DeMontfort Consecration

[prose]

Okay, I found this:

[quote] De Montfort developed the teaching of Holy Slavery or Bondage to Mary, which has nurtured the spiritual life and Marian devotion of numberless souls, including Pope John Paul II. De Montfort clearly and properly states that the purpose of this consecration is to possess Christ as the Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom. His devotion is heavily based on "expropriation" (emptying oneself of one's possessions and oneself) until one's personal point of Calvary is reached. De Montfort viewed Holy Slavery or Bondage as a most "perfect renewal of the vows and promises of Baptism."

Kolbe on the other hand, emphasized consecration to Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception, and gave it a specific apostolic purpose: "to gain the whole world for the Immaculata so as to bring about, as soon as possible, the kingdom of the Sacred Heart of Jesus". His view of consecration was that of incorporating oneself into the mystery and mission of the Immaculate Mother of God for the conversion and sanctification of all souls, beginning with oneself.

Kolbe also wanted Marian consecrants to collectively join themselves to one another in a spiritual solidarity by enrolling into an authorized spiritual movement and corporately becoming Our Lady's instruments---her maternal presence and activity---within the Church and throughout the world.[/quote]

So, (bear with me I am trying to understand), you can do either a Kolbe OR a DeMontfort as a means of total consecration? Why choose one over the other?

(so many questions, sorry.)

[scardella]

[quote name='prose' date='Apr 6 2006, 05:23 PM']Okay, I found this:
So, (bear with me I am trying to understand), you can do either a Kolbe OR a DeMontfort as a means of total consecration?  Why choose one over the other?

(so many questions, sorry.)
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[/quote]

They're compatible with one another (ie there's nothing stopping you from doing both), they just have different emphases. De Montfort emphasizes the sanctification while Kolbe emphasizes evangelization. Then again, you have to be sanctified in order to evangelize, and you have to evangelize as part of sanctification.

I haven't read as much about Kolbe's thought, but I'd say that because de Montfort was able to produce a detailed treatise on the subject, I'd recommend starting off with reading True Devotion to Mary (assuming you've been catechised on basic Marian doctrine). After digesting that, you should have a good understanding of Marian consecration in general and his specific consecration. You can then either go for the de Montfort consecration or start reading up on Kolbe's thought.

I think that many people wind up doing de Montfort's consecration without really fully understanding what it entails. That's why I always recommend reading the book (or even a number of his books) before actually doing it.

I had the good fortune of having a high school teacher who was really well versed on the subject, and he took a number of guys from my class under his wing. We would meet after school to read and discuss these, and the "class" ended by doing the consecration. We had gone over Secret of Mary, Secret of the Rosary, True Devotion to Mary and Love of Eternal Wisdom.

[shortnun]

[quote name='prose' date='Apr 6 2006, 06:23 PM']Okay, I found this:
So, (bear with me I am trying to understand), you can do either a Kolbe OR a DeMontfort as a means of total consecration?  Why choose one over the other?

(so many questions, sorry.)
[right][snapback]937980[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]
Prose, Scardella gave a great summary. I also thought I'd add a few links to a post or two that has recently been up in the Vocations Forum...

[b][url="http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=49639&view=findpost&p=926140"]Kolbe/ Montfort: What's the difference?[/url][/b]

That link will send you to some (I think) helpful external links. Also, I'm sure if you checked the Apologetics Directory, Phatcatholic would have some super useful links, too.