I would suggest anyone interested in consecration to Jesus through Mary to read St. Louis de Monfort's True Devotion to Mary.
Cathy Nolan writing on the message this month was wonderful{as usual}. I will leave a link at the bottom to De Monfort's writings, which also has his consecration.
J.M.J
October 27, 2014
Dear Family of Mary!
"Dear children! Pray in this time of grace and seek the intercession of all the saints who are already in the light. From day to day may they be an example and encouragement to you on the way of your conversion. Little children, be aware that your life is short and passing. Therefore, yearn for eternity and keep preparing your hearts in prayer. I am with you and intercede before my Son for each of you, especially for those who have consecrated themselves to me and to my Son. Thank you for having responded to my call." (October 25, 2014)
We are five days away from All Saints Day! This is the day we celebrate all our predecessors who have entered into eternity and are beholding the face of God! They are interceding for us and loving us from heaven, and we are longing to join them there. What a day of joy!
Our Lady's message is very meaningful in that regard. She calls us to not waste this time of grace but to seek the intercession of all the saints. I would like to propose that for the next 5 days we would focus on the saints together, using them as an example and encouragement on the way of conversion, and asking their intercession. In this way we will receive a deeper yearning for eternal life.
I prayed to St. Louis de Montfort for help in finding a structure for this time of prayer, and I opened to n.115 of True Devotion to Mary. It contains a list of interior practices to help us live our consecration to Mary. And I realized that these practices could help us to prepare for All Saints Day, because Mary is the most exalted of all saints and she can help us the most to convert and prepare for eternity. I further realized there are many saints who lived these practices and that they could be good examples for us of these interior practices. So I will try to move us through the list in the next 5 days!
St. Louis de Montfort wrote:
115. THERE are several interior practices of true devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Here are the principal of them stated compendiously.
§ 1. To honour her as the worthy Mother of God, with the worship of hyperdulia; that is to say, to esteem her and honour her above all the other Saints, as the masterpiece of grace, and the first after Jesus Christ, true God and true Man;
§ 2. To meditate her virtues, her privileges, and her actions;
§ 3. To contemplate her grandeurs;
§ 4. To make to her acts of love, of praise, of gratitude;
§ 5. To invoke her cordially;
§ 6. To offer ourselves to her, and unite ourselves with her;
§ 7. To do all our actions with the view of pleasing her;
§ 8. To begin, to continue, and to finish all our actions by her, in her, and with her, in order that we may do them by Jesus Christ, in Jesus Christ, with Jesus Christ, and for Jesus Christ our Last End. We will presently explain this last practice.
In § 1. St. Louis teaches us the right way to honor Our Lady. She is to be venerated (dulia) with a greater veneration (hyperdulia) than all the other saints because she is the Mother of God. But she is not to be adored (latria) which is reserved only for God. Here is a good definition of hyperdulia, (from Fr. John Hardon).
Hyperdulia
The special veneration due to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is substantially less than the cultus latria (adoration), which is due to God alone. But it is higher than the cultus dulia (veneration), due to angels and other saints. As the Church understands the veneration of Mary, it is to be closely associated but subordinated to that of her Son. "The various forms of piety towards the Mother of God, which the Church has approved within the limits of sound and orthodox doctrine according to the dispositions and understanding of the faithful, ensure that while the mother is honored, the Son through whom all things have their being and in whom it has pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell, is rightly loved and glorified and His commandments are observed" (Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, VII, 66). (Etym. Latin hyperdulia, virtue of deep submission.) All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission. (found at
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05188b.htm )
How do we live out such honor for our Mother Mary? St Louis would say it is through total consecration to Mary. His True Devotion is a treatise on how to live our consecration to Mary in such a way that we honor her properly and live with her as our most trusted guide to Jesus.
I believe that Our Lady's presence in Medjugorje is the gift of the Father in these days so that we can live our consecration to her to its fullest. We honor Mary by giving ourselves to her completely, in trust and love, so that she can lead us to Jesus.
Let us pray:
St. Louis De Montfort's Prayer to Mary
Hail Mary, beloved Daughter of the Eternal Father! Hail Mary, admirable Mother of the Son! Hail Mary, faithful spouse of the Holy Ghost! Hail Mary, my dear Mother, my loving Mistress, my powerful sovereign! Hail my joy, my glory, my heart and my soul! Thou art all mine by mercy, and I am all thine by justice. But I am not yet sufficiently thine. I now give myself wholly to thee without keeping anything back for myself or others. If thou still seest in me anything which does not belong to thee, I beseech thee to take it and to make thyself the absolute Mistress of all that is mine. Destroy in me all that may be displeasing to God, root it up and bring it to nought; place and cultivate in me everything that is pleasing to thee.
May the light of thy faith dispel the darkness of my mind; may thy profound humility take the place of my pride; may thy sublime contemplation check the distractions of my wandering imagination; may thy continuous sight of God fill my memory with His presence; may the burning love of thy heart inflame the lukewarmness of mine; may thy virtues take the place of my sins; may thy merits be my only adornment in the sight of God and make up for all that is wanting in me. Finally, dearly beloved Mother, grant, if it be possible, that I may have no other spirit but thine to know Jesus and His divine will; that I may have no other soul but thine to praise and glorify the Lord; that I may have no other heart but thine to love God with a love as pure and ardent as thine I do not ask thee for visions, revelations, sensible devotion or spiritual pleasures. It is thy privilege to see God clearly; it is thy privilege to enjoy heavenly bliss; it is thy privilege to triumph gloriously in Heaven at the right hand of thy Son and to hold absolute sway over angels, men and demons; it is thy privilege to dispose of all the gifts of God, just as thou willest.
Such is, O heavenly Mary, the "best part," which the Lord has given thee and which shall never be taken away from thee-and this thought fills my heart with joy. As for my part here below, I wish for no other than that which was thine: to believe sincerely without spiritual pleasures; to suffer joyfully without human consolation; to die continually to myself without respite; and to work zealously and unselfishly for thee until death as the humblest of thy servants. The only grace I beg thee to obtain for me is that every day and every moment of my life I may say: Amen, so be it's all that thou didst do while on earth; Amen, so be it's all that thou art now doing in Heaven; Amen, so be it-to all that thou art doing in my soul, so that thou alone mayest fully glorify Jesus in me for time and eternity. Amen.
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2014
http://totalconsecration.ageofmary.com/Tell them to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, since God has entrusted it to her.
Saint Jacinta of Fatima
