Total Consecration

[mommas_boy]

I found this awesome passage for those of you familiar with St. Louis de Montfort's Total Consecration to Our Lady. It's excerpted from this site:

[url="http://www.newjerusalem.com/conditions.htm"]http://www.newjerusalem.com/conditions.htm[/url]

Do enjoy, and if you're unfamiliar with the consecration, ask questions. It's pretty awesome.

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[center][size=5]Proper Conditions for Total Consecration to Mary[/size][/center]
... This consecration has the characters of a vow: because it is a most solemn and eternal dedication. It is more than an ordinary promise - which is not binding under penalty of sin; but it is less demanding that the solemn vows, which one would make to become a professed religious. Still, the effect of this consecration, properly made, is irrevocable. Once a person understands the nature of this consecration, he understands that he is entirely abrogating any of his natural spiritual rights to dictate where the merits of his good actions might be applied. A person who makes this consecration, may fast and pray for any intention he would like; but he has absolutely no assurance that merits of his fasts and prayers will be applied for that intention. In fact, he can almost be certain that Our Lady may often see a greater spiritual need elsewhere; she may freely use these merits for anything that she desires. He can not, in fact, even offer up prayers and fasts for himself. He entirely abrogates possession of himself; he completely gives away ownership of his own body and his soul, all of his material possessions, and even the right to to dispose of the values of any of his good actions.

One must trust that Our Lady will tenderly care for all his needs: just as she cared for the needs of Jesus. However, a soul thus consecrated to her, can never DEMAND anything from her. He has willingly offered himself to her, to be her slave. A slave cannot demand anything from his master. One must completely resign himself to her will, to her generosity, and to her protection. It is precisely in the complete surrender of one's own soul to trust in the Blessed Virgin, from which come the most extraordinary graces. One gives up his own body and soul, but replaces himself, in his own estimation, by becoming the servant, the complete slave, and the absolute possession of Most Holy Mary. One must now rely upon her for absolutely everything. Her wisdom will dictate his circumstances; and her will shall dictate the distribution of all of his sanctifying graces.

Even if they forget about her: she will not forget about them: or their solemn consecration to her. She may bless them when they do not deserve anything at all, and she may seem to permit them to endure chastisements and crosses which they feel are completely unfair. They must resign themselves to be used by her, as her own possessions. They must accept that she will now use them as instruments to crush the head of Satan. Because they now belong to the Blessed Virgin, every good thing they do is actually the work of the Blessed Virgin, and the spiritual merit of every evil they are forced to endure is now the property of the Blessed Virgin. Our Lady will use these special children to crush the head of Satan in the apocalyptic battle of these end times. Satan is painfully aware of who is responsible for his defeat: because it comes primarily through these very souls who are so especially consecrated to Mary. Mary will use her most humble children to crush the head of this ancient serpent, and they will be used to thwart his proud servants who seem to be the rulers of this earth. Satan hates these souls with a special vengeance. They must stay very, very close to their mother, sacramentally and spiritually, or he will wreak terrible havoc in their lives in every way he can. However, she will only allow him to persecute such souls, insofar as it is required to convince them of their own incapacity: and of their great need of her powerful protection.

Because of the grave and serious nature of this total consecration; one must not enter into it lightly. The less serious one is, the less one really belongs to the Blessed Virgin. A soul must diligently prepare for this special act of consecration. Though one may begin to recite the act of consecration immediately, one still must make a very special Act of Consecration with the greatest solemnity on a specific day. One should most certainly go to mass on the day of ones solemn consecration. One should offer his private intentions of the mass for the perfect efficacy of the consecration he is about to make. A person would be wise to save the Act of Total Consecration, and to reformat the document so that it includes their own name full confirmation name. One should also sign and date the document, and then save it. This paper in fact becomes the original deed of ones own body and soul; it becomes the temporal evidence that one has dedicated himself to really be the possession of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. One should then re-consecrate himself on this same day, every year, using the same form of consecration for the rest of his life.

On a daily basis, the soul may exchange the act of consecration to something short and simple, such as the prayer St. Louis DeMontfort recommends: "I am all thine Immaculate One, with all that I have: in time and in eternity." Any similar prayer is sufficient to continue to grow in the extremely valuable prerogatives of sanctifying grace, which are now available through this extraordinary consecration. Most Holy Mary is never out-done in generosity. She will repay a hundred fold anyone who will consecrate themselves to her in this way. That person however, can not demand anything from Our Lady. One may only present their needs and desires with humble confidence; they must trust that her wisdom and generosity will take care of all their needs; she will exceed the desires of their own expectations.

