The Little Marian Way is the surest way to Heaven (see here for proof). Simply put:
Do everything, big and small, with great love for God while holding the hand of our Dear Mom, Mary.
Complete the Minim every day but work towards eventually completing the Rule every day.
Fast, abstain and practice silence and patience every Friday.
Attend Sunday Mass.
Achieve the Five Victories:
- Consecration to Christ through Mary
- The Brown Scapular
- Monthly Confession and Spiritual Direction
- Complete the Devotion of the Nine First Fridays to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Complete the Devotion of the Five First Saturdays to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Aim for being humble, perfectly contrite and in the state of grace upon death.
Do so and you will go to Heaven. Do not and life will be more unbearable than it needs to be. Here’s why it works.
Mary is the key to the success of this program. Here’s why.
You can attempt The Little Marian Way on your own, or you can follow the Program.
Table of Contents
Why it works
The Little Marian Way ensures Heaven because it is a simple combination of all those pious practices of the Catholic faith that promise the gift of final perseverance.
Final perseverance is a grace from God where, at death, despite our fears, we will love and trust God first, have perfect contrition, and trust in our salvation, thereby dying as friends with God.
Let us go through each section to explain how.
While holding the hand of our Dear Mother, Mary, do everything, big and small, with great love for God.
To hold the hand of Mary is to be consecrated to her as her child. As as per St. Bernard and St. Louis de Montfort:
“Mary is that happy ark in which those who take refuge will never suffer the shipwreck of eternal perdition.” – St. Bernard1
“A devout servant of Mary shall never perish.” – St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori1
To do everything, big and small, with great love for God is to live the Little Way of St. Thérèse, who explains that this way is a short, straight and little way to Heaven. It is the “shortcut to Heaven” because we obey the commandments1 and perfect the virtues.2
“You know it has ever been my desire to become a Saint, but … for me to become great is impossible. I must bear with myself and my many imperfections; but I will seek out a means of getting to Heaven by a little way—very short and very straight, a little way that is wholly new.” – St. Thérèse
Complete the Minim every day but work towards eventually completing the Rule every day.
The Minim includes the Three Hail Mary Devotion and the Rosary. The promise of saying the Three Hail Mary Devotion with true devotion is that Mary will appear at your death. The promise of the Rosary is the gift of final perseverance.
“Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and will save your soul, if—and mark well what I say—if you say the Holy Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins.” – Saint Louis de Montfort1
The Rule adds to the Minim by including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Chaplet of St. Michael. The promise of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is Christ’s mercy at our death. The promise of the Chaplet of St. Michael is our delivery from purgatory.
Fast, abstain and practice silence and patience every Friday.
Here, we unite our suffering to God to atone for our sins and the sins of those around us. In doing so, we practice loving others as Christ loved us.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:34-35
Attend Sunday Mass.
Here, we fulfill the commandment to participate in Christ’s sacrifice of the Cross and to receive His body and blood to nourish our soul in this life and prepare us for Heaven.
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Victory I: Consecration to Christ through Mary
As mentioned above, but it’s worth repeating, to hold the hand of Mary is to be consecrated to her as her child. As per St. Bernard and St. Louis de Montfort:
“Mary is that happy ark in which those who take refuge will never suffer the shipwreck of eternal perdition.” – St. Bernard1
“A devout servant of Mary shall never perish.” – St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori1
Victory II: The Brown Scapular
As per the promise of those who practice the devotion of the Brown Scapular, you will not suffer damnation. As per St. Alphonsus de Ligouri:
“Those who say the Rosary daily and wear the Brown Scapular and who do a little more, will go straight to Heaven.”
– St. Alphonsus de Ligouri1
Victory III: Monthly Confession and Spiritual Direction
The Sacrament of Confession reconciles us to God and the Church and gives us the grace to combat our imperfections. Spiritual Direction with a priest allows us to tap into his knowledge and spiritual insight to further iron out our imperfections and grow in virtue. Doing this monthly builds up holiness in our soul.
Victory IV: Complete the Devotion of the Nine First Fridays to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
To complete this devotion is to console the injured heart of Christ that suffers even today for our sins. Because we practice this devotion out of love for Christ, among the promises of this devotion, the twelfth, is the grace of final perseverance.
Victory V: Complete the Devotion of the Five First Saturdays to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
To complete this devotion is to console the injured heart of Mary that suffers even today because of the sins committed against her Son. Because we practice this devotion out of love for Christ and Mary, the promise of this devotion is grace at the hour of death.
Do you see how following The Little Marian Way ensures Heaven?Start with the Program. You will grow in knowledge and Mary will help you grow in strength and holiness, so that you can bear greater crosses; and in the end, Mary will bring you home to Christ.
Why Mary is needed
It is called The Little Marian Way because of Mary.
God’s last command on the Cross was to “Behold your mother!” This is His command to us.1 If you follow this command and accept Mary as your true mother, she will take you in as her child.
Mary has the power and the desire to form her children into saints.1 When you accept her as your mother and put in the work, she will form you, her child, into a saint.
There are 9 reasons for this:
- God has ordained Mary to be your mother; she loves you more than any mother can.
- God has ordained that Mary win against the devil; as her child, you will help her win.
- Mary will never lose a chance to glorify God; and for every child she rescues, she glorifies God.
- Would you abandon your own baby? Neither will Mary abandon you.
- Would you allow your enemy to take your baby? Neither will Mary let her greatest enemy take you. Mary wages war against the devil and you are the target.1 She has been given the power to win2, and she has a deep-seated hatred of the devil (Genesis 3:15).3 Do you think she’d let him have you if she has the power to win? St. Bellarmine confirms that those who turn to Mary are protected by Mary.b2
- Mary sits as Queen Mother beside Christ, the King of Kings.1 The closer you are to Mary, the closer you are to Christ. Arrive at her feet and you arrive at the throne of Christ.
- Christ loves Mary so much1 that whatever she desires, He grants.2 What mother desires her child to be damned? Mary desires your salvation and Christ will grant it for her sake.
- When you approach Christ the Judge, His mother is at your side. Because Mary is the mother of both Christ and you, your Judge will be your brother, not a stranger.
- You will not complete this way of life on your own power. On your own, you will fall. Instead, you will work and Mary will supply the power as Mediatrix of all Grace. You will pray and Mary will represent you to God.
As per St. Dominic to Our Blessed Mother, “O my Lady … next to your Son, Jesus Christ, you have always been the instrument of our salvation.”1 With Mary, salvation is guaranteed. This is a fact.
Start with the Program. You will grow in knowledge and Mary will help you grow in strength and holiness, so that you can bear greater crosses; and in the end, Mary will bring you home to Christ.
The Program
To live The Little Marian Way, you can follow this 9 day program. It will help you achieve the way while teaching you about the faith.
I recommend you do the following:
- Bookmark this page for easy reference.
- Mark a time in the morning to finish each day.
- Start Day 1 on a Friday so that the topic will match the day.
Complete this program, and you can trust that Christ with Mary will bring you home. Don’t doubt and don’t worry. They have promised it, their promises can be trusted and their love for you is true.
References
[b1] “True Devotion to Mary” by St. Louis de Montfort
[b2] “The Glories of Mary” by St. Alphonsus de Liguori