father de la Barmondière, Louis Marie was received into the Community of Father Boucher. We find him assiduous in his studies, concerned about the poor, and extremely faithful to the spiritual direction of Fr. Prévost. Following an extended stay at the Hospital, l’Hôtel-Dieu in Paris, Louis Marie came to the Little Seminary of Saint-Sulpice, which accepted poor ecclesiastics, thanks to the charity of Madame d’Alègre and Madame the Duchess of Mortemart. He was to remain there five years, from 1695 to 1700. His theological studies continued. After obtaining the baccalaureate, he chose not to pursue the three additional years of study that would enable him to complete his degree. In TD 118 Montfort affirms that he read nearly every book about devotion to the Virgin Mary.

It is also during these developmental years that he was given the task of teaching catechism to the poorest children of the district of Saint- Germain. He was directed in this effort by Fr. Baüyn himself, to whom he had confided his spiritual direction.12 From these years of development in Paris, Louis Marie retained a solid theological training, an informed Marian spirituality, a knowledge of seventeenth-century mysticism, a life of extensive prayer, and an enhanced desire to help the poor, especially through catechism. After his ordination on June 5, 1700, the seeds of this study, in germination since Rennes in 1685, would bear fruit.

III. MONTFORT’S PASTORAL GUIDANCE FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE BAPTIZED

Between 1700 and 1705, Montfort had several experiences in the apostolate. However, after his audience with Pope Clement XI in 1706, he became primarily, and in obedience to the Vicar of Christ, a Missionary Apostolic. In his preaching, in his writings, in his preaching of parish missions, and in his education of children and adults in the faith—in what we may generally refer to as Montfort’s pastoral activity—we can emphasize seven essential characteristics: it is biblical, theocentric, Marian, eschatological, liturgical, focused on renewing the baptismal promises, and marked by concern for the poor.

1. Biblical orientation

There are more than 1100 biblical citations in the writings of Saint Louis Marie de Montfort. He never tires of reciting or commenting on the Gospel. On the subject of acquiring the light of faith, Montfort does not hesitate to write, speaking of faith, "Look for me in the Gospel, / I am there in every word" (H 6:37). In the hymn on the rule for a convert, Montfort tells him to read the Gospel first (H 139:56). To the family he gives this advice: "Fashion the family after the Gospel" (H 33:117). A dozen other hymns testify to Montfort’s concern to show that the Gospel is the rule of conduct for the Christian. The God that Montfort presents is rooted in the Bible. It is a God Who is faithful to all His promises (H 7:3) and slow to anger (H 51:10), a Father (H 7:7; 117:3) Who worries about all His creatures, even sinners, and Who overcomes all iniquity by His great goodness (H 14:31). Laurentin’s remark about Montfort’s theology could also be made of his pastoral approach: "With the history of salvation as its point of departure, it is rooted in the Bible and projected toward God’s future."13

2. Theocentric orientation

The Trinity is the point of departure for Montfort’s missionary catechism. "God Alone" is the most frequent formulation in his works; we find it in one form or another more than 130 times, especially in the hymns. He is conscious that all proceeds from the Father (LEW 19; SM 9). And the mystery of the Incarnation is central to Montfort’s spirituality. His devotion to Mary rests completely on this fundamental intuition: we have only to remember TD 248. Hymns 57, 66 and 97 are centered on the mystery of the Infant-God. This Son Incarnate will die on the Cross from an excess of love for mankind: the theme of the Cross recurs over 200 times in Montfort’s works. The mystery of the Incarnation also suggests the presence of the Spirit. Laurentin notes that the Spirit is foremost for Montfort. For him, Mary has received everything from the Spirit; she is related to the Spirit as she is to God and to Christ.13

3. Marian orientation

The mystery of the Incarnation implies the plan of the Father to send His Son by the power of the Spirit, on the condition that Mary consent. Montfort is struck dumb with admiration by Mary’s "yes": "After Jesus Christ, the greatest object of Father Louis Marie’s piety was the most worthy Mother of God."14 He is convinced that the reign of Jesus will come through her (TD 1-13). Eighteen of Montfort’s letters mention Mary. In LEW, about seventeen pages are devoted to the Virgin Mary; she is the direct subject of twenty-three hymns. Two books, TD and SM, propose the way of Mary, which is both demanding and gratifying, as a means of reaching God. "In the two works, he openly moves from contemplating Mary in the mystery of the Incarnation, from which all else will forever flow, to proposing a secret of mystical and apostolic perfection."15

