There are those who fear to dishonor the Son by honoring the Mother, to abase the one in elevating the other. They cannot bear that we should attribute to Our Lady the most just praises which the holy Fathers have given her. It is all they can do to endure that there should be more people before the altar of the Blessed Virgin than before the Blessed Sacrament, as if the one was contrary to the other, as if those who prayed to our Blessed Lady did not pray to Jesus Christ by her. They are unwilling that we should speak so often of Our Lady, and address ourselves so frequently to her.
These are the favorite sentences constantly in their mouths: “To what end are so many chaplets, so many confraternities, and so many external devotions to the Blessed Virgin? There is much of ignorance in all this. It makes a mockery of our religion. Speak to us of those who are devout to Jesus Christ. We must have recourse to Jesus Christ; He is our only Mediator. We must preach Jesus Christ; this is the solid devotion.” What they say is true in a certain sense, but it is very dangerous, when, by the application they make of it, they hinder devotion to our Blessed Lady, and it is under the pretext of a greater good, a subtle snare of the evil one. For never do we honor Jesus Christ more than when we are most honoring His Blessed Mother. Indeed we only honor Mary that we may the more perfectly honor Jesus. We only go to her as to the way in which we are to find the end we are seeking, which is Jesus.
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The Church, with the Holy Ghost, blesses Our Lady first, and Our Lord second: “Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” It is not that Mary is more than Jesus, or even equal to Him. That would be an intolerable heresy; but it is that, in order to bless Jesus more perfectly, we must begin by blessing Mary. Let us, then, say with all the true clients of Our Lady against these false devotees, “O Mary, thou art blessed amongst all women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”
Taken from True Devotion to Mary by Saint Louis de Montfort, Ch. 3, p. 39-40.