Today, on Day 9, we have the opportunity to make our Total Consecration to Jesus through the Immaculate!
In these days of preparation we have tried to prepare ourselves for this day of Consecration.
Now it is time to consider more fully what this entails:
What is Total Consecration to the Immaculate?
“Consecration “began at the foot of the cross when John was entrusted
to Mary.
Consecration means setting yourself aside for service to God. The
Church has always advocated consecrating yourself to Jesus Christ
through the Blessed Virgin Mary, the perfect model of discipleship.
One of the best known advocates of Marian consecration is St. Louis
de Montfort (d. 1716). Modem day promoters include Pope John Paul II,
who recommended an “act of entrustment” to Mary (his papal motto was an
enthusiastic Totus Tuus-“Totally Yours.”)
All methods are equally
worthy…”
Total Consecration is a fulfillment of Our Lady’s requests at Fatima:
Our Lady told the children: “Pray, pray, very much, make sacrifices
for sinners. Remember that many souls are lost because there is nobody
to pray and to make sacrifices for them” (Fatima Apparition of August
19, 1917). By offering up our prayers and sacrifices in Total
Consecration to Our Lady, we give Her everything we do for the salvation
of souls and to win all souls for Christ the King for all eternity. (https://saintmaximiliankolbe.com/faqs/)
Marian consecration, therefore, is no archaic spirituality but is a
living and active means of advancing the Faith as a People of God. It is
not just another “devotion,” but is a complete spirituality, one not
lightly undertaken.
St. John Paul endorsed the Kolbean example of Marian Consecration
as a critical element of the “New Evangelization” for the third
Christian millennium, and St. Maximilian as a primary intercessor. In 1992 the Holy Father developed our understanding of this
consecration even further. By dying for another and “consecrating his
life to the lmmaculate Virgin,” St. Maximilian has become, suggested the
Holy Father, a “prophet and a sign of the new era, the civilization of
love.”
St.
Maximilian Kolbe adds this strong missionary dimension to Marian
consecration, because he believed a vast Army of Mary – of souls fully consecrated to the Immaculate – would bring the Kingdom of God here on earth:
“The
reason why the world does not recognize Jesus Christ as King is because
it does not know the Immaculate. It’s commonly said ‘No Mary, No Jesus;
Know Mary, Know Jesus’…. St. Maximilian knew that as soon as the Immaculate was known to all
hearts, the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart would reign in the world.” (https://saintmaximiliankolbe.com/faqs/) Thus,
THE MILITIA OF THE IMMACULATA (MI) encourages a total consecration to Mary Immaculate as a means of
spiritual renewal for individuals and society. Marian consecration in
the MI is a formal act of self-giving that does not stop at Mary but is
Christ-directed. It is really consecration to Jesus. The MI motto is “To
lead every individual with Mary to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
The MI employs prayer as the main weapon in the spiritual battle with
evil. MIs also immerse themselves in apostolic initiatives throughout
society, either individually or in groups, to deepen the knowledge of
the Gospel and our Catholic Faith in themselves and in others.
By joining the MI, members become willing instruments of Our Lady,
the handmaid of the Lord and the immaculate instrument of God. You
become a member of an international movement sharing in the maternal
mission of Mary the conversion and sanctification of all souls. The
goals of the MI are personal sanctification, the conversion of the world
and ultimately the universal reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The MI is one of the few Vatican approved public associations
whose mission, like that of the Catholic Church, is universal.
Distinctive Features of the Kolbean Method:
It requires no set formulation. Nonetheless, St. Maximilian has
identified four elements normally reflected in such an act of love.
1. Invocation of the Immaculate as such. In this
invocation St. Maximilian insists repeatedly on invoking Mary precisely
under her title as the Immaculate, especially in respect to the grace of
total consecration.
2. Total consecration is unlimited and unconditional. The
response is unlimited, precisely because total consecration to the
Immaculate achieves a complete identification in the subject with the
will of the Immaculate. The degree of our consecration to her is the
measure of our response or reaction to God’s prior love for us, and when
that identification with her total consecration to God, i.e. with her
as the Immaculate Conception, is total on our part, then our charity is
perfect as it can be. In obtaining this grace for us, her total
consecration, i.e. her reaction-surrender qua Immaculate to the
love of Father and Son for her as the most perfect fruit of a perfect
redemption becomes in turn an “action” provoking an “equal and contrary
reaction” in each believer to the love of the Father and the Incarnate
Word, her Son.
