Total Consecration -- If it's so important, why doesn't the church mandate it?

[pnewton]

As Theotokos, Mary has a unique relationship with Christ in salvation history.

What is confusing is that I here both about this uniqueness, and then I here about the actual literal meaning of the term, which could include St. Francis. I am not a fan of general usage of either of the “co’s” until they can be used consistently, without speaking out of both sides of the mouth, lest we give rise to the accusation and the temptation of Mariolatry.

 

[Richca]

I can find nothing in the catechism that states all graces come from Mary alone.

 

[Richca]

It actually says that all members of the Church can mediate grace to one another through prayer.

 

[Richca]

I think anyone who wishes to entrust themselves to Mary to help them in their spiritual journey is practicing their faith. There is nothing wrong with not grasping the devotion though. Remember the messages from Jesus to St Faustina “Jesus I trust in you”.
Mary is our mother because Jesus said He is our brother. He gave her to us from the cross

Yes, Jesus and the Trinity are the source of divine mercy and our Blessed Mother knows and understands this better than we do. Mary is a creature of God like us and she knows that all that she is and has is a gift from God. Still, she is a free creature who freely and lovingly consented to the workings of God’s grace in her and the plan that God had for her in becoming the mother of the incarnated eternal Son of God for the redemption of the human race. And God who is not outdone in generosity has rewarded Mary accordingly. Jesus gave his own mother Mary to be our mother and this is another gift of his mercy and love.

Here are some beautiful prayers of St Faustina to our Blessed Mother:

O Mary, my Mother and my Lady, I offer You my soul, my body, my life and my death, and all that will follow it. I place everything in Your hands. O my Mother, cover my soul with Your virginal mantle and grant me the grace of purity of heart, soul and body. Defend me with Your power against all enemies, and especially against those who hide their malice behind the mask of virtue. O lovely lily! You are for me a mirror, O my Mother! (Diary 79).

O Mary, Immaculate Virgin,
Pure crystal for my heart,
You are my strength, O secure anchor,
You are a shield and protection for a weak heart.
O Mary, you are pure and unparalleled,
Virgin and Mother at one and the same time;
You’re beautiful as the sun, by nothing defiled.
Nothing is worthy of comparison to the image of Your soul.
Your beauty enthralled the Thrice-Holy One’s eye,
That He came down from heaven, forsaking th’eternal See’s throne,
And assumed from Your Heart Body and Blood,
Hiding for nine months in the Virgin’s Heart.
O Mother, Virgin, this will no one comprehend,
That the infinite God is becoming a man;
It’s only love’s and His inscrutable mercy’s purpose.
Through You, Mother — it’s given us to live with Him for ever.
O Mary, Virgin Mother and Heaven’s Gate,
Through You salvation came to us;
Every grace to us streams forth through Your hands,
And faithful imitation of You only will sanctify me.
O Mother, Virgin — most beautiful Lily.
Your Heart was for Jesus the first tabernacle on earth,
And that, because Your humility was the deepest,
Wherefore You were raised above Angel choirs and Saints.
O Mary, my sweet Mother,
To You I turn over my soul, my body and my poor heart.
Be the safeguard of my life,
Especially at death’s hour, in the final fight (Diary 161).

Thanks for the reply cjforJesus,
Blessings and peace, Richca

 

[fred_conty]

posted by cjforJesus…
The Church teaches it is NOT the actual medal that imparts grace but it being blessed and worn with contrition of heart. If it were merely the wearing of a medal that would not be in line with our faith. The medal is supposed to be an outward sign of an inward devotion just as any sacramental is.

The promise of graces came from Mary not the Church proper. She is allowed to make those kinds of promises, and this does not rely on the fact that it is a sacramental.