Among Montfort’s methods of concretizing his pastoral discussion of Mary, we must emphasize his Consecration to Jesus through Mary and the recitation of the Rosary. Remember that the principal aims of Marian devotion, according to Montfort, are, above all, to "honor and imitate the wondrous dependence which God the Son chose to have on Mary, for the glory of his Father" and to "thank God for the incomparable graces he has conferred upon Mary" (TD 243). The fruit of this devotion to Mary is the transformation of the Christian in the image of Jesus Christ. "Mary is a holy place . . . in which saints are formed and molded"; "but they are molded in Jesus Christ" (TD 218, 54).

4. Eschatological orientation

Montfort’s pastoral writings are marked by eschatology. Keeping in mind the past, particularly the covenant in Jesus Christ, we must reflect on what the future brings that is new and final. Montfort’s pastoral approach, in conformity with the anthropology of his day, sets relative truths against the last things of mankind: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. The words "death, judgment, heaven, and hell" and their related concepts, "death, paradise, demon, and devil" occur more than 180 times in Montfort’s works. The great eschatological truths are presented in the following hymns: 96, 116, 118-120, 127, 139, 142, 152-154, and 162. Montfort insists in his writings on the final days of the Church, when— by the intervention of the Holy Spirit, Mary, and the apostles of the latter times—the world will pass from sin to the reign of Jesus Christ (PM; SM 58-59; TD 47-59).

5. Baptismal orientation

The unique and fundamental Consecration of the Christian, established by Jesus Christ, is Baptism, by which we belong to Christ. Montfort understood well the importance of Baptism in the Spirit, the Sacrament of a new birth in the Spirit that is purifying and sanctifying. For that reason, he placed a high value on the renewal of the baptismal vows as a formal ratification of the initial choice. Missionary work almost always included renewal of the baptismal promises. Grandet emphasizes that the goal of Montfort’s missions was "to renew the spirit of Christianity by renewing baptismal vows."16 Even the Consecration to Jesus through Mary, as indicated in LEW 225, has as its object to "atone for infidelity to the unique Consecration of Baptism, disfigured by sin."17 Thus Montfort made a rule for his missionaries: "The missionaries will see to it that, as the Pope has commanded, the baptismal vows are renewed with the greatest solemnity. . . . Only those who have seen the results of this practice can appreciate its value" (RM 56). This renewal is part of an appropriately prepared liturgy.

6. Liturgical and pedagogical orientation

The systematic project of bringing the New Covenant into being, a project carried out by the community of the Church through Christ and under the efficacious signs of the Holy Spirit, does not immediately suggest the liturgical nature of Montfort’s pastoral work. It is, however, the pedagogical angle that interests us. Without the "necessary pedagogy, the liturgy cannot be renewed. The full and active participation of the faithful is required for the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy" (SC 18). Montfort’s pastoral ministry calls for liturgical participation, especially in the Sacraments of Confession and Communion, after the renewal of baptismal vows (RM 56). He endeavors to enter into the mysteries of Christianity by means of processions, songs, mimes, pageants, and times of silence; he tries to touch the heart and the emotions as well as the mind. In the course of a parish mission, seven processions were normally held. Some of the hymns were even composed in the form of dialogue. Montfort used dramatization in his pastoral duties. The fifty couplets of Hymn 106 are a dialogue for five persons: Jesus, the company, the world, the angel, and the Christian. Such dramatization is even more notable in the seventy-nine couplets of Hymn 127, for which Montfort himself furnished the text, melodies, scenic directions, and even the design.18 The dialogue required twenty persons and began with a prologue of prayer. It is also clear that his sermons on death and preparing for death, in particular, included mimes and moments of silence to make the experience more dramatic, so that the heart would be more deeply touched by the Spirit.