3. Obedience. Total consecration as identification
with the will of the Immaculate is not merely an affective
identification, but a thoroughly effective, practical love, that is to
say, total obedience to the Immaculate, a willingness and a readiness to
do whatever she asks one to do.
As her reaction to His salvific love was the inspiration for His
obedience to His Father’s command to die on the Cross to establish the
order of salvation, viz. the Church, so it is for us the stimulus to the
perfect implementation of Christ’s commands and instruction for our
salvation in the Church, and thus in practice animates the system of
obedience to a sacerdotal hierarchy established by Christ in the Church
for the salvation of souls.
The term “possession by Mary Immaculate to describe the state of the
soul totally consecrated to her is one particularly stressed by St.
Maximilian. He notes that this state has also been described as a kind
of childhood and as a kind of slavery. He acknowledges the validity of
both descriptions, but adds that the term possession precludes
misunderstandings easily attached to both, viz. that the one making such
a consecration obtains some special rights with Our Lady, or in some
way acts under compulsion, whereas in fact total consecration places one
totally at the disposition of the Immaculate in a quite willing
fashion. He does not mean to deny that Mary has a motherly care for each
one of us in accord with Our Lord’s request on the Cross that she
should be our Mother. But she exercises this responsibility, even if we
have not made total consecration to her. Rather the focus of total
consecration and the obedience it implies is the formation of an
instrument, a true militia perfected by an effective obedience, whereby
the Immaculate may obtain those ends proper to her as the Woman who
crushes the head of the serpent, the father of lies.
The preference for the term possession by the Immaculate to describe
this state suggest an underlying scriptural-liturgical parallel: we are
only fully free of the influence or possession of Satan, when we are
fully possessed by Mary Immaculate. Personal independence, in the
intellectual order the principle of private judgment, so well symbolized
by the ethos of freemasonry, is a gross deception, making a basic
slavery to the prince of this world. Total humility is the only sure way
to freedom. Between these two choices there is no third ground on which
to stand.
4. Scope. In general the scope of total consecration
is to know, love and serve the Immaculate as much as possible, and to
make her known, loved and served in the same way by others, especially
through her commands to pray and to do penance for the conversion of
sinners and the triumph of the Sacred Heart of her Son: in a word to
make her aims totally one’s own.
It is important to observe the stress place by St. Maximilian on two texts:
- Allow me to praise you, Holy Virgin; give me strength against your enemies
– where enemies are first of all understood as enemies of faith, viz.
heretics, and in a particular way the quintessence of all heresy, the
exercise of self-will on principle in the use of the intellect, called
by St. Francis the poison of self-will (Admonitions, 6), and otherwise known as the principle of private judgment. - You have destroyed all heresies in the whole world. The focal point of the battle and its outcome is expressed well in this text, often cited by St. Maximilian.
Herein is the precise task… to oppose this principle so fundamental
to the success of the stratagems of the father of lies in seeking to
undermine the faith of the Church and of Christians, its exact contrary,
i.e., heroic obedience to the desires of the Mother of Truth, the
Immaculate. The humility of true obedience will always unmask the
slavery of false freedom.
St. Maximilian expressed the purpose of the Militia Immaculata in this way: (KW 987C and 1080)
Truly supreme and incomparable joy is infused by the Holy Spirit, when one suffers for love of Christ.
[The purpose of the MI] is to make humanity happy, by instilling into each soul—which thirsts and craves for happiness every moment of its life—the love of the one who can and wants to introduce peace and joy into each heart, during this earthly exile, in the midst of the confusion that surrounds us, of the concerns and headaches that beset us everywhere, of the pain that reaches the very depths of our hearts. Those who truly love the Immaculata and flee to her with filial love and affection at times of temptation and hardship in life, will surely take down all the obstacles on the road to happiness, and foretaste the joys of heaven. Those who in their lifetime have worked with zeal to expand the reign of the Immaculata will be happy at death.
But, some may be asking:
Am I Ready to Consecrate Myself Totally to Mary and Join the MI?
THE SPIRIT of the MI is the spirit of continual
conversion. Not everyone … understands perfectly,
in the beginning, the power of this consecration. But when lived in the
spirit of willingness and humility, the Immaculata will elevate our
natural gifts and inspire us to holiness and fruitful service within the
Church.
