“– The truth has come out! There’s no point in denying it… We’ve been found out!

– Yes, they’re right, the Heralds of the Gospel are slaves…

– But wait a minute, have we ever hidden that?

– No, we’ve never hidden it! On the contrary, not only have we always affirmed that we are slaves, but we have also tried to lead others to the privilege of slavery.

– Privilege? So you mean slavery isn't a bad thing?

– Not this kind of slavery. We are slaves of love, or “slaves of Faith,” as they call us. We are slaves of Mary, so that we may be fully slaves of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” To be precise: slaves of Jesus, through the hands of Mary.

They accuse us of being who we are!

We began this article with a “fictional dialogue,” which is, nonetheless, based on facts, in order to reflect on one of the hot topics currently circulating on social media: the release of a documentary about the Heralds of the Gospel.

It is curious to observe how the world’s gaze, sometimes hungry for scandals and news, becomes short-sighted and ends up being carried away by illusions. While cameras and spotlights seek out “shadows,” judging that there are “mysteries” behind closed doors, they ignore what is clearly exposed in the face, heart, and soul of each consecrated person.

They want to “denounce” us for being what we have always proclaimed to the four winds: slaves of love.

The origin of the Slavery of Love

If the intention was to be innovative, they arrived centuries too late. The “contract” of our slavery was not signed in obscure notary offices, but at the altar of Church History, sealed by St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort and ratified by giants of the faith.

Those who are scandalized by our “submission” should turn their gaze to the Polish Pope who changed the course of the 20th century: St. John Paul II, the Pope who tore down walls of shame, rekindled faith, and was not afraid to call himself a slave.

In his youth, he found in the Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin – which he declared to have become his “bedside book” – the answer to his perplexities.

His motto in life, the immortal Totus Tuus (All Yours), was nothing more than the synthesis of the “slavery of love” practiced by the Heralds of the Gospel and by millions of Catholics around the world.

For him, surrendering himself totally to Mary was not a shackle, but an anchor, the shortest, safest, and most perfect way to reach Jesus, since the Blessed Virgin is the form in which Christ is formed in us.

The Freedom of being a Slave

As the great Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort teaches, sacred slavery to Mary does not take away our dignity; it conforms us to Jesus Christ, the Son who took on the condition of a slave for love of us (Phil 2:7).

And the Virgin Mary, the first among us, called herself “Handmaid of the Lord:” “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). What is a handmaid, if not a servant or a slave?” Would it then be a crime to imitate the Mother of God?

This “slavery of faith” that so disturbs screenwriters and those who feed them with their fables and conspiracy theories is, in fact, the only path to freedom for the children of God. It constitutes a bond of charity that strips us of selfishness so that Christ may live in us and we may live in accordance with His will, surrendering ourselves entirely into His hands: “As the eyes of slaves are fixed on the hands of their Lord” (Ps 122:2).

The Golden Chain: Popes and Saints

This devotion has spanned the centuries like a golden chain. Leo XIII, the Pope of the Rosary, beatified St. Louis Grignion and granted a plenary indulgence to all who made or renewed this consecration on December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and on April 28, the day on which the Church commemorates the French saint.

St. Pius X confided on two occasions that he was inspired by St. Louis Grignion to write the Encyclical Ad diem illum and granted the apostolic blessing to all who read the Treatise on True Devotion.

Pius XII canonized St. Louis Grignion in 1947, and his image was placed on one of the columns in the central nave of St. Peter's Basilica. 

These images symbolize the pillars of the Church throughout the centuries.

Saints such as Padre Pio of Pietrelcina were also consecrated by the method of St. Louis Grignion de Montfort, proving that “slavery of faith” is the necessary armor for spiritual battles.

Truth vs. Sensationalism

It should be noted that we do not question freedom of expression, nor the decision of the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (of Brasilia) regarding the exhibition of audiovisual productions. However, freedom of expression does not give anyone the right to slander, much less to religious intolerance.

The announced documentary is offensive and lacks credibility. The accusations that promise to be presented have already been considered by the courts and did not result in a conviction. Bringing up these issues with an air of “novelty,” in addition to showing sensationalist opportunism, is disrespectful to the legal system and the very stability of the social order.

Even more serious is the news that confidential data was accessed for the production, which constitutes an attempt to circumvent judicial decisions.

While they try to use archived investigations and rehashed narratives to paint a gruesome picture, we remain under the protection of Mary, for neither the smoke of a documentary nor the weight of empty accusations can extinguish the brilliance of our True Devotion.

One question remains: What is HBO and Warner Brothers' intention with this documentary? To usher in a new era of persecution of Christianity?