Consecration to Jesus through Mary?

[MoNiCa4316]

Recently I came across this:
http://www.fisheaters.com/totalconsecrationmontfort.html

I think it's very interesting and I'd like to learn more about this..
it is accepted by the Church, yes?
I must admit that the old Protestant in me is like.."NOO this is wrong, it's idolatry!!!" and yet.. it's a beautiful idea, to ask Mary my Mother to present me to her Son.. and from a Catholic perspective it makes sense.
I always said, I don't need Mary to come to Jesus, and of course we DO have a personal relationship with Him and it's a direct relationship. Yet ..I think now that Mary might be part of this relationship. And so are all our brothers and sisters, Saints, the Pope, all the Church. We all help lead each other to Christ. And Mary does this best of all.. maybe it's true that she can help us have a closer, in fact a more (not less) direct relationship with God? like if she leads us closer to Him so we're able to know Him better..

does anyone here know more about the theology of all this...

and about the meaning of this consecration in general.. like..what does it DO? I'm having some trouble figuring that out.

I think I'll start reading that book by St Louis de Montfort to see what I think..

what are your thoughts? (even if you disagree, I need to hear everything )

God bless

 

[Anhelyna]

Monica

You are rushing into things Please slow down and become a Communicant in the Catholic Church before you try and catch up with everything .

This Consecration to Jesus through Mary is not something to be undertaken lightly . Many people do not understand that it is giving yourself totally to Jesus - try looking at the definition of slave - it's very very deep .

 

[AMDG]

My Consecration is to the Immaculata through St. Maximilian Kolbe. (In 1917 he formed the Militia Immaculata.) I'll see if I can dig out some books on it, but perhaps the website (http://www.consecration.com/ ) has some information as well.

 

[Maggie893]

Definitely read the book. As a former Protestant I can tell you that the only way you will overcome your "concerns" is by reading the book once or more. I've done the consecration and I renew it yearly...I will say though that it constantly works deeper and deeper in me as the years go by. Part of the "slowness" for me to fully embrace the graces of this consecration is likely barriers I built as a Protestant but God is gracious and has really done an amazing job of changing my heart on this.

Bottom line is that Jesus will deny Mary nothing as she is completely in synch with Him. What better advocate could you have? Can you go to Christ directly...of course....does He love that you go to His mom? Definitely!!!

 

[Rhamiel]

I look at it as a humility thing, you turn yourself over to Mary, 100% and trust that she will present you to her Son, it is like who do you trust more, yourself or Mary, you can say you want to present yourself to the Lord or you can trust her to present you to the Lord.
It is not for everyone, like you said there was a part of you that buckled at the thought of this, if it causes someone distress then it is not for them

 

[Rhamiel]

I agree with Anhelyna, you are still in a state of transition, have the faith of a little child and do not worry so much, ok?

 

[HisWordisTruth7]

Can't you consecrate yourself to Him without going through someone else?

 

[Maggie893]

Of course. This is just a special devotion. St. Louis de Montfort found it to be a very efficatious and beautiful way to achieve a closer and deeper devotion to Jesus. Only Mary can know Jesus so deeply. It's a unique relationship she has with Him. St. Louis provides a way to walk with Christ that is quite powerful.

 

[Anhelyna]

BUT first Monica must become Catholic !!!

She is not yet

Please Monica - leave this alone till you are

 

[Rhamiel]

Can't you consecrate yourself to Him without going through someone else?

Yes you can, most people do, I would not call this a common practice in the Church, it is not one in a million, but it is not an everyday kinda thing either

I would say the differance is a kind of humility, who do you trust more, yourself or Mary?

 

[Davidnic]

Can't you consecrate yourself to Him without going through someone else?

Yes. This is...well there are aspects including a greater devotion to pondering the mystery of the Incarnation where an understanding and devotion through Mary are of special helps.

Look at it, in a way, as an imitation of Mary's love for her Son. In a softer sense how a mother holds her Son in her heart...in another one how Mary donated her total self to the love of Christ. A devotee of this would follow that example in addition to greatly pondering the mysteries of the Incarnation. In the end the mystery is simply too big and they respectfully bow to what they can not understand but it fills their hearts as the love for Christ filled Mary's and the service to Christ becomes the focus of their lives.

Emulating:

And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word."
Luke 1:38

The above (bondslave) also translated as Handmaid. I chose the New American Standard translation here because it more so fits with the concept of the devotion. It can get a bit mystical.