For instance, I can say to someone … “if you carry my picture in your wallet, I will pray for you.” I can do that and make that condition and it really does not involve the church proper. It is a mutual understanding between you and me. So Mary also can make such a promise on her word if the person does as she says. The fact that it is a sacramental is a part of her condition for wearing the medal, but still it is her words that we rely on.
The Church proper has never made these promises. And as a sacramental, these promises are not given, but only are given because of Mary’s promise.

posted by cjforJesus…
Do you think consecration to the Sacred Heart is a lower form of devotion? Are those who practice this devotion somehow less spiritually advanced than those who utilize Mary to approach Jesus?

There are many devotions to select from and practising one doesn’t prevent the practising of another. One practising total consecration to Mary cannot help but being totally consecrated to the Sacred Heart. And the reverse of this is true as well.

There is no contrast between the two. The two hearts are really one. The backside of the Miraculous medal shows this. When we say one, we mean have the same intentions and desires. It doesn’t mean we worship them both, but only that their hearts are the same in their desires.

As mentioned before, it may take some reading, reflexion and time to appreciate the different ways that we are given to help us to do God’s will and to grow in his life.

 

[cjforJesus]

(continued)
True, but Mary’s mediation is of a different order, namely, it is universal for she is the mother of all the living, that is, those reborn to the life of grace.

 

[jilly4ski]

posted by cjforJesus…
The Church teaches it is NOT the actual medal that imparts grace but it being blessed and worn with contrition of heart. If it were merely the wearing of a medal that would not be in line with our faith. The medal is supposed to be an outward sign of an inward devotion just as any sacramental is.

I think what the other poster was getting at, is that just wearing the medal does not impart grace, believing that it does is superstitious. Believing in superstition is against church teaching. For example, I gave the medal to someone and I didn’t know anything about it and promptly forgot about it, and the person I gave it to didn’t know what it was for, neither of us is going to receive any grace from having the medal.

 

[Richca]

Are you actually saying that the gifts of the Holy Spirit come from Mary?

 

[Richca]

It seems odd he would have to go through Mary to determine if someone was worthy.

Mary in all things does the will of the Holy Spirit so that whatever she does or wills, we can truthfully say that this is the will of God. She departed not the least from doing the will of God her whole life long on earth to perfection, she is immaculate and perfect especially now that she reigns in heaven as queen with Jesus as king of the universe. We can again, though, consider how the sacraments are administered in the Church here on earth. For example, consider that a priest, a human being, can consider whether a person is worthy to receive baptism. In order for an adult to receive baptism, that person has to have catholic faith and strive to live the catholic faith as well as to be contrite of heart for the forgiveness of their sins. If a person is not sorry for their sins or wants to live the catholic faith, than they cannot receive baptism. Or again, in the sacrament of penance, the priest has the power given him by Christ to stand in judgement over our confession. If the priest judges that the penitent is not contrite for their sins, he can withhold absolution. " Whose sins you shall forgive they shall be forgiven, Whose sins you shall retain, they shall be retained." Consider that priests change bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ in the eucharist by the words of institution. This change, of course, is done by divine power but Christ uses the priests as instruments of His action. Accordingly, priests are mediators of God’s grace and action in the sacraments and we all can be mediators of His grace and action as well. Much more so can Mary Immaculate, the Mother of God, the Queen of heaven and earth, and the spouse of the Holy Spirit be a Mediatrix of the Holy Spirit’s action in our souls.

Thanks for the reply again. This is actually a very fascinating subject. St Maximilian Kolbe once said, how little is Mary Immaculate known as well as the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of the Father and the Son (Jesus Christ), and the role they play in our spiritual lives and sanctification. God bless, Richca

 

[guanophore]

Richca;13456841:

Are you actually saying that the gifts of the Holy Spirit come from Mary?
I will agree with the Magisterium and say that the Holy Spirit gives the charisms and gifts. It seems odd he would have to go through Mary to determine if someone was worthy.

Mary has a special relationship with the HS as spouse. No other human being has this. She also carried the Author of Life in her womb, and lived with him for 30 years, so she has more human intimacy with the Trinity than anyone else.