It should be also noted that Louis Marie’s desire to educate in the faith was also expressed in spiritual direction. Having himself assiduously pursued spiritual direction in his developmental years, Montfort was to guide others wisely in the course of his apostolic activity. In his writings, Montfort remarks how necessary it is to consult at all times with a good spiritual director (H 10:38-43; 12:45; 13:67-69; 149:7; also FC 61 and TD 220); this practice can only bring positive benefits (L 29, 33; SR 128; H 139). In his parish missions, sinners and tormented souls would arrive in great numbers at his confessional in search of guidance and pardon. "Certainly he had an admirable talent for converting sinners," Grandet remarks.19 There is no doubt that providing spiritual direction was one of his primary activities; J.B. Blain notes that during the more than 200 missions that he preached over the course of fourteen years, a considerable amount of time was spent in "his absorbing labors of spiritual direction."20

7. Concern for the poor

Like Démia and Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, Montfort was struck by the idleness of the young and by juvenile delinquency. However, his primary motive for establishing schools in La Rochelle seems to be the religious ignorance of the young and the strong influence of Protestantism. His instructions every Sunday at Saint-Sulpice to the children and students attending boarding school, his experience as a catechist at Nantes, and his sense of organization led him quite naturally to this ministry.

Beginning in 1701, at the hospital of Poitiers, Montfort had the care of children and the poor. It is worth remembering that hospitals of the time generally included a benevolent school for young patients. The rule of Poitiers stipulated that the chaplain "will teach each of said poor people to read and to write and will free each of them from an hour’s work a day so that they can devote themselves to their studies."21 Thus Montfort saw nearly 200 children every day who were his to teach. He was happy to teach catechism to the poor; the task attracted him greatly (L 5). But as director general of the hospital, Montfort became overwhelmed with tasks to be accomplished and could no longer continue teaching. To ensure that the poor would still be taught, he asked the bishop of Poitiers, Monsignor Girard, to name a permanent teacher at the school.22 He nonetheless continued at the hospital until the summer of 1702, when the new bishop, Monsignor de la Poype, named his replacement.

IV. Montfort the Educator

Two reasons entitle Montfort to be called a pioneer Christian educator: the establishment of charitable schools and his General Principles of education.

1. Establishment of charitable schools

Among the eleven goals and methods that made Montfort’s mission fruitful, Grandet lists first "the establishment of Christian schools." He believed that one of Montfort’s principal occupation during his missions was to establish Christian schools for boys and girls. Grandet states, in addition, that these missions produced lasting results wherever Montfort passed, because his holy methods enabled the grade schools to make his missions fruitful.23 Similarly, Clorivière writes that one of Montfort’s principal concerns "was to provide the parishes with good schoolteachers."24 Were these schools short-lived? We cannot tell.

But Montfort’s great desire was to establish schools that would be permanent. His most spectacular achievements in this field were in the town of La Rochelle. There he had been particularly struck by the danger of Protestantism. The young people of the town would have to be instructed in religion. He did not hesitate to buy a building in need of restoration; he himself became architect and entrepreneur. But the most important task was to find and train good teachers. That is why Montfort "himself went to the school every day to train the teachers in his methods of teaching and to provide a model for these disciples."25

For the schools for girls, he called on Marie-Louise Trichet, first Daughter of Wisdom, and several of her companions. These charitable schools were free and subject to the bishop.

For the schools for boys, Montfort chose several Brothers who followed him in his missions after 1705 and carried out the tasks of singing master, catechist, and schoolteacher. The methods and rules in these schools flowed from general educational principles.

2. General principles of education

Montfort’s considerations on education can be grouped into four general principles:

a. An education whose primary goal is the glory of God and the salvation of souls—For Montfort, the primary aim of the school is the glory of God and apprenticeship in the Christian life. Like his contemporaries, Montfort felt that schools were the nurseries of the Church, where children, like young saplings carefully pruned and cultivated, eventually became fit to bear good fruit. The organization of his teaching reflects this preoccupation. Apart from two half-hours of catechism, the day included a morning offering before classes, memorization of prayers, recitation of the Rosary, and assistance at Mass. School for Montfort was a privileged means of evangelization.

b. An education in which the child is loved as a son and daughter of God—Montfort profoundly loved children and young people, in imitation of Jesus, who ordered the Apostles to let them come to him. His passion for catechizing the poor flowed from Jesus’s burning love.

c. A free education for the poor of Jesus Christ—Montfort was partial to the poor and he wanted schools that were charitable and free, that could receive the poor and ensure their access to education. He instructed the teachers "never, either directly or indirectly, under any circumstances, to request money or gifts of any kind from the children or their parents."26

d. An education in which order and silence reign so as to improve the education—Montfort’s educational thinking emphasizes the importance of order and silence; a minimum of organization and order is necessary to ensure a good education. To this end, he established rules for classes, admission requirements, a schedule of classes, and programs for study and piety (RW 275-292; RM 79-91).27

e. An active education geared toward the spiritual life—In his Rules for Catechetical Instruction (RM 79-91), Montfort gives his method, which is dominated by three concerns: "memorization, characterized by questions and brief, clear responses; attention to students, using ‘little stories,’ praise, and rewards, and questions directed toward many different students; and the placing of these lessons into the heart by prayer and ‘tender exhortation.’"28

V. EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT TODAY

Certain characteristics of Montfort’s pastoral approach still speak to the Church of today.