 

[HisWordisTruth7]

Yes you can, most people do, I would not call this a common practice in the Church, it is not one in a million, but it is not an everyday kinda thing either

I would say the differance is a kind of humility, who do you trust more, yourself or Mary?

I Trust Jesus...

 

[AMDG]

I Trust Jesus...

That's good because Mary is always pointing toward Jesus.

 

[Davidnic]

I Trust Jesus...

As do we, and we seek to trust in Him and the will of the Father just as Mary did...to the the foot of the Cross and beyond when most others turned away.

 

[Mikeb85]

BUT first Monica must become Catholic !!!

She is not yet

Please Monica - leave this alone till you are

But she is already Orthodox I believe... Not the same as coming from a purely protestant background. To leave Orthodoxy (I'm sure it's the same for Catholicism) is a huge step, not one to take lightly. To convert first and then learn about the faith doesn't make much sense.

 

[MoNiCa4316]

Monica

You are rushing into things Please slow down and become a Communicant in the Catholic Church before you try and catch up with everything .

This Consecration to Jesus through Mary is not something to be undertaken lightly . Many people do not understand that it is giving yourself totally to Jesus - try looking at the definition of slave - it's very very deep .

BUT first Monica must become Catholic !!!

She is not yet

Please Monica - leave this alone till you are

wow Anhelyna - I don't want you to be so worried, I was actually planning on becoming Catholic first and then doing this. (if I will). But I thought I'd just read about it and familiarize myself with it. I'm planning on becoming Catholic sometime this winter - perhaps January, depending on what the priest says - I need some guidance from him and will meet up with him soon again.

I know the way I phrased my post, it sounds like I'm very confused about the theology of this and have no idea what it means. Well admittedly I need to educate myself more about it. But in my heart it has made sense to me for a while now. It's more like I need to catch up on my knowledge. And of course I need to grow spiritually too, and that will come God willing.

I do realize that it's essentially like being a slave. I also know that as a result I would have to give myself up and that God might call me to difficult things that require self sacrifice. This might include suffering and trials. I never thought it would be a fun easy thing, nor do I think that I'm strong enough. I'm actually pretty weak, and God has to entirely sustain me by His grace even in the simplest of trials. The point is, I don't believe that weakness is an obstacle, but rather something God can use if we surrender it to Him, with trust, and rely on His strength. I don't talk about this, but about a month ago I had a strange sort of experience where God told me that He wants me to let go of myself entirely. I told Him I would, I also asked Him to teach me how to love Him with all my heart and all my mind and soul. When I first read about this consecration it seemed like a fulfillment of this. But I decided to first read and pray about it, become Catholic and receive the Eucharist, and someday seek spiritual direction from a priest. I do believe that God will help me though if I make this decision, even if I won't feel Him helping me. I also believe that Mary will be there with me.

But she is already Orthodox I believe... Not the same as coming from a purely protestant background. To leave Orthodoxy (I'm sure it's the same for Catholicism) is a huge step, not one to take lightly. To convert first and then learn about the faith doesn't make much sense.

I'm not taking it lightly I'm taking it very seriously.

(not so much talking about leaving Orthodoxy, but becoming Catholic. Because for me it's not so much leaving something, as it is coming to something else. I dont' have anything against Orthodoxy)

 

[MoNiCa4316]

My Consecration is to the Immaculata through St. Maximilian Kolbe. (In 1917 he formed the Militia Immaculata.) I'll see if I can dig out some books on it, but perhaps the website (http://www.consecration.com/ ) has some information as well.

thanks for the link. I've heard about this.. I'm not very familiar with St Maximilian Kolbe, I want to read more about him. I've read his biography and I think he's an awesome Saint.

Definitely read the book. As a former Protestant I can tell you that the only way you will overcome your "concerns" is by reading the book once or more. I've done the consecration and I renew it yearly...I will say though that it constantly works deeper and deeper in me as the years go by. Part of the "slowness" for me to fully embrace the graces of this consecration is likely barriers I built as a Protestant but God is gracious and has really done an amazing job of changing my heart on this.

Bottom line is that Jesus will deny Mary nothing as she is completely in synch with Him. What better advocate could you have? Can you go to Christ directly...of course....does He love that you go to His mom? Definitely!!!

thanks for sharing I agree. I do believe that about Mary. I've been learning more about her during the past several months. I believe that she can really help me know God better and be more devoted to Him..and teach me how to love Him better, because she loves Him like no other creature. She's been doing a lot in my life lately.