As Jesus said to those who would stand up and follow him: “Even greater things than these will you do.”
For those who have struggles in understanding consecrating ourselves completely to Mary, here is an excerpt of a letter Maximilian wrote addressing just this concern:
“My dear, these are lofty things and we, with our human minds, and
even less so with out imagination, often are not able to arrive at
understanding them, but for this reason too, it is necessary not to ever
lose peace. God is a God of peace. Turmoil does not come from God…
It seems that I’ve gone through your whole letter now.
Your difficulty comes from the fact that you confuse feeling,
remembering or understanding with the will. If only our will wants
everything to be according to the Will of God, then by that very same
fact it is so, even if we were not to understand or remember this, nor
to feel it. At a given moment we can think of one thing alone, develop
our feelings in one direction alone. Give yourself freely then to the
devotion which at a given moment you’re drawn by, but remember that the
essence of the love of God lies exclusively in fulfilling the Will of
God in every moment. The more difficult this fulfillment will be, the
more disgust and repugnance [we have to overcome], the greater will the
manifestation of love be. But not even these difficulties belong to the
essence [of love], and without them there can be an equal love. They
serve only to manifest this love.
The fact that one consecrated totally and unlimitedly to the
Immaculate, though he knows that he belongs to Her, even though he might
not think of it, when going to visit Our Lord in the Most Blessed
Sacrament, often explicitly gives the whole visit to the Immaculate just
the same, be it even by means of just one [invocation] “Mary,” is
another matter; he knows that in such a way he will bring to Our Lord
the greatest possible pleasure, that then all the more She performs this
visit in him and through him and he in Her and through Her.
Similarly, there is no better preparation for Holy Communion than
that of giving the whole matter to the Immaculate (at the same time
doing everything we can on our part, of course). She will prepare our
hearts in the best way and we will be certain that we will procure Our
Lord the height of happiness, that in such a way we will show Him the
greatest love. And similarly in many other activities. I repeat though:
even without at the present moment giving ourselves [to the Immaculate]
we still belong to Her, because we have consecrated ourselves to Her and
we have never revoked it.
One more thing. Our Lord has said that we will know a tree by its
fruits [cf. Mt 7:20]. If something then causes you confusion, and all
the more – as you write – if it was the cause of a cooling of fervor,
then certainly it does not come from God. Hence all of this lack of
peace is heavily suspect and it is necessary to always strive for
fidelity in fulfilling the Will of God, even in the smallest things, and
for peace. Our Lord has also said: “My peace I leave you, my peace I
give you” [Jn 14:27].
If on the other hand something were to detract you from Our Lady
under whatever pretense, even if for the sake of a higher devotion, take
it as a suspect ploy, though it seem to be ever so holy.
In Her and through Her we certainly arrive at the Heart of Jesus, but
without Her (according to the above meaning [of without Her])
everything is only a deception of Satan calculated to leading a soul to
ruin. A beautiful illustration of this is the vision of St. Francis of
the two ladders, the red and the white, which the brothers were climbing
to heaven…[6]
May the Immaculate hold you ever closer to Her Immaculate Heart.”
St. Maximilian had no set formula or stipulations on how to make our Total consecration. As he states in the letter above, simply saying “Mary” can be an act of consecration…
But, here are some ideas to utilize today, if you able:
On Our Consecration Day:
- Recite the official act of
consecration composed by St. Maximilian and give yourself
wholeheartedly to Our Lady so as to let the Holy Spirit guide you on the
path to holiness with her! - Gain A PLENARY INDULGENCE – the complete remission of
temporal punishment in purgatory due to sin. (This special grace was bestowed by Pope Pius XI in 1926 upon joining the MI):To receive the indulgence, you must:- Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation on the consecration day or within the eight days before (or after).
- Attend Mass and receive Holy Communion
- Pray an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be for the intentions of the Holy Father, and
- Renounce all attachment to sin, even venial sin, on your enrollment date. By renouncing all attachment to sin you will be making an effort to remove all
obstacles to Our Lady making you her own in the Holy Spirit.
- Ask Our Lady and St. Maximilian to show you how you can best serve the Lord from this moment on.
- Enroll in the Militia Immaculata online at: missionimmaculata.com (When clicking on the link above to enroll in the Militia Immaculata, it gives you the option to also enroll as a Knight at the Foot of the Cross. See more information about this apostolate of redemptive suffering at the end of the article.
