Question about consecration prayer

[Veronica97]

For the past year or so (I can’t remember exactly), I have been praying every night, “Mary I consecrate myself completely to you, and I place my entire life in your hands to lead me to your Divine Son Jesus.” I haven’t consecrated myself formally by way of St. Louis de Montfort, although I may do so in the future. So I’m just coming to realize that if I have truly consecrated myself to Mary by praying this simple prayer, that I need to be thinking more about what that means. I joined the Confraternity of the Rosary last fall, which obligates me to pray the Rosary 3-4 times a week, uniting my intentions to the intentions of all those in the Confraternity. But recently I’ve begun trying to pray the Rosary daily because that is what the Blessed Mother asked at Fatima. Just this week I have come to realize that I should try to do the First Saturday devotions at least once because the Blessed Mother also asked that at Fatima. I feel I am being called to do more to help save poor sinners. But here’s where a little bit of my fear/scrupulosity is creeping in. Even though I haven’t done the Total Consecration by way of St. Louis de Monfort or the 33 Days, I have been saying every night, “I consecrate myself COMPLETELY…” I am not quite sure what this obligates me to do. So today I prayed and asked Mary from now on to take all my prayer intentions, all my novena prayers, and all my Communion offerings to her Son Jesus and present them to Him more beautifully…that I understand He will answer them according to His Holy Will. In other words, I am offering them to Jesus through her Immaculate Heart. I understand that the St. Louis de Monfort consecration makes you a slave of Mary and you give everything to her to do as she wishes. I haven’t prayed that prayer, although I know I’ve prayed another prayer where I have made myself Mary’s “property”. Have I obligated myself to do anything else by praying this simple consecration prayer (as noted above)? I don’t feel comfortable doing the Total Consecration at this point because of my fears/scruples. Am I going in the right direction with this? Am I understanding consecration properly? Deep down, I don’t think I need to be fearful because I already belong to Jesus and everything I have is His, whether I say it is or not. So in giving myself to Mary, I’m simpliy giving myself to Jesus, but in a more beautiful way. Again, is that correct, or is there something more I should know/do?

 

[Veronica97]

This is the prayer I have prayed in the past maybe a couple of times:

O Immaculate Heart of Mary, Virgin Most Pure, mindful of the terrible moral dangers threatening on all sides, and aware of my own human weakness, I voluntarily place myself, body and soul, this day and always, under thy loving maternal care and protection.
I consecrate to thee my body, with all its members, asking thee to help me never to use it as an occasion of sin to others. Help me to remember that my body is the “Temple of the Holy Ghost,” and to use it according to God’s Holy Will for my own personal salvation, and the salvation of others.
I consecrate to thee my soul, asking thee to watch over it, and to bring it home safe to thee and to Jesus in Heaven for all eternity.
O Mary, my Mother, all that I am, all that I have is thine. Keep me and guard me under thy mantle of mercy, as thy personal property and possession.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I love Thee; save souls!
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

I’m also concerned because when you make the formal Total Consecration to Mary you are supposed to go to Confession and Mass. I haven’t been to Confession for a couple of weeks, yet I prayed today to offer all my prayers and intentions to Jesus through Mary from now on. Does this obligate me to go to Confession? Again, I haven’t read the 33 Days or prayed the St. de Montfort prayer, as I am not sure I am ready to do that. In a way, I kind of think what I have done so far is fine and pleasing to God, but I think the devil is working on me through scruples, not wanting me to trust God or have Mary’s help. Any (name removed by moderator)ut from my fellow Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ is much appreciated.

 

[fred_conty]

You aren’t taking solemn vows, it is just a simple act of dedication of yourself to Jesus thru Mary. And in addition it sounds as tho you wish to please JEsus more by this dedication than if you had not made it.

This is just fine and good. And then if you wish to put all your rewards, whatever they may be, in her hands, then that is good too, but this isn’t necessary for a simple dedication and consecration.