1. Christocentrism and pneumatology

Vatican II has again brought Christ to the fore as the center and end of all human history (DV 10), as Alpha and Omega, center of the human race (GS 4). Vatican II has also emphasized the role of the Spirit in the permanent sanctification of the Church (LG 4), so as to accomplish His work of salvation of souls (AG 4). Montfort’s fundamental intuition, embodied in TD, derives its originality from the great mystery of the Incarnation. It would be to our advantage today to appeal to Montfort’s pneumatology when educating in the faith. The mystery of the Spirit is too often missing from contemporary guidelines for education in the faith.

2. Meaning of Baptism and the value of the laity

Montfort also believes in the dignity of the baptized. In FC 5 he speaks of the royal priesthood of the baptized. Seen in this light, Baptism confers great merit on the laity. Montfort shares his missionary labors with his Brothers, and male and female parishioners alike join in his mission. This is the primary objective of Christi Fideles Laici, which invites the lay faithful to listen to Christ as it calls on them to work in his vineyard.

3. Presence of Mary

The role of Mary in the economy of salvation is another of Montfort’s fundamental intuitions. We should also note the Trinitarian, Christological, and biblical aspects of this devotion, which agree with the standards established in Marialis cultus 25 and 29. And Consecration to Christ through Mary has lost none of its value, as John Paul II proposed it to all Chris-tians in the encyclical Redemptoris mater (48).

4. Value of spiritual guidance

Montfort proposes to us that we grow in holiness by means of spiritual guidance, an idea that has expanded in recent years.

5. Energetic devotion to schools

Educational institutions are, first and foremost, societal institutions. They reflect the religious, political, scientific, and business state in which the culture finds itself.29 Thus we cannot universalize completely from Montfort’s society to ours. Nonetheless, there is much to be learned from Montfort’s overall approach to education that has a broad perennial application. Today schools are dominantly public in character and no longer see a close tie between faith and learning. Separated from theology, they are secular in character and focused on pragmatic, materialistic, humanistic goals. Montfort would agree with Norbert Mette that "transformation, liberation, justice, and social solidarity presume the guidelines and goals of an education based on the Gospel."30 Even among systems of education where the secular myth of teaching has explicitly absented itself from religion, their schools presume these same values, which were so basic to Montfort and his pastoral ministry of teaching. We must remember, however, schools are not the only place where learning occurs. They are not the only place where Montfort’s approach to education can be followed. Other teaching ministries can serve to shape future pathways. The church has called Christians to serve refugees, the poor, and other marginalized and dispossessed people with programs of spiritual guidance and communication, especially those developed by the laity for the laity. The Montfort charism is dynamic, open to development, to new forms of ministries. Wherever it is authentically practiced, education in the faith on all levels should be a natural consequence.