The HS comes from Jesus who Himself came through Mary. I think it is more accuate to say “through” rather than “from”.

But the worthiness, gifts and secrets spoken of by Montefort are not these same charisms. Those who have this intimate relationship with the Theotokos are specially blessed by it. Secrets of the heart can be revealed to such a person (who is open to it) and Mary can do for such a person what she does best, which is magnify the Lord.

 

[cjforJesus]

cjforJesus;13457942:

Mary has a special relationship with the HS as spouse. No other human being has this. She also carried the Author of Life in her womb, and lived with him for 30 years, so she has more human intimacy with the Trinity than anyone else.

The HS comes from Jesus who Himself came through Mary. I think it is more accuate to say “through” rather than “from”.

But the worthiness, gifts and secrets spoken of by Montefort are not these same charisms. Those who have this intimate relationship with the Theotokos are specially blessed by it. Secrets of the heart can be revealed to such a person (who is open to it) and Mary can do for such a person what she does best, which is magnify the Lord.

The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father AND Son.

I believe Mary can mediate grace but that does not exclude lesser mediators such as saints or even the Church militant,each one of us praying for another.

 

[cjforJesus]

Mary in all things does the will of the Holy Spirit so that whatever she does or wills, we can truthfully say that this is the will of God. She departed not the least from doing the will of God her whole life long on earth to perfection, she is immaculate and perfect especially now that she reigns in heaven as queen with Jesus as king of the universe. We can again, though, consider how the sacraments are administered in the Church here on earth. For example, consider that a priest, a human being, can consider whether a person is worthy to receive baptism. In order for an adult to receive baptism, that person has to have catholic faith and strive to live the catholic faith as well as to be contrite of heart for the forgiveness of their sins. If a person is not sorry for their sins or wants to live the catholic faith, than they cannot receive baptism. Or again, in the sacrament of penance, the priest has the power given him by Christ to stand in judgement over our confession. If the priest judges that the penitent is not contrite for their sins, he can withhold absolution. " Whose sins you shall forgive they shall be forgiven, Whose sins you shall retain, they shall be retained." Consider that priests change bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ in the eucharist by the words of institution. This change, of course, is done by divine power but Christ uses the priests as instruments of His action. Accordingly, priests are mediators of God’s grace and action in the sacraments and we all can be mediators of His grace and action as well. Much more so can Mary Immaculate, the Mother of God, the Queen of heaven and earth, and the spouse of the Holy Spirit be a Mediatrix of the Holy Spirit’s action in our souls.

Thanks for the reply again. This is actually a very fascinating subject. St Maximilian Kolbe once said, how little is Mary Immaculate known as well as the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of the Father and the Son (Jesus Christ), and the role they play in our spiritual lives and sanctification. God bless, Richca

I am not sure how Mary would mediate the Holy Spirit"s actions. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity,and given to us at baptism. He acts on the soul through graces which are accepted or rejected accordingly.
As a female mediator Mary can pray for us. The very well know miraculous medal says exactly this “Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee.” The Hail Mary says "holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners.
We ask for her prayers and motherly protection. I could never see Mary as some sort of dispenser of the Holy Spirit.

 

[Moro_Rock]

The angel greets Mary " Hail Full of Grace ". This implies her sinlessness.
In her humility, Mary was troibled at his word, and wondered what kind of greeting
this might be.
Mary arose and went with haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Mary greets Elizabeth.
Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and "cried out with a loud voice saying, "Blessed
are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, …When the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the child n my womb leapt for joy, and blessed is she
who believed in the fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord "
Mary sings a Hymn of Paise to God and utters the words " behold, from henceforth
all generations shall call me Blessed. She knows that her blessedness is not from
herself, but from the Magnificence of God’s goodness towards her.
Well that part of Mary’s prophecy has been fulfilled, because Christians , through
the ages have always called Mary Blessed and always Will .

 

[Richca]

I am not sure how Mary would mediate the Holy Spirit"s actions.

