To Jesus Through Mary – Marian Consecration by St. Louis de Montfort
“To Jesus through Mary”: These words sum up the unique importance of Mary in every Christian life, as the soul encounters her Son more deeply by drawing closer to her, who knows Him best. To enter more into that encounter, many of the Shrine staff and volunteers joined Executive Director Fr. Paul Check on March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, in making St. Louis de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary.
“This is not just for especially pious or holy people,” says Fr. Check, describing St. Louis’s teaching, “but for all Christians.” Our Lady’s place, he explains, is shown in the Gospels, beginning with Jesus’ Incarnation in her. This bond between Mary and Jesus leads to her relationship with us: “God comes to us through Mary, so God chooses her to be the vessel through which Jesus receives His humanity; and the next step is that we go to God through her. It doesn’t mean she gets in the way. Think of it as more like a bridge. God’s humanity comes through Mary, and our participating in divinity comes through her also. I say that’s embedded in the Gospel because from the Cross, Our Lord gives us to His Mother.”
Consecration to Mary, as developed by St. Louis, is a means of actively living this relationship with our Mother. This consecration “takes another step from baptism,” says Fr. Check; giving everything to Mary might appear strange or extreme at first glance, but since she is the creature closest to the Trinity, she draws us closer to God.
“I was hesitant in the past to do it,” says Major Gifts Officer Emily Conway, “because I thought I would be giving Mary too much of my attention and it would take away from Jesus, but it truly has the opposite effect.” She elaborates, “When we consecrate ourselves to Jesus through Mary, we’re giving her all of ourselves, and all of our works and merits, and she is taking them to Our Lord but in that process she’s making them better.”
Becket Ghioto, Director of Communications, also recalled being unprepared to make this consecration: “I tried to do it 25 years ago, but, even though I had a devotion to Our Blessed Mother, I wasn’t ready. It was only after I married my wife that I understood how to truly surrender myself to another. In a way, for me, the adage might be more aptly put: To Jesus through Mary through my wife.” With the aid of Preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus Christ Through Mary: According to St. Louis De Montfort of Montfort Publications, which the entire staff read together each day, Becket has found in this devotion a deep joy: “It is the profound joy of committing myself to giving my self.”
By giving themselves to Christ’s Mother, in whose Shrine they work and serve His people, the staff and volunteers have found this joy, which Our Lord offers to all His people. In addition to enriching their own spiritual lives, the team is thus better enabled to bring God’s love to everyone they serve, and so extend Mary’s mission to be a “bridge” between God and every soul.
True Devotion to Mary
St. Louis-Marie De Montfort
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