Marian Consecration and a review of 33 Days to Morning Glory

I first encountered the concept of Marian consecration when I was growing up as a young teen. Popularity and information about St. Louis de Montfort and his promotion of total consecration to Jesus through Mary was emerging around me. The the church we attended caught on quickly and promoted the consecration in the pews. Everyone around me was suddenly making the consecration and without really knowing much about it - aside from it seeming like a nice thing to do - I made the consecration for the first time around the age of 13.

I remember not feeling particularly different afterwards but what I do recall was how harsh the term "slave to Mary" sounded to my teenage sensitivities. I also recall the onslaught of spiritual attack in the days leading up to the consecration. Usually in the form of little things, a bad day here...an argument with my parents there...a particularly challenging week in school...but it was clear that the devil was lashing out. In fact, it seems to be a common ailment among those who making the consecration...as though the devil tries his darnedest to keep anyone from making a successful consecration to Mary. Surely something that causes the devil to go through so much effort must be worthwhile. 

Over the years, despite the almost certainty of spiritual attack, I found myself renewing the consecration from time to time, always looking for that radical interior change that St. Louis and proponents of the consecration promised. I always followed the same prescribed formula via this book

which called for a 33-day preparation involving a (very) brief reading (usually scriptural or an excerpt from St. Louis' book below) and some litanies and prayers and towards the end, a rosary each day. Which is not to say this was a poor means of preparation for the consecration. This is a very good compilation of the formula and prayers as directed by St. Louis de Montfort that the good Montfort fathers put together...if you already have read St. Louis de Montfort's book, True Devotion to Mary.

Which I hadn't.

I had never invested the time to really, truly understand the meaning and purpose of Marian consecration. I just liked the idea and was drawn to - and truly desired - a deeper devotion to Mary. Silly me, I figured I could clep out of this part and skip right to the good part: the actual consecration. As a consequence, too often I found myself simply rattling off the readings and prayers. Is it any wonder that that interior change remained elusive?

All that changed when, on a bit of a whim, this past Lent my husband and I decided to make the total consecration once again together. It had been a couple of years since either of us had made the consecration and it just seemed like a good idea as means of praying together as a couple during Lent.

By coincidence, I had just ordered this book

which was written by a priest who had attended Franciscan University with us: Fr. Michael Gaitley. I ordered it mostly because I wanted to support our fellow alumni and also because I devoured his previous book:

(Which just so happened to have been my extraordinarily fruitful Lenten companion 3 years ago.)


On Day One of the consecration, my husband pulled out the old book (referenced above) that we were accustomed to using but I looked over on my nightstand and noticed 33 Days to Morning Glory was sitting right there. So we opened it up, began to read aloud to each other.


And change began to happen.


Why Total Consecration? 

Through this book, Fr. Mike Gaitley draws the reader to a greater understanding of why total consecration to Mary is not just a good idea, but downright necessary for everyone. I only just barely understood this through the years but this book served to totally convict me that being a slave to Mary (there's that term again!) is the "surest, easiest, shortest and most perfect means" of becoming a saint. (True Devotion, #55)

The whole point of Marian consecration is to draw us closer to Jesus. It was through her virginal womb that the Word was made flesh. And she remains even today our surest and most effective route to God. Who better knows the power behind the words, "Thy will be done"? What better advocate do we have to show us the way to salvation than the very person through which our Savior entered the world?


Why Mary?

Marian consecration is not "Mary worship". Mary simply is not and cannot be the end goal. Rather, she points us to Jesus. Her very existence was to serve as a conduit of bringing God to men and men to God. Any prayers, offerings, sacrifices made to her, she perfects and directs on to Jesus. Fr. Gaitley uses the example of a simple apple given as an offering to Mary, which she cleans up, makes shiny and places on a silver platter before sending it on to God.

Her task of bringing Christ to the world was not completed in Bethlehem. In fact her work and role as a mother had only just begun with our Savior's birth. With St. John at the foot of the Cross, her mission as spiritual mother to all became clear. "Son, behold your mother" - with His parting words, Jesus points us to His Mother. And she in turn, points us back to Him. Even now she stands there at the foot of the cross, inviting us to draw us nearer to Him, reassuring us amidst the pain and grief.

We are created in God's image, but Mary helps us to reflect more perfectly this image of Christ in all of us. She can only do this however with our permission, by asking for her help. Much like clay in a the hands of sculpter, total consecration gives Mary permission and freedom to take raw material from God and mold it, form it and complete God's work of making us into saints.