I touched upon this in a previous post when considering the sacraments of the Church which are outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace. The sacraments confer the grace they signify through the power of God. They are instrumental causes of grace and the action of Christ and the Holy Spirit. The sacraments give sanctifying grace which is a participation in the divine nature and the spiritual life of God for God is a pure spirit. Jesus said “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will have no life in you.” So in the eucharist and in communion, when we eat Christ’s flesh and drink his blood, his flesh and blood are life-giving, that is, they are instrumental causes of the spiritual life of grace. For the humanity of Christ is hypostatically united to his divine nature which is the source of eternal life. But, Christ took his humanity from the Blessed Virgin through the power of the Holy Spirit. So, the Blessed Virgin Mary in cooperation with the Holy Spirit produced the humanity of Christ which humanity of Christ was as it were an instrument of his divine nature in bringing about the salvation and redemption of the human race by his sacrifice on the cross. In a word, the humanity of Christ which he took from the Blessed Virgin and which we eat in communion is an instrumental cause in the supernatural, spiritual, and divine life of grace which is a created participation in the divine nature. Through sanctifying grace, the trinity itself comes and makes their home in us.

As a female mediator Mary can pray for us. The very well know miraculous medal says exactly this “Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee.” The Hail Mary says "holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners.

 

[PJM]

=boatofcar;13454506

MY REPLY due to length will be I 2 POST

Total Consecration – If it’s so important, why doesn’t the church mandate it?

---

To be perfectly honest, these types of Marian devotions make me extremely uncomfortable. I was hoping someone could answer some specific questions for me about this concept of total consecration.

First of all, the name. I know the official name of this devotion is Total Consecration to Mary through Jesus

Are you aware that space is limited here on CAF? So replies too have to be limited

I’m a trained, certified Marian Catechist; a Lay Apostolate founded to teach, share and IF necessary defend our Catholic Faith. We are approved by Rome to do so.

Your question is a very common Protestant quarry. And at times we Catholics are even considered idolaters. When I am confronted with this; I share the following bible passages wherein God commands Moses to build for Him [God] 2 different idols.

Exo. 25: 18 & 20 “cherubim” [a class of angels] for the Ark of the Covenant
Num. 21: 8-9 “a fiery serpent”

Being commanded by God, we ought to be able to discern that these “idols” by definition; in no way, shape or form detract from God. Indeed, just the opposite as these idols by design and purpose actually lead Souls closer to God.

This then is the foundation for Marian Feast-days; Marian devotions and praying THROUGH Mary and the Saints; as all prayers END WITH GOD.

It is always the intent of the object or Saint that is the deciding worth; that determines merit or sin. Mary as both the Mother of our God Lk.1: 26-37; and Blessed with sufficient grace to live a life in full conformity with her exulted position of; as God choose to do in permitting her to be conceived without the stain of Original sin; and then for Mary to cooperate to the fullest possible extent with every future grace offered to her; thus permitting Mary to live her entire life for God and without any sinning at all.

IN an absolute sense this was not required; but was thought by God to be merited by her many prayers and sacrifices.

There is another factor; one seemingly little known or recognized that connects Marian devotions as the expressed Divine Wll of Her Son Jesus.

The scene is Christ Crucifixion; Jesus having been abandoned by all of the Apostles EXCEPT “John the beloved disciple;” the mother of Jesus and some other devoted women.

Jn.19:25-28 “So the soldiers did this. But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Mag’dalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture), “I thirst.”

Here friends is what is notable about this passage:

Jesus mere moments from death recognizes His mother whom he will shortly address as “WOMEN”

Jesus also sees His Beloved apostle John standing below the Cross

Jesus then address Mary, His Mother as “WOMEN” [the generic name for the female gender]
“Women BEHOLD your Son!”

Then Jesus address John the “disciple” [again using a generic term] and proclaims
“Behold YOUR mother!”

Jesus: God has just given His mother to be the mother of “all humanity” for all time. “John” in this passage represents all of humanity.