However, one must be prepared not to receive graces and heavenly prerogatives in the manner which one expects. It is almost certain, that in most instances, Our Lady will not do a souls bidding in the way a soul imagines that she might. The soul must accept that IN FACT: IT IS HER PROPERTY. A person can not use Mary: Mary will use the person! This is very painful for most people, who are secretly filled with self love. It would be best for a person who consecrates himself to Our Lady in this way, simply to believe that he is interiorly filled with pride and self love. They must be prepared for Our Lady to rid them of this self love, by forcing them to resign their will to hers. This can be very painful, and it is often infuriating to the soul who expects that the designs of own will be accomplished according to its own desires. The only relief comes through accepting that one has no choice, and no options. One must habitually learn to accept the providence of God, as it is ordained through Our Lady's gentle, but very real wisdom ...
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[TeresaBenedicta]

I've been discerning consecration, albeit according to St. Maximillian Kolbe with the [i]Militia Immaculata[/i]. I almost did it last year... I'm still discerning it for when it comes around again this year.

That said, I have consecrated certain situations in my life to the Blessed Mother. And never once has she failed to look after my best interests.

[Vincent Vega]

I find that terribly terrifying, but also terribly intriguing...I know that she would, as said, of course look after both God and our best interest, but it is still terrifying to me to think of not having control...perhaps I'll have to work on that and discern this.

Thanks for posting, and Pax Christi!
-Mitch

[EricTheRed]

Amen! I have the little book by St. Louis "Secret of Mary" its a good little book that says all that, but goes into a longer process of consecration such as a 12 day renouncement of the world and such to prepare the person. I had done the consecration in the past but i kinda didnt go through with it =( , but as it says Mary does not forget she found me again =).


Trust me She never forgets.

[url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/Montfort/SECRET.HTM#Intro"]This is the book "Secret of Mary" online from EWTN, it does not include the consecration prayers.[/url]

[johnnydigit]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' post='1613500' date='Jul 30 2008, 08:29 PM']I've been discerning consecration, albeit according to St. Maximillian Kolbe with the [i]Militia Immaculata[/i]. I almost did it last year... I'm still discerning it for when it comes around again this year.

That said, I have consecrated certain situations in my life to the Blessed Mother. And never once has she failed to look after my best interests.[/quote]

i was blessed to be consecrated on the Feast of Our Lady's Assumption, August 15th, with the MI, last year, in Czestochowa, the spiritual heart and national shrine of Poland! we were in the Sacred Heart chapel at the Monastery of Jasna Gora!

you'd be crazy not to consecrate yourself. you can only benefit from being under Her mantle, and having her as your general when she crushes the head of the serpent! it's like having a spiritual bazooka over your shoulder, a sniper rifle with mounted shotgun, and the whole heavenly army behind you!

[RosaMystica]

Great post! I'll be renewing my consecration to Mary according to St. Louis de Monfort this August 15th.

Totus Tuus Maria!

[TeresaBenedicta]

[quote name='johnnydigit' post='1613573' date='Jul 31 2008, 12:13 AM']i was blessed to be consecrated on the Feast of Our Lady's Assumption, August 15th, with the MI, last year, in Czestochowa, the spiritual heart and national shrine of Poland! we were in the Sacred Heart chapel at the Monastery of Jasna Gora!

you'd be crazy not to consecrate yourself. you can only benefit from being under Her mantle, and having her as your general when she crushes the head of the serpent! it's like having a spiritual bazooka over your shoulder, a sniper rifle with mounted shotgun, and the whole heavenly army behind you![/quote]

We did our consecrations & renewals (at least those who decided to consecrate or already were) on the Annunciation. I went to the ceremony, it was beautiful. That's awesome that you were in Poland for yours!! How cool!

I've been so back and forth on this... I will likely consecrate eventually. Until then, as the seminarian who leads our group said, I'm still consecrated. Even if I haven't made the consecration. I still live a life of consecration. Just as he lives a life of celibacy, without having taken that vow yet (although... I believe he's been ordained a Deacon by now! thanks be to God!). So, I consecrate many things to the Blessed Virgin.

But, in reality, our entire lives are already consecrated to her... I mean, she is the distributer of all graces!

I don't know though. As Mitch mentioned, it terrifies me. It's wonderful... and yet it terrifies me at the same time. To be honest, though... I probably would have made the consecration last year, but my spiritual director isn't really all gung-ho about consecration. He isn't totally against it per-se... but he wanted me to wait.

[HisChildForever]

I have to admit, I am not very comfortable with some of the wording. Slave of Mary? etc. The wording almost makes Mary seem worthy of worship, and worship only belongs to Jesus.

[DevotedtoHim]

Very interesting. Thank you for posting this!

[MissyP89]

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1613687' date='Jul 31 2008, 12:04 AM']I have to admit, I am not very comfortable with some of the wording. Slave of Mary? etc. The wording almost makes Mary seem worthy of worship, and worship only belongs to Jesus.[/quote]

I agree...I don't look down on any of you who are consecrated, either by Louis De Montfort or the MI, but honestly it makes me uncomfortable. That, and giving the honorific pronoun (Her/She) to Mary. As much as I love our Mother, I'm just not in that place right now.

Would you guys be willing to talk about how your consecration relates to your life in the Church and Christ? It seems like a very big responsibility to carry.

Edited July 31, 2008 by MissyP89

[Lil Red]

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1613687' date='Jul 30 2008, 10:04 PM']I have to admit, I am not very comfortable with some of the wording. Slave of Mary? etc. The wording almost makes Mary seem worthy of worship, and worship only belongs to Jesus.[/quote]
+J.M.J.+
i am a slave of Mary, because all she relentlessly does with her children is lead them ever closer to her Son. and as Servant of God Archbishop Fulton Sheen said "Only She who raised Christ can raise a Christian."

[TeresaBenedicta]

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1613687' date='Jul 31 2008, 01:04 AM']I have to admit, I am not very comfortable with some of the wording. Slave of Mary? etc. The wording almost makes Mary seem worthy of worship, and worship only belongs to Jesus.[/quote]

Perhaps. And it should be uncomfortable, at least at first.

See... there's a beauty in being a slave of Mary. All that Mary wills, all that Mary asks of us, all that Mary directs us to do... all of it [b]is God's will for us.[/b] Mary never leads us astray, never will ask of us something that is contrary to God's will. By surrendering our very own lives into the hands of the Blessed Mother, we are given complete assurance that she will lead us towards Christ. [i]Complete assurance.[/i] We give ourselves into her command, empty and obedient, because we know without a doubt that she is looking out for our well-being and is leading us to Christ.

It really is one of those things that can absolutely do no harm and only good. Mary can only do good for our souls.

[johnnydigit]

and i wonder, if we were John with her back then in Ephesus (after the Crucifixion), would we ever question her? now imagine if John knew that she was in fact full of grace and Queen of heaven-to-be! "you want me to do what, Mother?! um.. yes Ma'am (just keep thinking, her will is perfectly in line with God's, not mine).

she's our General, our Momma in army boots, and like a soldier, if you want to win this war, you will do as she says, private! now go enlist if you wanna fight, or stay home on your tuchus!

Edited July 31, 2008 by johnnydigit

[johnnydigit]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' post='1613661' date='Jul 30 2008, 09:54 PM']We did our consecrations & renewals (at least those who decided to consecrate or already were) on the Annunciation. I went to the ceremony, it was beautiful. That's awesome that you were in Poland for yours!! How cool!

I've been so back and forth on this... I will likely consecrate eventually. Until then, as the seminarian who leads our group said, I'm still consecrated. Even if I haven't made the consecration. I still live a life of consecration. Just as he lives a life of celibacy, without having taken that vow yet (although... I believe he's been ordained a Deacon by now! thanks be to God!). So, I consecrate many things to the Blessed Virgin.

But, in reality, our entire lives are already consecrated to her... I mean, she is the distributer of all graces!

I don't know though. As Mitch mentioned, it terrifies me. It's wonderful... and yet it terrifies me at the same time. To be honest, though... I probably would have made the consecration last year, but my spiritual director isn't really all gung-ho about consecration. He isn't totally against it per-se... but he wanted me to wait.[/quote]

ya it was the best trip of my life! the next pilgrimage is July 2009, and i would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. it went above and beyond my expectations, to the point of us being spoiled rotten! 50 young adults from all over the world, playing, praying, finding secret places and getting special access.. like children in the Kingdom! if i am not in a community by then, i will do whatever i can to go again.

i haven't gone that deep into consecration yet, but i say, just do it and don't look back. the wording may sound intimidating, but with Mary, how can you go wrong? given what we know about her, you simply can't go wrong. she is in heaven, the queen of it.. her heart is in sync with Jesus, and it is impossible for her to do anything contrary to the will of God, which means her will for you will be nothing but the will of God. besides, you have nothing to lose, and there's no obligation really. you have no where to go but up. to me it's a no brainer, win-win situation. now what do i have to do to put you in the seat of this holy chariot today?

[corban711]

although the wording can be a bit off-putting at first, i would highly recommend reading true devotion to Mary before discounting it. it is worded in ways we normally don't like to speak at times, but he goes into great detail into explaining what he means by being a slave of Mary and what the consecration to Mary really means/does for us. its a beautiful little book. being consecrated to Mary has changed my life over and over again. i am so deeply grateful for that gift to my spiritual life.

if for some reason that book does nothing for you...read anything by or that contains the writings of St. Maximilian Kolbe. he takes a slightly different take on consecration to Mary and you may relate better to his way of speaking of the consecration. when i first read true devotion, i read it twice and loved it. since that time, God really hasn't spoken to me through that book anymore, but I get a lot of fruit from reading St. Maximilian Kolbe or the writings of Fr. Marie Dominique Philippe (the founder of the Community of St. John).