- Wear the Miraculous Medal and recite it’s prayer. “Hearing of the miraculous conversion of the agnostic
Alphonse Ratisbonne through the medal, St. Maximilian made wearing it
and giving it away an integral part of his movement. He called the
Miraculous Medal “a ‘bullet’ with which the faithful soldier hits the
enemy, that is evil, and thus rescues souls.”(Those who join the MI movement receive a complimentary medal from the National Center along with a membership certificate). - Pray the Rosary faithfully.
THE PRAYERS:
Daily Miraculous Medal Prayer
O MARY, conceived without sin, pray for us who have
recourse to you, and for all who do not have recourse to you,
especially the enemies of the Church and those recommended to you.
Ml Prayer of Marian Consecration
(Composed by St. Maximilian Kolbe)
O IMMACULATA, Queen
of Heaven and earth, refuge of
sinners and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire
order of mercy to you. I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at
your feet, humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have,
wholly to yourself as your possession and property. Please make of me,
of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity,
whatever most pleases you.
If it pleases you, use all that I am and
have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She
will crush your head,” and “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the
whole world.” Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and
merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum
in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as
far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
For wherever you enter you obtain the grace of conversion and growth
in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us
from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
V. Allow me to praise you, O Sacred Virgin
R. Give me strength against your enemies.
As stated previously, “we may consecrate ourselves to the Immaculata in various ways and
this consecration may be formulated in different words; indeed, a simple
interior act of the will is sufficient, since in this is included the
essence of our consecration to the Immaculata.
(To contemplate each line of Maximilian’s act of consecration, see: http://missionimmaculata.com/index.php/marian-spirituality-consecration/what-is-consecration)
In living out your consecration, please consider making these devotions suggested in making your solemn Consecration a part of your daily life – in particular daily Mass and frequent confession, as well as these charitable dispositions perscribed by St. Maximilian Kolbe in order to experience a taste of paradise here on earth (KW 1065):
“Paradise was described even better by the man who, in this life, was plucked up to it for a short time: by St. Paul, who says: “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9). It is a description even closer to the truth, because it shows the infinite difference between the ideas that we hold about heaven and its reality. However, those who, here on earth, have had the chance to enjoy a small foretaste of paradise should be able to form an idea of what it will be like. And anyone may achieve that. One need only approach Confession with sincerity and great care, with deep sorrow for sins and firm resolve to make amends. Then they will immediately experience a peace and a happiness compared to which all the fleeting but dishonest pleasures of the world are, rather, loathsome torments.
Let everyone come to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament with a good preparation; let them never allow their souls to remain in sin, but purify them right away. Let them perform all their duties well; raise humble and frequent prayers to the throne of God, especially through the hands of Mary Immaculate. Let them also embrace their brothers with charitable hearts, enduring suffering and difficulties for God’s sake. Let them do good to everyone, including their enemies, only for the love of God and not in order to be praised or thanked by men. Then they shall realize what it means to have a foretaste of heaven and find peace and happiness even in poverty, in suffering, in disgrace, in sickness.”
I pray these eight days of preparation, culminating today in our Total Consecration (on the ninth day) have been a grace to you.
Maximilian – has been a great gift to me and I see myself reading and rereading it each year.
pray these articles help us to live our Total Consecration more fully – by
helping us to more completely abandon ourselves to God through Mary – at
each moment of our lives.
St. Maximilian, be with us and intercede for us
to become great saints in and through Mary, our advocate – and so help
bring the Kingdom of God to countless souls. We ask this in Jesus’s
Name. Amen.
© Janet Moore 2019. All Rights Reserved.