Friends, do you find this to be difficult to accept? Then read the next verse.

V28: After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture), “I thirst.”

By way of explanation of what He intended he SHOUTS “I THIRST!”

A very strange utterance so near death; having declined drink earlier Mt 26:34. So what is Christ teaching us here?

“I Thirst!” is proclaiming that despite ALL that Jesus had already done for US; He desired to do still more. That “More” took 3 forms

Jesus gave us His Church & His Faith beliefs

Jesus grace us the Seven Sacraments as “unending wells of His Sacramental Grace:
Baptism; Penance/Confession; Eucharist; Confirmation; Marriage; holy Orders and the Last Rites; each instituted by Him for the aid of salvation of Souls.

Then Jesus gave us His Mother. Both as the perfect model for us to follow and emulate; and as the Intercessor par-excellence; to LEAD Souls to Him by Her prayers and good works on our behalf.

So it is Jesus Himself that shares His Mother with all of humanity; knowing full well the efficacy of Her Power and close association with Her Son.

Marian devotions are not mandated for this precise reason:

Mary like Jesus gives us “Perfect” love and desires as does Her Son; “perfect” love be returned to Her to present to Jesus [Again ALL prayers End with God]. For us to generate and return “perfect & perfected” love to JESUS Through Mary; it has to be freely given. Mother Church knowing this; promotes the practices and devotions; but makes them OPTIONAL dependent on our freewill choice to go often to Mary’s well of perfect love.; so that our Love through Her to Her Son, might too be perfected. Amen!

Lk 1: 32-35”He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God”

V 46-49 “And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henseforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

End of pt 1

PLEASE see pt 2

 

[PJM]

REPLY to Total Consecration to Mary Pt 2 of 2

Here are a few of the quotes from de Montfort that I find uncomfortable.

Next, there are several references on that site and in the writings of St. Louis de Montfort that seem to be incongruous with Catholic teaching in the Catechism. For example according to de Montfort, there are plenty of “secrets” that are revealed only to those who consecrate themselves to Mary and pray the Rosary. There’s a word for this in Catholicism–Gnosticism, and it’s a heresy. If you could explain to me how it’s not Gnosticism, I’d appreciate it

“The difficulty, then, is how to arrive at the true knowledge of the most holy Virgin and so find grace in abundance through her. God, as the absolute Master, can give directly what he ordinarily dispenses only through Mary, and it would be rash to deny that he sometimes does so. However, St Thomas assures us that, following the order established by his divine Wisdom, God ordinarily imparts his graces to men through Mary. Therefore, if we wish to go to him, seeking union with him, we must use the same means which he used in coming down from heaven to assume our human nature and to impart his graces to us. That means was a complete dependence on Mary his Mother, which is true devotion to her.”

So basically de Monfort is saying that we are never free to pray to Jesus–we need to pray to Jesus through Mary. Always. Here he is again:

“Chosen soul, this devotion consists in surrendering oneself in the manner of a slave to Mary, and to Jesus through her, and then performing all our actions with Mary, in Mary, through Mary, and for Mary.”

Nothing about that sounds even vaguely idolatrous to you? Even as a Catholic, I have a hard time stomaching that, and for Protestants we are trying to convince that we do not worship Mary, they will never be able to get over a quote like that from a canonized saint. The Catechism, by the way, has none of this, and certainly (as you correctly stated) does not require any devotional activity to ensure that God hears our prayers. In fact, all of these devotional activity seems to only have one source–de Montfort himself.

Can you please help me make sense of this? I do not ask these questions out of spite or ill-will, but with an honest heart searching for the truth in the Gospel.

MY REPLY:

From a magisterial perspective; what you share is OPTIONAL personal piety of a great Saint. It is not bundled with the NORMS of our faith; which is not to say that there is no merit in what this Saint shares.