The TOTAL conscration is just that, reserving nothing for yourself, and giving it away to Mary for her causes and reserving nothing for youself. Knowing full well that Mary will look after you and yours in a sufficient way. But this total act isn’t absolutely necessary if you wish not to do it. And if this is a problem right now for you, then you are not obliged to do it in any way. And even for those who have done it, they may decide, without sin, to withdraw it if they feel so inclined.

So do not think of this as a nun who is taking vows. It isn’t. And it is up to you to make a consecration to Mary the way you want to make it and the meaning you wish it to have for yourself.

So there are different degrees of consecration.

God bless.

 

[Veronica97]

You aren’t taking solemn vows, it is just a simple act of dedication of yourself to Jesus thru Mary. And in addition it sounds as tho you wish to please JEsus more by this dedication than if you had not made it.

This is just fine and good. And then if you wish to put all your rewards, whatever they may be, in her hands, then that is good too, but this isn’t necessary for a simple dedication and consecration.

The TOTAL conscration is just that, reserving nothing for yourself, and giving it away to Mary for her causes and reserving nothing for youself. Knowing full well that Mary will look after you and yours in a sufficient way. But this total act isn’t absolutely necessary if you wish not to do it. And if this is a problem right now for you, then you are not obliged to do it in any way. And even for those who have done it, they may decide, without sin, to withdraw it if they feel so inclined.

So do not think of this as a nun who is taking vows. It isn’t. And it is up to you to make a consecration to Mary the way you want to make it and the meaning you wish it to have for yourself.

So there are different degrees of consecration.

God bless.

Okay, so even though I use the words, “I consecrate myself COMPLETELY to you and place my entire life in your hands to lead me to your Divine Son Jesus,” every night and have done so for quite some time, I have not taken a vow such as in the “Total Consecration?” I just got to thinking about what consecration means and fearing that I had already given everything to Mary, I should at least pray that all my prayers may go through her Immaculate Heart that they may be more pleasing to the Lord. I’m still struggling with letting her distribute the graces as she sees fit, but I think I agreed to that because I feared I had already made a “Total Consecration” by using the word “completely” and I was afraid of breaking a vow if I didn’t agree to it. So if I have prayed that Mary will distribute the graces as she sees fit (like say if I offer my Communion up for a specific person, but Mary instead offers the graces up for someone else), I can revoke that part without sin? At least until I am spiritually ready for something like that?

 

[Veronica97]

Okay, so even though I use the words, “I consecrate myself COMPLETELY to you and place my entire life in your hands to lead me to your Divine Son Jesus,” every night and have done so for quite some time, I have not taken a vow such as in the “Total Consecration?” I just got to thinking about what consecration means and fearing that I had already given everything to Mary, I should at least pray that all my prayers may go through her Immaculate Heart that they may be more pleasing to the Lord. I’m still struggling with letting her distribute the graces as she sees fit, but I think I agreed to that because I feared I had already made a “Total Consecration” by using the word “completely” and I was afraid of breaking a vow if I didn’t agree to it. So if I have prayed that Mary will distribute the graces as she sees fit (like say if I offer my Communion up for a specific person, but Mary instead offers the graces up for someone else), I can revoke that part without sin? At least until I am spiritually ready for something like that? And I would like to change my daily prayer to one of more entrustment to Mary to lead me to Her Son Jesus, rather than “consecrate myself completely”, but I was afraid that would be tantamount to breaking a vow, and thus, a sin.

 

[Veector]

Hello Veronica.
The thing is … I was having a similar problem recently! i.e. Wondering if I should say that short Marian consecration prayer. Mine was “My Queen, my Mother, I give myself entirely to thee … Wherefore good Mother as I am thine own, keep me, guard me, as thy property & possession. Amen.”
Anyway, I’ve found out that consecrating oneself to Mary is consecrating oneself to God, for Mary’s heart is joined with God’s. They (their hearts) are united.

