Mar. 28 - continuing to ponder "Total Consecration Prayer"

[MariaChristi]

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today we continue to ponder the words of St. Louis De Montfort’s "Act of Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary":

… I give Thee thanks for that Thou hast annihilated Thyself, taking the form of a slave in order to rescue me from the cruel slavery of the devil. I praise and glorify Thee for that Thou hast been pleased to submit Thyself to Mary, Thy holy Mother, in all things, in order to make me Thy faithful slave through her…

Yesterday we pondered the openIng words addressed to Jesus, incarnate Wisdom – adoring Him in the bosom of His Father and in the Virginal womb of Mary. To our adoration of Jesus we add today our thanks:

“…for that Thou hast been pleased to submit Thyself to Mary, Thy holy Mother, in all things, in order to make me Thy faithful slave through her….”

If we are to live the words we prayed, let us thank Jesus whole heartedly with Mary, pondering the words:

…Thou hast annihilated Thyself, taking the form of a slave in order to rescue me from the cruel slavery of the devil

How great is God’s Love for us! How can we refuse Him anything? How can we ever thank Him enough? Only by asking, seeking and knocking on the door of His Heart through Mary, with Mary, in Mary, and for Mary. As Jesus told us through John from His Cross:

“Behold your Mother”.

Totus Tuus.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear patricius,

Thanks again for your “ever-faithful heart” and for your love of Jesus and Mary.

In the past when we discussed St. Louis de Montfort’s book on “The Love of Eternal Wisdom”, you shared your own blessings from that book , especially on the sufferings of Jesus and the importance of the Cross.

Pondering some words from that book this morning, to help me apprecieate more God’s love in His Willingness to “annihilate Himself” for us, I went again to that book to read some words from chapter 14:

1. The Cross is according to my belief the greatest secret of the King (Tob 12.7) - the greatest mystery of Eternal Wisdom…

How remote and how different are the thoughts and the ways of eternal Wisdom from those of even the wisest of men. (cf Is 55.8) This great God wished to redeem the world, to cast out and chain up the devils, to seal the gates of hell and open heaven to men, and give infinite glory to His eternal Father. Such was His purpose, His arduous task, His great undertaking. What means will be chosen by divine Wisdom, whose knowledge reaches from one end of the universe to the other and orders all things well? (cf Wis 8.1) … By a single word He can annihilate and create. What more can I say? He has but to will and all is done.

1. But his power is regulated by his love. He wishes to become incarnate in order to convince men of his friendship; he wishes to come down upon earth to help men to go up to heaven. So be it! It would be expected then that this Wisdom incarnate would appear glorious and triumphant, accompanied by millions and millions of angels, or at least by millions of chosen men and women. …But O wonder! He perceives something which is a source of scandal and horror to Jews and an object of foolishness to pagans. (cf 1 Cor 1.23) He sees a piece of vile and contemptible wood which is used to humiliate and torture the most wicked and the most wretched of men, called a gibbet, a gallows, a cross. It is upon this cross that He casts His eyes; he takes his delight in it; He cherishes it more than all that is great and resplendent in heaven and on earth. He decides that that will be the instrument of His conquests, the adornment of His royal state. … O the depths of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How amazing is his choice and how sublime and incomprehensible are His ways! But how inexpressible His love for that cross! (Rom 11.33)
2. Incarnate Wisdom loved the cross from his infancy. (cf Wis 8.2) At his coming into the world, while in his Mother’s womb, He received it from His eternal Father. He placed it deep in His heart, there to dominate His life, saying, "My God and my Father, I chose this cross when I was in Your bosom. (Ps 39.9) I choose it now in the womb of my Mother…

I’ve shortened some parts due to the word limit on CAF, but if you click on the title at the beginning of this post, you can read the online online version; The “Act of Consecration to Jesus through Mary” is at the very end of this book.

Thanks again, patricius for your “heart”. Totus tuus!

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear KBS and Stephie,

Thank you both for your “ever-faithful hearts” and your love for Jesus and Mary also. Tomorrow is the 5th Sunday in Lent and next Sunday is Palm Sunday leading us into Passion week. So our pondering today on Christ’s willingness to “annihilate” Himself for us is important.

The word “annihilate” is a very strong word which is defined in the dictionary as “utterly destroy” but if we look at the origin of the word from the Latin: annihilatus ‘reduced to nothing’, from the verb annihilare, from ad- ‘to’ + nihil ‘nothing’ – it comes closer to the meaning - at least as I hear it - from St. Louis de Montfort.

In his Consecration Prayer, St. Louis says to Jesus:

“…Thou hast annihilated Thyself, taking the form of a slave in order to rescue me from the cruel slavery of the devil”

Looking at our Crucifix; remembering all Jesus suffered, we can see how Jesus was willing to “bring Himself to nothing” – as St. Paul wrote:

He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. (Phil 2: 7-8)

If we are to follow Jesus as Mary did, we need to be with her at the foot of His Cross – daily, willing to “lay down our lives for Him in loving others as He loved us” – willing to have our hearts pierced spiritually with Mary’s Heart seeing Jesus’ Heart pierced physically because of Love.

Thanks again for your hearts. Please let us continue to pray for one another, and for all those in most need of God’s Mercy. Totus Tuus!

 

[StephieNorthCo]

Since my work commute time had been cut from about 1.5-2 hours to zero, I have devoted a lot of that time to comtemplation and prayer.

I would like to thank you, and I mean THANK YOU, for these threads that help me focus on Christ through Mary.

God bless,
Stephie

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Stephie,

Ah, yes - God is at work in hearts! It has seemed to me, and to my husband also that this Covid-19 has been more than anything, a call to all of us to come back to Him with our whole hearts!

Let us continue to thank Him for everything and for everyone He has brought – and continues to bring – into our lives, through Mary. I told my husband, seriously, and this was years ago, that if God calls me home before He calls my husband I would like my husband to have these words written on my tombstone:

God works ALL things unto GOOD for those who love Him and are called according to His Purpose. (Rom 8:28)

Not too many people read the Scriptures, but when they see those words, hopefully, God will help them to “hear His Words with the ears of their hearts” and begin to live as all have been called to Holiness. Totus Tuus!