I compiled much of today’s post from these sources:
http://missionimmaculata.com/index.php/marian-spirituality-consecration/how-to-make-your-consecration-to-mary
http://missionimmaculata.com/index.php
http://missionimmaculata.com/images/Documents/St-Maximilian-Kolbe-Novena-Militia-of-the-Immaculata-USA.pdf
https://saintmaximiliankolbe.com/distinctivefeatures/
https://saintmaximiliankolbe.com/faqs/
The following is additional information for reflection to utilize if interested:
SELECT the date on which you want your name
recorded in the official register of the MI, preferably a Marian feast
day, enroll online at missionimmaculata.com
- January 1 Solemnity of the Mother of God
- February 11 Our Lady of Lourdes
- March 25 Annunciation
- May 13 Our Lady of Fatima
- May 31 Visitation
- Monday after Pentecost Sunday, Mary Mother of the Church
- June 27 Our Lady of Perpetual Help
- July 16 Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
- August 15 Assumption
- August 22 Queenship of Mary
- September 8 Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- September 15 Our Lady of Sorrows
- October 7 Our Lady of the Rosary
- November 21 Presentation of Mary
- December 8 Immaculate Conception
- December 12 Our Lady of Guadalupe
THE KNIGHTS AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS (KFC) is an
outreach within the MI movement, comprised of Catholics afflicted by the
cross of suffering – physical, spiritual or emotional. As MI members,
KFCs consecrate themselves to Mary. As did Mary at the Cross of her Son,
they also participate in “redemptive suffering” (also called
sacrificial or reparational suffering). This means they offer some of
their daily prayers and trials to Jesus and Mary, who apply these gifts
where grace is needed most, such as to convert hearts and save souls, to
make amends for the sins of others, and ultimately to bring about the
reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
KFCs especially offer up their difficulties for the success of the
Ml. They thus become a special core group or vanguard within the
movement. Though often unable to actively evangelize because of
infirmity, nonetheless KFCs generate untold graces as they link their
sufferings with those of Christ. Through the intercession of Mary, they
offer up all to the Father as a “sacrifice of praise.”
Supernaturally, KFCs are perhaps the most important members of the MI – a spiritual powerhouse.
How was the KFC Started?
ENVISIONED EARLlER in the writings of St. Maximilian
Kolbe, the KFC was founded May 31, 1983. On the feast of Mary’s
Visitation, six teenaged and sick Conventual Franciscan friars, all MI
members, decided to make use of their ailments and encourage others to
do the same.
Sensing a good idea, the friars asked, “Why not harvest the immense
reparational potential within the suffering MI community at large?” Thus
a spiritual vanguard was formed: individuals no longer isolated or
frustrated in sickness or agedness, working in solidarity for the
conversion of the entire world. The very first Knight at the Foot of the
Cross was Fr. Simeon Kaczmarek, OFM CONV. Bedridden for two years with
cancer, Father offered his pain and prayers for the KFC cause while it
was still being organized.
Theology of Redemptive Suffering
SACRIFICIAL SUFFERING is a rich Christian
faith expression, modeled after Christ himself It is a partial answer to
the age-old question, “Why does God allow human suffering?”
The Church has always taught that physical pain, mental distress,
even minor annoyances, are not meaningless but are meant to be put to
valuable use. As Jesus used the anguish of his Passion and the agony of
Calvary to accomplish our salvation, so do our sufferings have
supernatural value when joined to His Cross. By willingly accepting our
struggles and presenting them back to God as a “burnt offering” for the
intentions of others, we cooperate with Christ and become real
participators in the mystery of his saving act.
Mary and Maximilian: Models of Reparational Suffering
Mary Immaculate is a special model of reparational suffering.
Standing at the Cross in interior distress, her soul “pierced by a
sword” (Lk 2:35), she offered all to the Father in a silent, “Thy will
be done.” She invites us, and strengthens us, to do the same through our
MI consecration as a KFC.
St. Maximilian Kolbe also is a model of reparational suffering.
Imprisoned at the Auschwitz death camp, Maximilian “emptied himself” for
the Gospel (Phil 2:7). He shared his meager food and water with fellow
prisoners while tending to their spiritual needs. He persevered in
charity toward his Nazi captors though they singled him out for special
brutalities as a Catholic priest. He willingly endured the torture of
the starvation bunker by taking the place of another prisoner. In this
way, Maximilian became “another Christ,” laying down his life for
another.
According to St. John Paul II, St. Maximilian’s holy example has made
him a sign and a prophet of the new era, the civilization of love.”
Knights at the Foot of the Cross Consecration Prayer
O IMMACULATA, queen of heaven and earth, health of
the sick, and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the
entire order of mercy to you. You stood at the foot of the Cross,
uniting your self with the sufferings of Jesus, and so you became for
all the Church a model of compassion.
I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet, humbly
imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself
as your possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of
soul and body, of my daily sufferings and crosses, of my whole life,
death and eternity, whatever most pleases you.
