However it is you happened to come across this blog, be assured that it is no mistake that you did. You have been summoned by someone who loves you deeply. Namely, Mary the Mother of God and your mother. I believe that she has invited you here because of her great, tender, immensely personal love for you.
Who I am and the purpose of this blog:
I am a cradle Catholic. I have always been taught about our Blessed Mother Mary, her role in salvation, and her desire for relationship with us to lead us to her Son, Jesus. However, knowing that in my head hasn't always meant that I know that in my heart. I found myself this past May asking her to captivate my heart and help my relationship with her to grow. Specifically, I desired the grace to pray a daily Rosary. I confess, I'm still working on that, and frankly, it doesn't often happen. But, she has really kept tugging at my heart to dig deeper into the specific devotion of Total Consecration to Jesus through her, according to St. Louis de Montfort. In addition, though I have wrestled with her and the Holy Spirit, I have repeatedly experienced her calling to invite others along. This is a little scary, as I am not certain I can articulate why she is asking us to take up this devotion, and my own knowledge and experience of it is not very in depth. However, I have asked the help of others whose knowledge and love of Mary exceed my own, and I look forward to the wisdom and insight they will share on the blog.
My intention is to make this consecration with you on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary (August 15th). There is a 33 day preparation period, which will start on July 13th. I am planning on posting each day's reflection and prayers. Please join me in this devotion and invite others to do so as well.
(I borrowed the following from http://marysanawim.wordpress.com/2010/07/11/total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary/)
What is Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary?
Total Consecration Jesus is an absolutely beautiful exercise to increase your spirituality and ability to truly serve our Lord Jesus Christ. The basic premise set forth by St. Louis Marie de Montfort is simply that Jesus came into the world through Mary and that for us to always be assured of being close to Jesus, even closer than ever before, we should go through Mary.
Initially, this idea may seem strange to some. Why consecration? And why consecration through Mary? What does that even mean?
Consecration means to set aside for a sacred purpose. Mary’s life was set aside for the sole purpose of serving our Lord. By following her example, we, too, can completely give ourselves to Christ in a fundamental way that consecrates us to Him. We give our lives to Him in service and love.
Consecration to Jesus through Mary according to the method of St. Louis de Montfort is a method used by Pope John Paul II and it is this consecration that lead to the founding of Rosary Army in 2003.
Why do this?
We consecrate ourselves in order to be more devoted to the Lord and His Blessed Mother. It helps us grow in holiness and increase our faith, hope, and love. It is a prayerful and focused method of drawing closer to Jesus than ever before.
How does it work?
The method of consecration set forth by St. Louis de Montfort is presented on this website, as well as in the 34-part MP3 podcast series freely available for download from this site. Consecration consists merely of a 33-day period of prayerful preparation followed by the actual act of consecration itself (also described on this site).
33 day preparation
The 33-day preparation includes a preliminary period of twelve days during which we endeavor “to free ourselves from the spirit of the world.” This initial 12 days is followed by a second period of three weeks. The first of these three weeks is devoted to the knowledge of ourselves, the second to that of the Blessed Virgin and the third to that of Jesus Christ.
Consecration
The object of this consecration is to cast off the spirit of the world, which is contrary to that of Jesus Christ, in order to acquire fully the spirit of Jesus Christ through the Blessed Virgin. Hence the practices suggested by St. Louis De Montfort: renouncement of the world and knowledge of self, of the Blessed Virgin and of Jesus Christ.
How do I listen to the Total Consecration Podcast?
Each day’s readings and prayers are available in MP3 format and can be accessed by direct download from each day’s prayers on this website, or by subscribing to the Total Consecration Podcast.
You can subscribe to the Total Consecration podcast via Apple’s iTunes (click to subscribe) or through another podcast aggregator (click the orange XML logo for the feed): . The RSS Feed for this podcast is http://feeds/feedburner.com/consecration
Where do I get a book?
You can purchase copies at most Catholic book stores and from Amazon.com.
When does it begin and end?
The preparation is intended to prepare our hearts and minds by praying and meditating. It is not a problem at all to begin after the start date, but it is recommended to “catch up” by doing all the prayers.
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These periods mentioned by St. Louis De Montfort do not constitute a rigorous and unchangeable division. According to circumstances, they may be lengthened or shortened. The faithful often take only three days to prepare for the annual renewal of their consecration, or may choose to completely go through all of the preparation prayers again.”
The cycle of preparation (daily prayers and meditations takes approximately 10-15 minutes per day) typically begins on a date that will end on a Marian Feast Day. The consecration will take place on a Marian feast day at the end of the period of prepration. The following is a table of the six suggested schedules for consecration: (go here for the table)