I look at it as a humility thing, you turn yourself over to Mary, 100% and trust that she will present you to her Son, it is like who do you trust more, yourself or Mary, you can say you want to present yourself to the Lord or you can trust her to present you to the Lord.
It is not for everyone, like you said there was a part of you that buckled at the thought of this, if it causes someone distress then it is not for them

no it doesn't cause me distress if it did I probably wouldn't post about it. I just want to know more. I'm actually pretty interested in this. I agree with what you said about humility.. it's like what I wrote some time ago:

Actually, this is incredibly HUMBLING to realize that there is someone who is 'above' you spiritually. Someone who's prayers will ALWAYS be more effective than yours. Someone who will no matter what, have more glory in heaven than you. It builds humility to admit this truth and to embrace it. And then to actually rejoice in that, to rejoice in Mary's glory and not be envious of it. (same with the Saints)

I agree with Anhelyna, you are still in a state of transition, have the faith of a little child and do not worry so much, ok?

I try

Of course. This is just a special devotion. St. Louis de Montfort found it to be a very efficatious and beautiful way to achieve a closer and deeper devotion to Jesus. Only Mary can know Jesus so deeply. It's a unique relationship she has with Him. St. Louis provides a way to walk with Christ that is quite powerful.

I think his theology is interesting.. did you all know he's being considered for 'Doctor of the Church'..

 

[MoNiCa4316]

Can't you consecrate yourself to Him without going through someone else?

Mary loves Jesus more than I do I'm sure she can teach me a lot.

Yes. This is...well there are aspects including a greater devotion to pondering the mystery of the Incarnation where an understanding and devotion through Mary are of special helps.

Look at it, in a way, as an imitation of Mary's love for her Son. In a softer sense how a mother holds her Son in her heart...in another one how Mary donated her total self to the love of Christ. A devotee of this would follow that example in addition to greatly pondering the mysteries of the Incarnation. In the end the mystery is simply too big and they respectfully bow to what they can not understand but it fills their hearts as the love for Christ filled Mary's and the service to Christ becomes the focus of their lives.

Emulating:

And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word."
Luke 1:38

The above (bondslave) also translated as Handmaid. I chose the New American Standard translation here because it more so fits with the concept of the devotion. It can get a bit mystical.

I like your post.. it makes sense. Thanks.

 

[MoNiCa4316]

(honest question) do you think I'm being proud in considering doing this.. as if I think I'm ready enough or devout enough. It even requires some bravery to do it. But I never thought of it that way.. I always thought, well I'll probably *never* be ready so I hope the Lord makes me ready
I've been thinking about this for a while and I've kept it secret and I didn't mean for it to be like I'm boasting about how Im "so devout".. cause I don't think I am, but I've always wanted to go further. I'm sort of an 'all or nothing' person I guess. lol. If I'm going to be a Catholic and a follower of Christ, I want to put myself into it..
is this pride? but I know I can't rely on myself.. that's why I like the idea of Mary presenting me to Jesus because she can do it better..

it's just that for the past several months I've been praying that God would teach me to love Him fully. And I know that's not an easy thing to ask, because love isn't just feeling, it involves sacrifice and it's difficult. I want to receive the Eucharist and I believe it will strengthen me. I know that when bad things happen to me that's when God wants to take me further in faith.. and I try to trust Him, but I'm so weak and I fail a lot. So I think being Catholic would really help and I'll receive the grace I need.

Is it wrong or proud to want to love and follow God to the fullest of your capacity.. ? but - I'm trusting in His grace for this, not in myself.. and btw I'm no Saint I'm a huge sinner. lol if anyone knew my sins they'd laugh at my thoughts on this consecration. but still..I feel drawn to something like this; must be for a reason. In addition to feeling sad about my sins one other thing that hurts me is that I'm so self centered and selfish and parts of me I still havent totally given up to God. I actually like the idea of being a 'slave' in this way, I don't want to be my own - because I believe we were made for God and we are to give ourselves to Him, as He gives Himself to us every Mass. That is love.

thoughts?

 

[HisWordisTruth7]

We daily make choices to walk in the Spirit or the flesh..You decide how close you want to get to the Lord....Live it and He lives through you...

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.