If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly
to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head, and “You
alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world.” Through my
prayers and sufferings, let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate
and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the
maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help, to
extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart
of Jesus. For wherever you enter you obtain the grace of conversion and
growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come
to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus
V. Allow me to praise you, 0 Sacred Virgin.
R. Give me strength against your enemies
Prayer of KFC Consecration Daily Renewal Prayer
IMMACULATA, Mother of the Church, I renew my
self-consecration to you as a “Knight at the Foot of the Cross.” I
desire to magnify the Lord with you this day in a special way by
offering you my sufferings. Joined with you in faith at the foot of
Christ’s Cross, may I ever be an unselfish instrument for the spread of
the Militia of the Immaculata movement and the growth of the Church.
Amen.
O MARY conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.
THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL owes its origins to the
apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the chapel of the Rue du Bac,
Paris, in 1830. She appeared to Catherine of Laboiuré, showing the young
nun and future canonized saint the design of a medal that serves as a
mini-catechism of the Church’s teaching on Our Lady.
In a vision, Mary stood on a globe with brilliant light streaming
from her jeweled fingers. “Behold the symbol of graces shed upon those
who ask for them,” she said, representing herself as Mediatrix of All
Graces. Surrounding her a banner read, “O Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to you,” symbolizing her Immaculate
Conception. The vision reversed, showing the letter “M” entwined with a
cross above the Sacred Hearts. This image represents Mary as
Co-redemptrix, a unique participator in Jesus’ saving act of
redemption.
Millions of medals have been distributed and untold graces given “to
those who wear it around the neck” as the Virgin promised to St.
Catherine.
Lastly, here are answers to frequently asked questions regarding Total Consecration according to Maximilian Kolbe if you’re interested:
“According to the traditional definition Consecration to Mary
consists in “offering oneself entirely to Mary, in order, through Her,
to belong totally to Jesus. This consecration implies a complete and
never-ending dedication of ourselves to the Blessed Virgin (all that we
are and have) and a generous and total dependence on Her.” (Fr. Luigi
Faccenda, “One More Gift: Total Consecration to the Immaculata According to the Spirituality of St. Maximilian Kolbe”,West Covina, CA: Immaculata Press, P. 31)
2. What does it mean to give oneself to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Immaculate?
When we give ourselves to Our Lady, it means “we offer to Mary our
soul with all its powers and faculties: affections, memory, intellect,
will and freedom. We offer to Her our material goods, both present and
future. We give Her our spiritual goods which means our merits, virtues,
and past, present and future good works.” (Faccenda, p. 32)
3. How does Total Consecration relate to the ordinary duties of a Catholic?
When we were baptized, we renounced Satan and all his evil works
(through our godparents) and consecrated ourselves to Jesus Christ.
Through both Baptism and Confirmation, we promised to live according to
the Commandments and the teachings of the Church. Jesus told us:”You
must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt. 5:48) St. Paul
reminds us: “For this the will of God, your sanctification.” (Eph. 1
:4)
When we totally consecrate ourselves to the Immaculate we are able to
live out these baptismal vows more perfectly. In trustingly and
lovingly becoming Her instruments, allow her to guide us every moment of
our lives in order that She may mould us more and more into the image
of her first-born son.
4. What dispositions are needed on the part of those who consecrate themselves to Our Lady?
According to St. Maximilian Kolbe anyone who consecrates oneself to
Our Lady should be a “docile instrument” in Her hands. They should
recall from the “Solemn Act of Consecration” that they are her “property
and possession”. They should be willing to sacrifice themselves for Her
as did St. Maximilian when he invited his friars to come to the
missions with him for Our Lady: “Come with us to die of hunger, of
fatigue, of humiliations, and of suffering for the Immaculate!”
5. What does it mean to be the “property and possession” of
the Immaculate according to St. Maximilian in his prayer of
Consecration?
To be the “property and possession” of the Immaculate it means that
we belong entirely to Her as Her possession. We are Hers, according to
St. Maximilian, even more so than a slave; a slave has rights. We have
given her ourselves, all the “powers of soul and body”, our “whole life,
death and eternity,” and “whatever pleases You.” In return, Our Lady
will take us as Her “property and possession” and make sure that all our
works, prayers, and virtues are pleasing to God. Because She is our
Mediatrix with Her Son Jesus, all that we do for Her will be increased
to the maximum for Her glory and the salvation of “many strayed and
indifferent souls” for the spread of the “Kingdom of the Most Sacred
Heart of Jesus.”…