Marian Consecration
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To Jesus Through MaryOur parish was formally merged and consecrated to Our Blessed Mother on October 6, 2018
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Total Consecration: "To Jesus through Mary"
Our parish was formally merged and consecrated to Our Blessed Mother on October 6, 2018 at Vigil Mass for the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. Every year on the Sunday following October 7 - the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary - we reconsecrate the Parish and School to Jesus through Mary.
The Total Consecration program spans 33 days and was developed by St. Louis de Montfort - a big man and a priest - who was given to solving problems with his fists. But his tremendous love for Jesus and his Mother slowly led him to a life of holiness.
We too are all meant for holiness and this 33 day program can help you grow deeper in your faith and in your relationship with Jesus and Mary.
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Contact Us
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Michael Sternhagenmichael.sternhagendsj.orgDirector of Liturgy
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The Basis for Total Consecration
St. Louis De Montfort recognized that at its very foundation Christian life is nothing less than a participation in the life of Jesus Christ. Through baptism we belong completely to Christ; and holiness, therefore, is the common vocation of all Christians.
The spirituality of total consecration that St. Louis de Montfort proposes bases itself in this reality which is the central mystery of Christianity: by means of his Incarnation and Cross, Jesus Christ has saved us and has made us true children of God the Father, filled with his Holy Spirit. This is to say, Jesus, the Son of God the Father, has shared in our human condition in every way so that we may be given a sharing in his Divine life. This sharing of Jesus is not a partial sharing, but a complete sharing. He has given himself to us even to the point of sharing our dying so that we may share in everything with him.
This sharing includes his relationship with Mary because he who is truly the Son of the Almighty Father is also the son of Mary. Furthermore, because Jesus has given himself completely to us through Mary, those who wish to give themselves completely to Christ must do the same. Through Mary salvation came into our world and through Mary we can experience the fullness of this same salvation which is nothing less than a total sharing, a profound participation, in the life of Jesus Christ. In the words of Father de Montfort, no one can truly be a child of God the Father without also being a child of Mary.
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Preparing to Make the Total Consecration
If Fr. De Monfort's Act of Total Consecration were simply a prayer to be said as the result of one's devotional fervor, there would be no real need to undertake a serious preparation process, let alone one that lasts for more than a month. For St. Louis de Montfort, however, consecration is not the gesture of a moment, but a radical surrender of oneself into the life of Jesus Christ. It is Christian Spirituality in the fullest sense of the word. The Act of Total Consecration is that moment in which one formally makes this act of surrender. It is a first step, a beginning, that one must then deepen and renew and express in the faithful living of one's consecration on a daily basis. A step like this is a step that one must prepare himself/herself to take.
The process of preparation consists of two movements: 1) emptying oneself of the spirit of the world and 2) filling oneself with the spirit of Jesus Christ.
First Movement:
In order to make the first movement, one sets aside twelve days to learn to recognize the spirit of the world and its effect upon our lives. One struggles against this spirit and its false wisdom by means of prayer and mortification in order to perceive more clearly the light of the Gospel. After renouncing the spirit of the world one cannot remain empty, and, therefore, one must become filled with the Spirit of Jesus Christ.Second Movement:
This second movement unfolds by means of three related steps: The first week is dedicated to coming to a more profound knowledge of ourselves during which we wish to become truly aware of our tendencies to sin and to acquire a spirit of genuine humility. The second week is dedicated to coming to a more profound knowledge of the Virgin Mary during which we wish to more fully open our lives to her presence. The final week is dedicated to coming to a more profound knowledge of Jesus Christ in which we seek to permit the light of our knowledge of ourselves and our knowledge of Mary to illuminate our relationship to Jesus so that we may participate more fully in his life and mission.Knowledge in each of these cases does not refer simply to intellectual and catechetical knowledge — these are both necessary and desirable but, by themselves fall short of what St. Louis De Montfort is asking of us. Rather, the knowledge of which Fr. De Montfort speaks is personal knowledge. In other words, for example, we are asked to spend time not simply increasing our knowledge about Mary, but to come to know her personally.
Each day for 33 days you will receive an email with a daily reflection, prayer, and resolution designed by the Montfort Missionaries to develop a spirituality of total consecration. The heart of this process is found in the prayerful meditation upon each day's readings and in the concrete responses you make as a result of this meditation. At the end of the 33 days you will receive one final email outlining how to make the Total Consecration. You may make the consecration privately or you may, if you choose, join others from the parish who have participated in this process, to make your consecration together at a Mass.
This period of prayer culminates in a beautiful prayer of consecration that one makes in conjunction with the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the reception of Holy Communion, ideally on a Marian feast day.
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