It is; or at least could be better understood from the personal view of Jesus Himself. GOD; I repeat GOD choose Mary to be the Mother of Jesus from literally BILLIONS of options. NO human being was Blessed with an Immaculate Conception; NO other human being was from the time of Her birth was absolutely sinless; which required the constant exercise of Mary’s freewill. No other creature has been Blessed by GOD, who choose Mary to be exalted:

Lk 1: 46-49 “And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henseforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name”

Mary is according to Her Son’s desire; is to be exalted. It is a Doctrine that Christ choose Mary, His Mother to be the Mediatrix of ALL graces. Which is to say the dispenser [not the origin; and not even the one, the source who determines who will be offered which graces or in what amounts. This would seem to be a responsibility of Her Son. So we can better understand Christ feelings extend far deeper than any normal mother-son relationship. WHY is this?

It is because in the entire history of creation of “Created Beings”; only Mary has fully met God’s expectations for humanity; which is why She is considered theologically to be the “New Eve”; the one GOD promised in Genesis 3: 14-15 “The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. [15] I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

The Church; through extensive review; aided by GOD Himself, through miracles wrought through the good-graces St Louis de Montfort; assures us that whatever position he held in regard to Mary; whatever devotions he proclaimed; WERE considered worthy of Canonized Sainthood, a process that is God approved.

This POST author shares only a part of this Saints religiously: Saint Louis de Montfort, was from a young age VERY devoted to Christ and Worshiped Him often: Here are a few quotes from the Catholic Encyclopedia: newadvent.org/cathen/09384a.htm

“From his childhood, he was indefatigably devoted to prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, and, when from his twelfth year he was sent as a day pupil to the Jesuit college at Rennes, he never failed to visit the church before and after class.” & During seventeen years he preached the Gospel in countless towns and villages. As an orator he was highly gifted, his language being simple but replete with fire and divine love. His whole life was conspicuous for virtues difficult for modern degeneracy to comprehend: constant prayer, love of the poor, poverty carried to an unheard-of degree, joy in humiliations and persecutions”

This EWTN site post the Canonization Process in Detail, including Miracles which GOD has to approve; for further evidence of a badly skewed perspective of this Saint, who no doubt is a Sain due in great part to his devotions to Mary.

ewtn.com/library/Montfort/Handbook/Canonize.htm

May Mary be ever on our lips and remembrance of her always in our hearts [Fr. John Hardon]

 

[catholictiger]

To be perfectly honest, these types of Marian devotions make me extremely uncomfortable. I was hoping someone could answer some specific questions for me about this concept of total consecration.

First of all, the name. I know the official name of this devotion is Total Consecration to Mary through Jesus, but most of the time it’s just referred to as Total Consecration to Mary, including what I assume is the most popular website for the devotion. The number one hit on Google which points to the calendar that you spoke about calls the devotional act “Total Consecration to Mary.” This is troubling, because if you totally consecrate yourself to Mary, where does that leave Jesus?

I wouldn’t read that website, it looks problematic because it gets the idea of consecration wrong. You don’t consecrate yourself to Mary you consecrate yourself to Jesus through Mary. Mary would never want you to be so devoted to her that it would take away from your relationship with Jesus. But any true devotion to Mary will bring you in a deeper relationship with God.

Next, there are several references on that site and in the writings of St. Louis de Montfort that seem to be incongruous with Catholic teaching in the Catechism. For example according to de Montfort, there are plenty of “secrets” that are revealed only to those who consecrate themselves to Mary and pray the Rosary. There’s a word for this in Catholicism–Gnosticism, and it’s a heresy. If you could explain to me how it’s not Gnosticism, I’d appreciate it.

I strongly suggest you ignore that website.

I deleted the rest of the post bellow because there is a lot going on. St. Louis Language is very radical, I had problems with it the first time I read it. What I would strongly suggest you do, is look into a book called 33 days to morning glory. It is a great but simple retreat to do. He can shed some light on what it means to be consecrated to Jesus through Mary.

