Inviting the Holy Spirit: Marian Consecration

A Radical Commitment, A New Way of Life

Father Gaitley’s description is a more accessible version of the “perfect consecration” that St. Louis de Montfort described in his classic, early 18th-century book, True Devotion to Mary.

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.

That is why perfect consecration to Jesus is but a perfect and complete consecration of oneself to the Blessed Virgin, which is the devotion I teach; or in other words, it is the perfect renewal of the vows and promises of holy baptism.

This devotion consists in giving oneself entirely to Mary in order to belong entirely to Jesus through her. It requires us to give:
(1) Our body with its senses and members;
(2) Our soul with its faculties;
(3) Our present material possessions and all we shall acquire in the future;
(4) Our interior and spiritual possessions, that is, our merits, virtues and good actions of the past, the present and the future.

In other words, we give her all that we possess both in our natural life and in our spiritual life as well as everything we shall acquire in the future in the order of nature, of grace, and of glory in heaven. This we do without any reservation, not even of a penny, a hair, or the smallest good deed. And we give for all eternity without claiming or expecting, in return for our offering and our service, any other reward than the honour of belonging to our Lord through Mary and in Mary, even though our Mother were not – as in fact she always is – the most generous and appreciative of all God’s creatures.

This commitment of total consecration is a radical one, and not to be entered into lightly. I know several people who have made total consecration who have found their lives turned upside down as Mary and the Spirit are given free rein to use them for God’s glory. This is not surprising, as Jesus promised His followers hardships and hatreds for their work to bring Christ into the world. It is good to count the cost before embarking on a great commitment, but St. Louis provides inspiring words about its fruits:

But what will they be like, …these children of Mary?

They will be ministers of the Lord who, like a flaming fire, will enkindle everywhere the fires of divine love. They will become, in Mary’s powerful hands, like sharp arrows, with which she will transfix her enemies.

They will be as the children of Levi, thoroughly purified by the fire of great tribulations and closely joined to God. They will carry the gold of love in their heart, the frankincense of prayer in their mind and the myrrh of mortification in their body. They will bring to the poor and lowly everywhere the sweet fragrance of Jesus, but they will bring the odor of death to the great, the rich and the proud of this world.

They will be like thunder-clouds flying through the air at the slightest breath of the Holy Spirit. Attached to nothing, surprised at nothing, troubled at nothing, they will shower down the rain of God’s word and of eternal life. They will thunder against sin, they will storm against the world, they will strike down the devil and his followers and for life and for death, they will pierce through and through with the two-edged sword of God’s word all those against whom they are sent by Almighty God.

They will be true apostles of the latter times to whom the Lord of Hosts will give eloquence and strength to work wonders and carry off glorious spoils from his enemies. They will sleep without gold or silver and, more important still, without concern in the midst of other priests, ecclesiastics and clerics. Yet they will have the silver wings of the dove enabling them to go wherever the Holy Spirit calls them, filled as they are with the resolve to seek the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Wherever they preach, they will leave behind them nothing but the gold of love, which is the fulfilment of the whole law.

Lastly, we know they will be true disciples of Jesus Christ, imitating his poverty, his humility, his contempt of the world and his love. They will point out the narrow way to God in pure truth according to the holy Gospel, and not according to the maxims of the world. Their hearts will not be troubled, nor will they show favor to anyone; they will not spare or heed or fear any man, however powerful he may be. They will have the two-edged sword of the word of God in their mouths and the blood-stained standard of the Cross on their shoulders. They will carry the crucifix in their right hand and the rosary in their left, and the holy names of Jesus and Mary on their heart. The simplicity and self-sacrifice of Jesus will be reflected in their whole behavior.

No Longer Slaves, But Sons and Daughters

I think I should pause here with an important aside about looking to St. Louis de Montfort’s book and methodology for preparing for Marian Consecration. He was a man of his time, and it shows in certain things he writes that are off-putting and potentially even detrimental to the contemporary reader. He projects a silence and self-deprecating nature onto Mary that is, as I mentioned earlier, quite contrary to the glimpses we see of her in Scripture. He portrays her as a buffer between us and an angry and unapproachable God. He refers to persons who have consecrated themselves to her and Jesus as their “slaves and servants” (words I replaced with ellipses above). I do not wish to commend in any way, shape, or form these distortions of God’s love and truth that were culturally prevalent in the Church and the world during his time. This is why I strongly recommend Fr. Gaitley’s 2013 book as the preferable entry point into this spiritual practice.

Nevertheless, I have also read St. Louis’s True Devotion to Mary and have followed his cycle of prayers and readings (there’s an app for that!) through 33-day preparations a few times, in addition to reading Fr. Gaitley’s book and following his methodology a few times. Both are worthy practices, and each illuminate some unique insights, though de Montfort’s needs to be taken with some grains of salt due to age.

Unfortunately, you may encounter some people who cling literally to de Montfort’s traditional thoughts about slavery and God as a distant and retributive father, and their practice of this devotion can become quite cult-like as a result. I had a powerful conviction of the need to jettison the “slave” concept the last time I renewed my consecration on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (January 1), having used de Montfort’s readings and prayers this time. The second reading at Mass that day spoke clearly:

When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then also an heir, through God.

– Gal 4:4-7

The verses preceding the liturgical reading provide more context: “I mean that as long as the heir is not of age, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything, but he is under the supervision of guardians and administrators until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were not of age, were enslaved to the elemental powers of the world.” (Gal 4:1-3) If the whole point of this endeavor is to attain to spiritual maturity, to no longer act as perpetual minors in the Church, then we are working towards being treated as adult heirs, who are no longer treated like slaves. Consecration is a choice to take mature responsibility for our role in the Church, which replaces enslavement, not only to sin, but also to the law of formulaic piety and participation.

The chain bracelet that I have worn as a reminder of my consecration for the past two years (another practice recommended by St. Louis) has taken on changed significance for me since I received this insight. It has gone from a symbol of being led without any agency of my own, to a symbol of my daily commitment to service as a child of God. As an heir, my chain has a clasp, and I can take it off at any time, but I choose to keep it on, day and night, the same as my wedding ring. As Fr. Gaitley says in his introduction, “Mary has a deep respect for human freedom. She knows from her own experience in Nazareth what a free yes to God can do, and so she doesn’t pressure us into giving her our yes.”

No pressure… but if you’re ready to embark on an amazing, unpredictable, wonderful journey into spiritual adulthood, I encourage you to get a copy of 33 Days to Morning Glory: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat In Preparation for Marian Consecration today, and join me and my blogging partner in starting this book on February 20th, and making an act of consecration to Jesus through Mary on March 25th. If you’re still not sure what that means, don’t worry—that’s the whole point of the book, to explain and prepare. Let’s take this pilgrimage together, and let Mary enlighten our conception of the Holy Spirit.