The act of
consecration of clients and regions dates back at least to the 9th century when
Abbo Cernuus of Saint-Germain-des-Pres composed a poem
in which he attributed
the failure of the Vikings in the Siege of Paris (885-886) to the consecration
of the city to the Virgin Mary, and her protection over it. During the feuding
Medieval period, abbeys, towns and cities began to consecrate themselves to the
Virgin Mary to seek her protection. In the 12th century Citeaux Abbey in France
used the motif of the protective mantle of the Virgin Mary which shielded the
kneeling abbots and abbesses. In the 13th century Caesarius of Heisterbach was
also aware of this motif, which eventually led to the iconography of the Virgin
of Mercy.
Although
previous saints had discussed the notion of consecration, it was only in the
11th century France that Saint Odilo at the Cluny Abbey began to spread the
formal practice of personal consecration to Mary. In the 12th century, the
Cistercian orders began consecrating themselves to Mary, first individually and
then as a group, and this practice then spread to the Benedictines and the
Carmelites.
The 17th century also saw the
adoption of the custom of consecrating the month of May to the Blessed Virgin.
The practice of consecration to Mary continued among Catholics and in the 18th
century was further promoted by Saint Louis de Montfort. Montfort's concept of
consecration was influenced by Henri Boudon's book Dieu seul: le Saint
esclavage de l'admirable Mere de Dieu, (Only God, the Holy Slavery of the
admirable Mother of God). By reading Boudon, Montfort concluded that any
consecration is ultimately made to “God Alone”, for only God merits the loving
servitude of man. Later, “God Alone” became the motto of Montfort. Montfort's
approach followed Boudon very closely, but differed on one element while
Boudon's consecration was founded on the Queenship of Mary, Montfort approach
was based on the divine maternity.
During the
18th and 19th centuries the traditions of Marian consecration grew and by 1860
first communion in France included an act of consecration to the Virgin Mary.
By this time Marian consecration had spread beyond continental Europe and in
England Father Frederick Faber (a follower of John Henry Newman) had composed a
hymn of consecration to the Virgin Mary which included a petition to her
motherly role. Since the 19th century, devotions and consecration to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary have been encouraged by several popes including Pius
IX, Pius XII and John Paul II.
What it means
to be Consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
When one is
consecrated, he or she is made sacred by being set aside for the service of
God. To consecrate oneself to Mary, means giving oneself to Jesus Christ
through the Immaculate Heart of His Mother. We are all her spiritual children.
As she once presented her Son Jesus in the Temple in the Spirit to the Father,
so now, when we consecrate ourselves to Mary, we give ourselves totally to
Mary; we recognize ourselves as her spiritual children and desire that she
present us, united to her son Jesus in the Spirit to the Father. The spirit of
Mary then lives within us and therefore the Holy Spirit dwells within us in a
special way, as in a special temple.
Consecration
to the Mother of God”, says Pope Pius XII, “is a total gift of self, for the
whole of life and for all eternity; and a gift which is not a mere formality or
sentimentality, but effectual, comprising the full intensity of the Christian
life - Marian life”. This consecration, the Pope explained, “tends essentially
to union with Jesus, under the guidance of Mary”.
By our
consecration we promise to become dependent on Mary in all things: to offer all
our prayers and oblations to God through Mary, and to seek every gift from God
through Mary. And we do this with the greatest confidence. Since she is our
mother, she knows our needs better than we; and since she is Queen of Heaven,
she has immediate access to the infinite treasury of graces in the Kingdom of
her Divine Son.
Mary is not
only the Mother of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father; she is also Mother of all
the Father's adopted children. As their Mother, she has been given the role of
molding them into the likeness of Jesus.
Every work of
grace, every increase of grace, is a work of the Holy Spirit; but as in the
Incarnation of the Divine Word God used human instruments, so does He in the
sanctification of each individual soul. As He chose Mary as the instrument
through whom He would come to us, so He chose Mary as the instrument through
whom we should go to Him. And both the mystery of God coming to us through
Mary, and our being led to God through Mary, is a work of the Holy Spirit. So
when we speak of Mary's unique role in our sanctification, she is but the
instrument the Holy Spirit uses in sharing with us the divine life of grace. It
is in this sense that Mary fashions us into the likeness of Christ.
However, that
this transformation - through Mary's help - be accomplished in a notable
degree, there must be an awareness of her role in our sanctification, a
confidence in her maternal concern and in her power under God, a surrender of
oneself into her hands, and a fervent, frequent and confident seeking of her
aid. This usually comes through some form of consecration to the Mother of God.
At Fatima Our
Lady asked for consecration to her Immaculate Heart, a consecration which,
among other things, calls for the devotion of the Five First Saturdays, which
includes the Rosary, meditation and Communions of reparation - all done in
reparation to her Immaculate Heart. It involves a striving to fulfill her
requests for prayer and sacrifices for the conversion of sinners and in
reparation for offenses against the Divine Majesty. In a word, it involves a
striving to fulfill all that she asked for at Fatima, and trying to bring
others to heed her requests.
Consecration to Mary consists in an unconditional surrender to her of all
we are and have in order to belong more perfectly to Jesus. This means that our
thoughts, words, good works, prayers, joys, sorrows, graces possessions are
given to Mary to deal with as she wills. Because she is our Mother and Queen,
and because her will is one with Our Lord's, what we give to Mary, she gives to
Him. God wishes that Mary be known and loved as Co-redemptrix, Advocate and
Mediatrix before His throne because He finds it easier to grant graces through
her, who is “full of graces”. We are living
in times where society has not only lost its sense of sin, it has exalted sin
as something good and desirable. The threat for people, even Christians, not to
know, love and serve God in this life so that they may live forever with Him in
the next, is great if not greater than it has ever been in human history. Our
first responsibility is to surrender ourselves completely to the Most Holy
Trinity. We can do this through Mary by an act of total consecration to her
Immaculate Heart. Then we must live out this consecration through prayer and
action. We must also help bring as many souls as possible to God. We must share
the simple but profound truths that Mary is our Mother, that she has special
intercessory power for her children, that she is Spouse of the Holy Spirit, and
that she has been chosen by Almighty God to bring her children into His very
life.
On June 13th, 1917, Our Lady of
Fatima said to Lucia: “Jesus wishes to use you in making me known and loved. He
wishes to spread in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise
salvation to those who embrace this devotion and those souls will be loved by
God, like flowers placed by me to adorn His throne... My Immaculate Heart will
be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God”. So, it will be for us
too! Let us entrust ourselves and all we care for to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary
Living the
Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Consecration
to the Immaculate Heart of Mary implies carrying out promptly all the wishes of
Our Lady: imitating her virtues, living and acting in union with her always,
daily recitation of her Rosary, frequent (at least monthly) confession,
wherever possible, daily participation in the celebration of Mass or as
frequently as possible and worthy reception of Holy Communion, frequent visits
to the Blessed Sacrament, performing the First Friday and First Saturday
devotions, faithfulness to the Church, keeping all the commandments of God, a
life of prayer and penance, fulfilling all our daily duties with love and
perfection, avoiding sins and doing good. That means that our life, like Mary's
life, should be one of profound humility, unceasing prayer, constant
mortification, ardent charity, perfect obedience and purity. It is this
lifestyle or spirit of Mary that draws down the Holy Spirit of God. Those who
truly live lives consecrated to Mary's Immaculate Heart develop a contempt for
the spirit of the world. They dress modestly, avoid immoral films and
television, and immoral literature books and magazines of any kind and ensure
that their children and wards under their care do not watch immoral films and
television shows and that they observe modesty in speech and dress. Living that
consecration means becoming an apostle of Mary, striving to imitate her
virtues, and to place in her hands the flowers of little sacrifices of
reparation for the salvation of souls, so that we might strengthen her hand
against the attacks of the Evil One, and hasten the day of the triumph of her
Immaculate Heart. To everyone who makes that consecration and sincerely tries
to live it, the words of Our Lady to the child Lucia at Fatima would also
apply: “I will never leave you; my Immaculate Heart will be your refuge, and
the way that will lead you to God”. If consecration to Mary “tends essentially
to union with Jesus, under the guidance of Mary”, as Pope Pius XII pointed out,
we must remember that any gradual transformation into Christ requires a gradual
loving acceptance of a greater share in His redeeming Cross. So when we offer
ourselves to Mary to lead us, to form us into the likeness of her Son, we are
offering to let her lead us along the way of the Cross. Our Blessed Mother's
great concern is the salvation of the souls of her children, many of whom are
being lost. She looks for generous souls among her children, who are willing to
let her lead them close behind her Son, sharing more fully in His redemptive
mission, filling up what is wanting in other members of the Body of Christ.
Little by little they are transformed to see as Christ sees, and to desire what
He desires. God wants to draw us closer to Himself, sharing more fully His
Divine life; but we must understand what the fulfillment of this requires. In
our Rosary, we contemplate Mary in Heaven in the Glorious Mysteries, because she
had so unique a role on earth in the Sorrowful Mysteries. This is the pattern
that is offered to each of us, and of which we are reminded each time we pray
the Rosary. Consecration to Mary, then, requires a childlike simplicity and
confidence, letting her lead one by the hand, trusting - regardless of what
lies ahead - that she knows better than we what contributes most to God's
glory, our sanctification and the salvation of souls. We can consecrate not
only ourselves and our families but also parishes, dioceses and nations. This
is not just a personal desire by enthusiastic devotees, but has been requested
by Our Lady herself - particularly at Fatima. History shows that where the
Church has formally consecrated the nation to Jesus and/or Mary, protection or
victory has been granted. Thus an Act of Consecration is a witness to man
placing his trust first not in himself or his fellowman, but in God. It is good
practice always to wear outward sign of consecration like the Scapular and
renew our Act of Consecration from time to time. Pope Paul VI during his visit
to Fatima in 1967, appealed to all Catholics to renew their consecration to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. Mary's Immaculate Heart, a Heart purely dedicated to
God and untarnished by sin, is the dwelling place of the Trinity. This is
really the crux of making a total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
If we take refuge in her Heart, where the Trinity dwells, we become profoundly
united with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
