Catholic Blogs

Writings to help you Find your way Home

Ordinary Life, Extraordinary Offering

I am all yours, and all that I have is yours, O most loving Jesus, through Mary, your most holy Mother. (Treatise on True Devotion, n. 233)

More than twenty-five years ago, impelled by the love of God and inspired by the example of Pope St. John Paul II, whose feast we celebrate October 22,  I set out on a thirty-three-day journey to prepare myself for Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary according to St. Louis Marie de Montfort.

True Devotion

It was through the Blessed Virgin Mary that Jesus came into the world, and it is also through her that he must reign in the world. (Treatise on True Devotion, n. 1)

Pope St. John Paul II affirmed that true devotion to Jesus through Mary can never eclipse the supremacy of Christ. Tottus Tuus – Totally Yours – was his papal motto.

Under the wise guidance of St Louis Marie, I realized that if one lives the mystery of Mary in Christ this risk does not exist. (Pope St. John Paul II, Letter to the Montfort Religious Family, Dec. 8, 2003)

Mary will not lead her children on an idolatrous path away from her Son. Just as her soul eternally proclaims the greatness of the Lord, so our consecration to the King through the Queen Mother of God greatly increases our love for Jesus, unites us most intimately to Him, and proclaims His supreme reign in us and in the world.

“…this devotion is necessary, simply and solely because it is a way of reaching Jesus perfectly, loving him tenderly, and serving him faithfully.” (Treatise on True Devotion, n. 62)

Perfect Conformity 

You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)

As all perfection consists in our being conformed, united and consecrated to Jesus it naturally follows that the most perfect of all devotions is that which conforms, unites, and consecrates us most completely to Jesus. Now of all God’s creatures Mary is the most conformed to Jesus. It therefore follows that, of all devotions, devotion to her makes for the most effective consecration and conformity to him. The more one is consecrated to Mary, the more one is consecrated to Jesus. (Treatise on True Devotion, n. 120)

Just as Jesus – the Word –  totally entrusted Himself to Mary and was made flesh in the sanctuary of her spotless womb, those who consecrate themselves to Jesus through her are conformed most perfectly to Christ in the sanctuary and refuge of her Immaculate Heart.

There is no other created being who knows Jesus better than Mary. She is bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh and blood of His blood. There is no other being in God’s divine order that can conform us most perfectly to Jesus than Mary.

As daughter of the Father, mother of the Son, and spouse of the Holy Spirit, Mary possesses a uniquely anointed understanding of Jesus’ admonition to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect and her sole desire is to help us achieve that perfection.

Her only desire is to serve the King and help her spiritual children be fully conformed to the likeness of her first-born Son. (Champions of the Rosary, Fr. Donald H. Calloway, MIC)

In the Fight

Interestingly, St. Louis de Montfort prophesied that in latter times Mary will rouse her humble servants to fight against the enemy and that in union with her, they will crush the head of Satan and bring victory to Jesus Christ.

But Mary’s power over the evil spirits will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lie in wait for her heel, that is, for her humble servants and her poor children whom she will rouse to fight against him. In the eyes of the world they will be little and poor and, like the heel, lowly in the eyes of all, down-trodden and crushed as is the heel by the other parts of the body. But in compensation for this they will be rich in God’s graces, which will be abundantly bestowed on them by Mary. They will be great and exalted before God in holiness. They will be superior to all creatures by their great zeal and so strongly will they be supported by divine assistance that, in union with Mary, they will crush the head of Satan with their heel, that is, their humility, and bring victory to Jesus Christ. (Treatise on True Devotion, n. 54)

According to St. Louis de Montfort, total consecration to Jesus through Mary is a grafting of our life into the heel of Mary. In essence, those who are totally consecrated to Jesus through Mary are saintly participators in the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.

Just Do It

By means of consecration, the Mother of God receives all the prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of your life – past, present, and future – and makes of your ordinary life an extraordinary offering as a child most worthy of your inheritance as a son or daughter of God.

Consecrate your life to Jesus through Mary. You can begin here as soon as November 5th or 9th.

Become a saint, and do so quickly. – Pope St. John Paul II

Lead Us to Christ

We thank you, Mary, because you ceaselessly and unfailingly lead us to Christ.

Mother of the Divine Son, watch over us, watch over our unshakable fidelity to God, to the Cross, to the Gospel and to the holy Church, as you have done since the first moments of our Christian history…Grant that we live, grow and persevere in faith until the end.

Hail, O Daughter of God the Father,
Hail, O Mother of the Son of God,
Hail, O Bride of the Holy Spirit,
Temple of the Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Pope St. John Paul II, 1999, the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń, Poland

© 2022 Brian Kravec

Brian is a cradle Catholic, husband and father. He’s a writer, speaker, and the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Possibility Productions, a 501(c)(3) faith event evangelization apostolate in service of the Body of Christ.

2 Responses

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *