Couples for Christ India, as a community will be consecrating ourselves to our Blessed Mother on 8th December 2018 on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
The 33-day preparation for the consecration starts on 5th November 2018. The process of Total Consecration to Mary was introduced by Saint Louis de Montfort in the early part of the 18th century. He proposed to the faithful consecration to Jesus through Mary, as an effective way of living out their baptismal commitment.
To consecrate oneself to Mary is to choose, after the example of many saints of the Church, to belong to her in a special way to follow Jesus with her and through her. The word “consecrate” means “to sanctify oneself with.” So, to consecrate oneself to Jesus through Mary is to sanctify oneself with Mary.
What does consecration mean?
To be consecrated is to be set apart for God, and God alone. It means to give oneself freely for his glory.
Jesus is the first consecrated person: he consecrated himself to his Father by coming into the world:
“Behold, I come to do your will.” (Hebrews 10:9.)
To consecrate oneself to God through Mary is also to imitate Jesus. Jesus is the first one who consecrated himself to Mary. What can we do better than imitate Jesus!
By our consecration, we promise to become dependent on Mary in all things: to offer all our prayers and sacrifices 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.
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
Preparation for consecration to Jesus through Mary is a time of special grace, and many of the graces during the preparation will come through the process of prayer and reflection. The more prayer and thought you give to your preparation for Marian consecration, the more you’ll get out of it.
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.
Lest there should be any misconception about the place of devotion to Mary in Catholic piety, we honour in a special way the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of Jesus, i.e., the person of Mary in her eminent sanctity and glorification by God, because it is the wish of her Son. The Church sees Mary, then, not as the goal, but as the guide, who always leads souls who honour her with true devotion – to her Son, especially to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. When we pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for help in time of need, she, in turn, points to the Tabernacle, to Him who is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” and has a way of conveying to us what she said to the steward at Cana:
“Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5)
We encourage as many as possible to do the consecration and to spread the devotion to all around as well. You can subscribe to our website to get daily prayers and other edifying articles directly to your inbox before everyone else, by clicking here: CFCI Website Subscription
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