On August 15th, 2019 (the Feast of the Assumption), I consecrated myself to Mary… Yup! I know it sounds crazy. The first time I heard about Marian consecration was when the custodian at my church randomly asked me if I had consecrated myself to Mary also. Also? What? Did he mistake me for someone else? I had no idea who he was or what he was talking about. I just smiled and said, “No, I haven’t done that.” and skirted away awkwardly.
Later, I read about it by chance. Then I found out that two of my sisters had consecrated themselves to Mary years ago. OK…now I just felt left out. What rock had I been under? I went to Catholic school my whole childhood and we did not talk about Consecration to Mary. If we did, I probably assumed it was something priests and nuns did – not lay people like me.
I think God was trying to get my attention.
I trusted my sisters, however, I needed to learn more before I took the leap. That led me to the book, True Devotion to Mary by Saint Louis de Montfort. Everything pointed to him as the expert on the topic. Unfortunately, de Montfort was not sellin’ for me. I could not follow him at all. First of all, it was written in 1862 and it was translated from French to English.
Months went by and I was barely a quarter of the way through the book. In the midst of all this, I lamented to one of my sisters about how painful it was to read de Montfort’s book. That’s when she told me about 33 Days to Morning Glory by Michael Gaitley. She promptly sent me a copy and it was just want I needed. It was written in this century and in a language I could understand. The best part is he referenced St. Louis de Montfort’s book frequently and simplified it for people like me.
Over the span of 33 days (hence the name) Gaitley’s book prepares you for Marian consecration in the form of a self-guided retreat. At first I was afraid to begin the 33 day journey because I was worried about missing a day and falling behind. However, that was not the case. It was so good, I wanted to read ahead! I couldn’t wait to read the next lesson and reflection.
Ok…so what is it!?
So, at this point, if you have never heard about Marian consecration until this post, you are probably still wondering what the heck it is. It is summed up in de Montfort words, “a total consecration to Jesus through Mary is the quickest, easiest, surest, and most perfect way to become a saint.” But that is still a little vague, right? Well, it’s like this: one of Mary’s roles in creation is to be our spiritual mother and to bring all of us to her son Jesus, our Lord. By dedicating your life to Mary, you are essentially saying, “Mary, you know what is best for me and for the world. Do with me what you will,” knowing that her will is perfectly aligned with the will of her Son. You can’t go wrong when she’s got your back.
Another way I like to think about Marian consecration is that Mary is like your lawyer. Jesus is the judge and Mary represents you. She is working on your behalf and making you pure and holy before her Son. The best part is, she has never lost a case. I don’t know about you, but that seems like a pretty good partnership to develop. I want to go to Heaven and Marian consecration is the “quickest, easiest, surest, and most perfect” way to get there.
Go check it out for yourself.
So I want to encourage you to go do your own investigating to learn more about it. You can learn more about Michael Gaitley here (my favorite video). I recommend you start with 33 Days to Morning Glory and then if you feel up for the challenge, you can go check out Saint Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary. Let me know in the comments if you have ever heard of Marian consecration before this or whether you’ve already “been there, done that” – (where have you been Jessica?).