G. Croteau

Notes: (1) A. Léon, Histoire de l’enseignment en France (History of Teaching in France), University Presses of France, Paris 1967, 44-52. The History of Education Today (Paris; Unesco, 1985) (2) Ancien régime, in D. Demnard and D. Fourment, Dictionnaire d’histoire de l’enseignment (Dictionary of the History of Teaching), Delarge, Paris 1981, 34-39. (3) J. Charter, M.-M. Compère, and D. Julia, L’éducation en France du XVIe au XVIIIe siècle (Education in France in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries), Press of the Society of Higher Education, Paris 1976, 114-142. (4) J.-P. Gutton, Dévots et petites écoles (Small Religious Schools), in supplement of the Revue Marseille, no. 88, 9. (5) Cf. Éducation et pédagogies au siècle des Lumière (Education and Pedagogies in the Age of Enlightenment), in 1983 Acts of Colloquy of the Institute for Educational Sciences, Catholic University of the West, 1985, 134 ff. (6) Cf. S. Sacchino, Protrepticon ad magistros scholarum inferiorum Societatis Jesu (Protrepticon for Teachers of the Lower Schools of the Society of Jesus), Mascardi, Rome 1625; J. Juventius, De ratione discendi et docendi ex decreto Congregationis generalis XIV (The Method of Learning and Teaching from the Decree of the Fourteenth General Congregation), N. Nestenius, Florence 1703; A. Schimberg, L’éducation morale dans les collèges de la Compagnie de Jésus en France sous l’Ancien régime (Moral Education in the Colleges of the Company of Jesus in France under the Ancien Régime), Champion, Paris 1913; G. Snyders, La pédagogie en France aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles (Pedagogy in France during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries), PUF, Paris 1965; G. Durtelle de Saint-Sauveur, Le collège de Rennes depuis la fondation jusqu’au départ des jésuites (The College of Rennes from Its Establishment to the Departure of the Jesuits), in Archeological Society of the Department of Ille-et-Vilaine 46 (1918), 1- 241. (7) Cf. Règles et observances de la Congrégation de la Sainte Vierge, érigée au collège de la Compagnie de Jésus, en la ville de Rennes, sous le titre de la Purification (Rules and Observances of the Congregation of the Blessed Virgin, Founded at the College of the Company of Jesus, in the Town of Rennes, under the Title of the Purification), Vatar, Rennes 1676; E. Villaret, Les Congrégations mariales (Marian Congregations), vol. 2, Beauchesne, Paris 1947, and Congrégation de la Sainte Vierge (Congregation of the Blessed Virgin), in DSAM 2, 1479-1491. [Emile Villaret] Abridged History of the Sodalities of Our Lady, trans. William J. Young (St. Louis; Queens Work, 1957) (8) On this subject, cf. S. De Fiores, Itinerario, 19-264. (9) Papàsogli, 19. Cf. J. Hervé, Notes sur la famille du Bienheureux Grignion de Montfort (Notes on the Family of the Blessed Grignion de Montfort, extracts from the parish bulletin of Montfort-sur-Meu (1925- 1927), Vatar, Rennes 1927; M. Sibold, Le Sang des Grignion (The History of the Grignions), International Montfort Center, Rome 1987. (10) R. Laurentin, Dieu seul est ma tendresse . . . (God Alone Is My Tenderness . . .), O.E.I.L., Paris 1984, 122, 144. (11) Blain, 34. (12) Cf. Faillon, Histoire des catéchismes de Saint-Sulpice (History of Catechisms at Saint-Sulpice), Gaume, Paris 1831. (13) Laurentin, 176. (14) Grandet, 312. (15) Laurentin, 203. (16) Grandet, 101. (17) Laurentin, 39. (18) OC, 1516, note 2. (19) Grandet, 101. (20) A. Blain, Le Bienheureux de Montfort et les écoles charitables (Blessed de Montfort and the Charitable Schools), Poitiers 1889, 13. (21) G. Bernoville, Grignion de Monfort, apôtre de l’école et les Frères de Saint Gabriel (Grignion de Montfort, Apostle of the School and Brothers of Saint Gabriel), A. Michel, Paris 1946, 77. (22) Besnard I, 67. (23) Grandet, 383-384. Pierre de Cloriviere, Considerations sur l’exercice de la priere et de l’oraison (Bruges; Desclee de Brower, 1961). The Paths of Prayer: A Clear Portrayal of the Various Kinds of Active and Passive Prayer (New York; Comet Press Books, 1958) (24) Clorivière, 343. (25) Besnard II, 110-111. (26) Besnard II, 110. - (27) Besnard II, 110-111. (28) L. Pérouas, Grignion de Montfort, les pauvres et les missions (Grignion de Montfort, the Poor and the Missions), Cerf, Paris 1966, 91. Education and Sociology, trans. Sherwood D. Fox (Glencoe, Ill.; Free Press, 1956). (29) E. Durkheim, Éducation et sociologie (Education and Sociology), Alcan, Paris 1934, 42. (30) N. Mette, Éducation, in Dictionnaire de théologie (Dictionary of Theology),Cerf, Paris 1988, 147.

Taken from: Jesus Living in Mary: Handbook of the Spirituality of St.
Louis de Montfort (Litchfield, CT: Montfort Publications, 1994).

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