Influences
This encyclical reflects the influence of Saint Louis de Montfort's Marian teachings on Pope John Paul II. The pontiff singled out Saint Louis (who also inspired the pontiff's moto Totus Tuus) in this encyclical, saying that:
- I would like to recall, among the many witnesses and teachers of this spirituality, the figure of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort who proposes consecration to Christ through the hands of Mary, as an effective means for Christians to live faithfully their baptismal commitments.
The seeds of this encyclical may be traced to the statement by Pope John Paul II that as a young seminarian he "read and reread many times and with great spiritual profit" a work of Saint Louis de Montfort and that:
- "Then I understood that I could not exclude the Lord's Mother from my life without neglecting the will of God-Trinity"
In the conclusion to the encyclical the pontif stated: "The Church sees the Blessed Mother of God in the saving mystery of Christ and in her own mystery".
Read more about this topic: Redemptoris Mater
Famous quotes containing the word influences:
“The first in time and the first in importance of the influences upon the mind is that of nature. Every day, the sun; and after sunset, night and her stars. Ever the winds blow; ever the grass grows.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. Let them be your only diet drink and botanical medicines.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Do not seek anxiously to be developed, to subject yourself to many influences to be played on; it is all dissipation.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)