By consecrating ourselves to Mary, we willingly allow ourselves to become a tool of Mary. The goal is to become docile and completely at her disposal to her motherly care. Being in complete harmony with her Spouse, the Holy Spirit, she knows how best to draw us closer to God. Like a mother rushing to console and heal a crying child who has cut his knee and may be covered in dirt and grime and blood, Mary is eager to rescue us. She wants to draw us to Sacramental cleansing (confession) and to mend what wounds our eternal souls.


How?

33 Days to Morning Glory takes a different approach to preparing you for making a total consecration to Jesus through Mary than the aforementioned book. Instead of a distillation of the St. Louis de Montfort's book, True Devotion to Mary, Fr. Mike Gaitley instead uses the 33 days to reflect on the lives and spirituality of 4 contemporary saints and blesseds whom he calls "Marian giants". Namely, St. Louis de Montfort, Maximillian Kolbe, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Blessed John Paul II. For 33 days, the author prepares the reader for consecration to Jesus through Mary by reflecting on how each of these holy people radically and heroically lived their own consecrations to Mary as a means of drawing them closer to Jesus. Even in the midst of great personal suffering, loss and/or sorrow, these "Marian giants" demonstrate that our true happiness is not - cannot be - measured in human, earthly terms.

The book is a bit of a retreat and requires a commitment of only about 5-10 minutes a day to read. However the reader will find him/herself pondering the reflections throughout the day, many of which are very deep and profound. You will come to understand Mary in a whole new light and if you are like me (who despite being a cradle Catholic) will realize what an under utilized resource she is and want to tap into her flow of heavenly graces. After all, she is waiting for us to allow her to show the way to Jesus. Like a good mother, she is eager to rush to her ailing children and bring us to the Divine Physician.


Who?

The Vatican II document, Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity (Apostolicam Actuositatem) states:

"everyone should have a genuine devotion to [Mary] and entrust his life to her motherly care."

Make no mistake: Marian consecration is a slam-dunk method of short-cutting our way to heaven...but it is not for sissies. As stated above, it is a radical giving of oneself to Mary. To be willing to be made completely at her disposal, according to what she sees is best for our souls. There is one reflection early on that stopped me dead in my tracks:

"Mary leads us to Jesus and makes the road to holiness quick and easy, even though she doesn't take away our crosses. In fact, those who are particularly beloved by Mary often have more crosses than others, but Mary makes the crosses sweet and light..."

But don't let that scare you. Read on...

"But Mary is not outdone in generosity. She especially hears the prayers of those of us who have given her everything...if we give her everything, is there any doubt that she'll be generous in giving whatever good we ask for to those who are dear to us?"

And again, listen to what St. Louis de Montfort promises:

"We make more progress in a briff period of submission to and dependence on Mary than in whole years of following our own will and relying upon ourselves."

Those spiritual attacks I experienced while making the consecration previously? I believe that they were indeed demonic attempts to keep me from finishing the consecration. But I also believe they were opportunities for Mary to flood me with her grace. I weathered those storms not because of anything I did, but of what she did.


The Benefits

In short, Marian consecration is essential in learning how to live less for yourself and your own comforts and more God and His plan for your eternal salvation. 33 Days of Morning Glory was a fantastic resource for pondering how total consecration looks when it's lived out by real people. The reflections on the lives of St. Louis de Montfort, St. Maximillian Kolbe, Mother Teresa and John Paul II will make you think twice about all the disturbances in your life, both big and little. Your anxieties, your fears, your humiliations and losses...whatever crosses God is allowing you to endure at this moment...Mary is there - if we allow her - to help us use these crosses as a means of perfecting our sullied condition, to mend our wounds, give us solace. And this all serves

Mary will show you - as she showed St. Louis, St. Maximillian, Mother Teresa and JPII - how to surrender and accept what we cannot change. And what's more, she shows how to accomplish this seemingly impossible task with joy. By supporting us with a flood of graces, assisting us in weathering the storm and helping us to transcend our earthly grievances, she is "surest, easiest, shortest and most perfect means" of getting to heaven.

Today on this feast of St. Louis de Montfort, I urge you to consider following this great saint's  passionate message and devotion by consecrating yourselves to Mary. I strongly recommend 33 Days to Morning Glory by Fr. Michael Gaitley. And I'm eager to hear if you liked it too!