“But you’ve got to do that, if you want to be a saint quickly. Father Grignion said so. “Now, listen. Suppose you want to make a statue. How would you go about it?”

Mary Lou stared. Had Elizabeth taken leave of her senses?

“I haven’t the least desire to make a statue,” she said uncooperatively. “As for knowing how to go about it…”

“Well, there are two ways you can make one. You can get some stone, and a hammer and chisel, and pound and cut on your statue. That’s the hard way, because one slip of the tools and everything may be ruined. Besides, stone isn’t easy to work with. And it’s expensive, too. Or you can get a mold—one that a real artist has made—and pour in some material, like plaster or clay. When it hardens, you’ll have a perfect statue with scarcely any trouble or expense.”

Then, as Mary Louise continued to stare in silent amazement, Elizabeth went on eagerly to explain. The Blessed Virgin, according to St Augustine and Father Grignion, was “the living mold of God”. Christ had been formed in her without losing any of the divine perfection of the Father or of the Holy Spirit. And a person who wanted to be as perfect as possible—that is, a saint, or another Christ—would do well to remember this.

“Father Grignion says it’s foolish to try to make ourselves perfect just by our own efforts, and even run the risk of failing, when Our Lady is so anxious to do the work for us,” she declared emphatically.

–St Louis De Montfort: The Story of Our Lady’s Slave” Mary Fabyan Windeatt