So to ur questions in your original post:
“Have I obligated myself to anything else?” Nope. Just obey God’s teachings as any Christian would. As I wrote earlier, Mary is in union with the Lord, and so she wouldn’t ask u to do what the Lord wouldn’t want u to do. She is His handmaid, remember?
Q2. “Am I in the right direction?” yeah, you’re on the right path. I’ve read that: in prayer, we should “say what we mean & mean what we say.” So, if u’re not OK with the long consecration prayer, don’t say it yet. And never mind if u’ve (once) prayed something you didn’t really mean, God wouldn’t honour such.
And to ur last question in the last line: “is that correct or should I know something else?”
Yes, that’s correct.

 

[fred_conty]

Okay, so even though I use the words, “I consecrate myself COMPLETELY to you and place my entire life in your hands to lead me to your Divine Son Jesus,” every night and have done so for quite some time, I have not taken a vow such as in the “Total Consecration?” I just got to thinking about what consecration means and fearing that I had already given everything to Mary, I should at least pray that all my prayers may go through her Immaculate Heart that they may be more pleasing to the Lord. I’m still struggling with letting her distribute the graces as she sees fit, but I think I agreed to that because I feared I had already made a “Total Consecration” by using the word “completely” and I was afraid of breaking a vow if I didn’t agree to it. So if I have prayed that Mary will distribute the graces as she sees fit (like say if I offer my Communion up for a specific person, but Mary instead offers the graces up for someone else), I can revoke that part without sin? At least until I am spiritually ready for something like that? And I would like to change my daily prayer to one of more entrustment to Mary to lead me to Her Son Jesus, rather than “consecrate myself completely”, but I was afraid that would be tantamount to breaking a vow, and thus, a sin.

Someone can completely give themselves to Mary and be put under her protection without giving Mary their intentions or rewards. I don’t see a problem with that, but rather is a very good thing to do. It is certainly not a vow but a simple intention to be under the umbrella of Mary’s care and love.

This does not have the intensity of the total consecration but certainly does have a special dedication to it. And even the total is not a vow. In the 33 day consecration, the word vow is never mentioned.

And if one changes their mind about either consecration, since they are not vows, they may be changed at any time. It may give you more peace to ask you parish priest.

May Christ bless you with peace.

 

[Veronica97]

Thank you, fred conty and Veector. I found something written by St. Louis de Montfort himself, and it said that the total consecration can be retracted internally by the person. I prayed to the Lord last night and told Him everything that was in my heart (even though He already knew it). I told Him that I was afraid yesterday that I had already totally consecrated myself to Mary because of the nightly prayer I had been praying (“I consecrate myself completely to you…”). And because I was afraid, I made promises to Mary that I don’t think I would have made if I had known that I really hadn’t already obligated myself in these ways. So basically I told the Lord that I’m still okay with offering all my prayers through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as she makes them more pleasing to Him. (I was already making a morning offering to Jesus, offering all my works, prayers, joys, and sufferings through the Immaculate Heart of Mary). I also told the Lord that I felt uncomfortable with letting Mary decide how to distribute my Communion graces, etc., but that HE is in control anyway. He can answer my requests any way He likes, and if it is His Will that Mary decide where my graces go, then His Will be done. Besides, if I’m understanding correctly, Mary always does the Father’s Will. So His Will is going to be done one way or another. And I think/hope that’s all the Lord really wants for me to say: “Thy Will be done”. No matter how He accomplishes it, through Mary, or otherwise, it will be done. I am leaving it up to God. So at this time, I will refrain from making the Total Consecration, although I’m leaving it up to God to lead me in that direction if that is His Will. I think what started my questioning was that I watched a “Women of Grace” series on EWTN this week, and it was about God’s plan for Mary’s army to convert sinners in the end times (and now). And the hostess said, “If you’re watching this, you’re being called.” And they talked about the Total Consecration to Mary, so naturally I started to think about the prayer I had been praying nightly. When I was a little girl (unbaptized nominal Protestant), I found a button with an image of Mary on it in the street. I showed it to my mom and she said it was Catholic. I kept it in my jewelry box for many years but gave it away at one point. In thinking back, it may very well have been the Immaculate Heart of Mary (although I had no idea then that’s what it was). I sure wish I still had it. A few years ago I found a painting of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at a mission store, which I bought and hung on my living room wall. My husband gave me a Miraculous Medal years ago, but again, I did not know what it was. I now have it blessed and never take it off my neck. I often ask Mary for “great graces”. When people ask me to pray for them, the first prayer I pray is usually either a “Hail Mary” or the “Memorare”. As I said before, I joined the Confraternity of the Rosary last year, and I try to pray the rosary everyday. I’ve been offering all my prayers, works, sufferings, joys, etc. through the Immaculate Heart of Mary for some months now. I am going to try to do the First Saturdays devotion in the near future because I feel a strong pull to make reparation for poor sinners, especially after watching the “Women of Grace” show. I try to promote the rosary to others. And because I am scrupulous, every time I go to Communion, I ask the Blessed Mother to “cover me” with her beautiful mantle that I may be more pleasing to Her Son as I receive. In other words, I think the Blessed Mother has been working in my life, and God may very well be leading me to make a Total Consecration…I’m just not quite “there” yet.