God Bless

 

[catholictiger]

to post it again I strongly suggest this book, St. Louis words can come off as radical, as problematic, I would say that this isn’t for the faint of heart, the unlearned person in the faith, it is pretty solid food.

This is why I suggest this book, it explains what it means to have a true devotion to Mary, in a way the average person in the pew can understand it.

amazon.com/Days-Morning-Glory-Do-It-Yourself-Consecration/dp/1596142448

 

[Dorothy]

to post it again I strongly suggest this book, St. Louis words can come off as radical, as problematic, I would say that this isn’t for the faint of heart, the unlearned person in the faith, it is pretty solid food.

This is why I suggest this book, it explains what it means to have a true devotion to Mary, in a way the average person in the pew can understand it.

amazon.com/Days-Morning-Glory-Do-It-Yourself-Consecration/dp/1596142448

I very much appreciate the gift of St. Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary.

I also have a great liking for “33 Days to Morning Glory” because it shares the insights of Blessed Mother Teresa, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and St. John Paul II. It is so inspiring!

Thank you for sharing,

Dorothy

 

[Sacred_Heart_1]

To be perfectly honest, these types of Marian devotions make me extremely uncomfortable. I was hoping someone could answer some specific questions for me about this concept of total consecration.

First of all, the name. I know the official name of this devotion is Total Consecration to Mary through Jesus, but most of the time it’s just referred to as Total Consecration to Mary, including what I assume is the most popular website for the devotion. The number one hit on Google which points to the calendar that you spoke about calls the devotional act “Total Consecration to Mary.” This is troubling, because if you totally consecrate yourself to Mary, where does that leave Jesus?

Next, there are several references on that site and in the writings of St. Louis de Montfort that seem to be incongruous with Catholic teaching in the Catechism. For example according to de Montfort, there are plenty of “secrets” that are revealed only to those who consecrate themselves to Mary and pray the Rosary. There’s a word for this in Catholicism–Gnosticism, and it’s a heresy. If you could explain to me how it’s not Gnosticism, I’d appreciate it.

Here are a few of the quotes from de Montfort that I find uncomfortable.

“The difficulty, then, is how to arrive at the true knowledge of the most holy Virgin and so find grace in abundance through her. God, as the absolute Master, can give directly what he ordinarily dispenses only through Mary, and it would be rash to deny that he sometimes does so. However, St Thomas assures us that, following the order established by his divine Wisdom, God ordinarily imparts his graces to men through Mary. Therefore, if we wish to go to him, seeking union with him, we must use the same means which he used in coming down from heaven to assume our human nature and to impart his graces to us. That means was a complete dependence on Mary his Mother, which is true devotion to her.”

So basically de Monfort is saying that we are never free to pray to Jesus–we need to pray to Jesus through Mary. Always. Here he is again:

“We must never go to our Lord except through Mary, using her intercession and good standing with him. We must never be without her when praying to Jesus.”

And finally, to me, the most disturbing quote of all:

“Chosen soul, this devotion consists in surrendering oneself in the manner of a slave to Mary, and to Jesus through her, and then performing all our actions with Mary, in Mary, through Mary, and for Mary.”

Nothing about that sounds even vaguely idolatrous to you? Even as a Catholic, I have a hard time stomaching that, and for Protestants we are trying to convince that we do not worship Mary, they will never be able to get over a quote like that from a canonized saint. The Catechism, by the way, has none of this, and certainly (as you correctly stated) does not require any devotional activity to ensure that God hears our prayers. In fact, all of these devotional activity seems to only have one source–de Montfort himself.

Can you please help me make sense of this? I do not ask these questions out of spite or ill-will, but with an honest heart searching for the truth in the Gospel.

Its just a way in broadening faith. Catholics need Mary because they believe in familial ties. What’s better than a Father than a Father and a Mother. Personally, I just hold Jesus. To me there is the Father and He has no equal. To me the Father is not feminized. He is masculine in a concerning way towards me.