 

[Veector]

Thank you, fred conty and Veector. I found something written by St. Louis de Montfort himself, and it said that the total consecration can be retracted internally by the person. I prayed to the Lord last night and told Him everything that was in my heart (even though He already knew it). I told Him that I was afraid yesterday that I had already totally consecrated myself to Mary because of the nightly prayer I had been praying (“I consecrate myself completely to you…”). And because I was afraid, I made promises to Mary that I don’t think I would have made if I had known that I really hadn’t already obligated myself in these ways. So basically I told the Lord that I’m still okay with offering all my prayers through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as she makes them more pleasing to Him. (I was already making a morning offering to Jesus, offering all my works, prayers, joys, and sufferings through the Immaculate Heart of Mary). I also told the Lord that I felt uncomfortable with letting Mary decide how to distribute my Communion graces, etc., but that HE is in control anyway. He can answer my requests any way He likes, and if it is His Will that Mary decide where my graces go, then His Will be done. Besides, if I’m understanding correctly, Mary always does the Father’s Will. So His Will is going to be done one way or another. And I think/hope that’s all the Lord really wants for me to say: “Thy Will be done”. No matter how He accomplishes it, through Mary, or otherwise, it will be done. I am leaving it up to God. So at this time, I will refrain from making the Total Consecration, although I’m leaving it up to God to lead me in that direction if that is His Will. I think what started my questioning was that I watched a “Women of Grace” series on EWTN this week, and it was about God’s plan for Mary’s army to convert sinners in the end times (and now). And the hostess said, “If you’re watching this, you’re being called.” And they talked about the Total Consecration to Mary, so naturally I started to think about the prayer I had been praying nightly. When I was a little girl (unbaptized nominal Protestant), I found a button with an image of Mary on it in the street. I showed it to my mom and she said it was Catholic. I kept it in my jewelry box for many years but gave it away at one point. In thinking back, it may very well have been the Immaculate Heart of Mary (although I had no idea then that’s what it was). I sure wish I still had it. A few years ago I found a painting of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at a mission store, which I bought and hung on my living room wall. My husband gave me a Miraculous Medal years ago, but again, I did not know what it was. I now have it blessed and never take it off my neck. I often ask Mary for “great graces”. When people ask me to pray for them, the first prayer I pray is usually either a “Hail Mary” or the “Memorare”. … * And because I am scrupulous, every time I go to Communion, I ask the Blessed Mother to “cover me” with her beautiful mantle that I may be more pleasing to Her Son as I receive. In other words, I think the Blessed Mother has been working in my life, and God may very well be leading me to make a Total Consecration…I’m just not quite “there” yet.

Amen, Sister. And you thanked me, my response is: “no problem.” .
“Besides, if I’m understanding correctly, Mary always does the Father’s Will. So His Will is going to be done one way or another.” - Yes, that’s correct.
You are on the right path.
PS: the “*” meant I myself edited (some) words out.