Preparing for Easter (Part 2): Stewarding the Gospel Message
Looking at St. Louis de Montfort and his devotion to Jesus and Mary
Photo by Nick Castelli on Unsplash
St. Louis de Montfort composed a very strict method of “total consecration” to Jesus through Mary. St. Louis de Montfort's method of devotion is known as "Total Consecration," "True Devotion," or "Holy Slavery." This method is below, with on-site links to all the necessary literature and prayers. He was always very pious and especially devoted to prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, He was ordained at age of 19, he gave away all he had and resolved to live on alms. He was ordained a priest in Paris, worked for some time as a hospital chaplain, but then came to devote his time to preaching -- a task he was extremely gifted at. He went on to found the Daughters of Wisdom -- an Order devoted to hospital work and educating poor girls -- and the Company of Mary (the Montfort Fathers), a missionary group of priests. It was his devotion to Mary, though, for which he is most remembered. What follows is the most generally accepted framework of his method of consecration.
Step one; First, read "True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin," written by St. Louis de Montfort himself and decide for certain whether to consecrate yourself to Jesus through Mary. Read carefully, and don't take this lightly; consecrating oneself has the character of a vow.
Step two; Now choose the date of a Marian Feast on which to make the consecration. Whichever Feast you choose will determine the date to begin a 33-day period of spiritual preparation, i.e., you follow spiritual exercises for 33 days, and the next day will be the Marian Feast on which you consecrate yourself.
Because most of our religious orders and confraternities follow the post-conciliar calendar, the optimal Marian Feasts which are the same on both the traditional and Novus Ordo calendars so that there will be no "issues" for traditionalists who decide to enroll in the confraternity associated with Montfort's Total Consecration.
Step three; Now begins the 33-day period of exercises. St. Louis-Marie breaks these days into sections of days, each section having its own prayers, and each particular day having its own brief readings with which to fill the mind for that day (the readings come from Sacred Scripture, "The Imitation of Christ," and "True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary"). Don't just read the readings, internalize them; don't let your lips just mouth the prayers, truly pray them.
First comes a 12-day preparation period that consists of emptying oneself of the spirit of the world in penance and mortification. For those 12 days, we pray the Veni Creator, the Ave Maris Stella, the Magnificat, and the Glory Be. Then follow 3 weeks, each week having a specific focus.
The first week focuses on offering up our prayers and devotions for the purpose of coming to understand ourselves and our sins; humility is the key, and the prayers the Litany of the Holy Ghost, the Litany of Loreto, and the Ave Maris Stella help us.
During the second week, we ask the Holy Ghost to help us better understand the Blessed Virgin; we pray the Litany of the Holy Ghost, the Litany of Loreto, the Ave Maris Stellis, the prayer to Mary by St. Louis-Marie, and 5 decades of the Holy Rosary each day for assistance.
During the third week, we seek to better understand Christ through meditation and the Litany of the Holy Ghost, the Ave Maris Stella, and the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Montfort's prayer to Jesus, and the prayer O Jesus Living in Mary.
The 34th day will be your day of consecration.
Step four; On the day of consecration, either fast, give alms, or offer a votive candle for the good of another (or all of the above); do some spiritual penance and approach consecration in the spirit of mortification.
Now go to your Confessor (or, if that is not possible, go during the 8 days prior) and then receive Communion with the intention of giving yourself to Jesus, as a slave of love, by the hands of Mary. Try to receive Communion per the method described in the Supplement of the book, "True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary" above.
Now pray the words of the consecration. Copy them and have them with you at church, read them after the Mass (in front of the tabernacle would be nice), and sign your copy of the Act of Consecration. I have prepared the Act of Consecration in pdf format for you to print out and sign, if you desire.
The words of consecration are:
O Eternal and incarnate Wisdom! O sweetest and most adorable Jesus! True God and true man, only Son of the Eternal Father, and of Mary, always virgin! I adore Thee profoundly in the bosom and splendors of Thy Father during eternity; and I adore Thee also in the virginal bosom of Mary, Thy most worthy Mother, in the time of Thine incarnation.
I give Thee thanks for that Thou hast annihilated Thyself, taking the form of a slave in order to rescue me from the cruel slavery of the devil. I praise and glorify Thee for that Thou hast been pleased to submit Thyself to Mary, Thy holy Mother, in all things, in order to make me Thy faithful slave through her. But, alas! Ungrateful and faithless as I have been, I have not kept the promises which I made so solemnly to Thee in my Baptism; I have not fulfilled my obligations; I do not deserve to be called Thy child, nor yet Thy slave; and as there is nothing in me which does not merit Thine anger and Thy repulse, I dare not come by myself before Thy most holy and august Majesty. It is on this account that I have recourse to the intercession of Thy most holy Mother, whom Thou hast given me for a mediatrix with Thee. It is through her that I hope to obtain of Thee contrition, the pardon of my sins, and the acquisition and preservation of wisdom.
Hail, then, O immaculate Mary, living tabernacle of the Divinity, where the Eternal Wisdom willed to be hidden and to be adored by angels and by men! Hail, O Queen of Heaven and earth, to whose empire everything is subject which is under God. Hail, O sure refuge of sinners, whose mercy fails no one. Hear the desires which I have of the Divine Wisdom; and for that end receive the vows and offerings which in my lowliness I present to thee.
I, N_____, a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy hands the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before. In the presence of all the heavenly court I choose thee this day for my Mother and Mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to thee the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God in time and in eternity.
Receive, O benignant Virgin, this little offering of my slavery, in honor of, and in union with, that subjection which the Eternal Wisdom deigned to have to thy maternity; in homage to the power which both of you have over this poor sinner, and in thanksgiving for the privileges with which the Holy Trinity has favored thee. I declare that I wish henceforth, as thy true slave, to seek thy honor and to obey thee in all things.
O admirable Mother, present me to thy dear Son as His eternal slave, so that as He has redeemed me by thee, by thee He may receive me! O Mother of mercy, grant me the grace to obtain the true Wisdom of God; and for that end receive me among those whom thou lovest and teachest, whom thou leadest, nourishest and protectest as thy children and thy slaves.
O faithful Virgin, make me in all things so perfect a disciple, imitator and slave of the Incarnate Wisdom, Jesus Christ thy Son, that I may attain, by thine intercession and by thine example, to the fullness of His age on earth and of His glory in Heaven. Amen.
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Sign your name here.
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Date
Step five; Once you have consecrated yourself to Jesus through Mary, live that consecration. St. Louis-Marie de Montfort recommended the following:
Keep praying to develop a "great contempt" for the spirit of this world
Maintain a special devotion to the Mystery of the Incarnation (e.g., through meditation; spiritual reading; focusing on Feasts centering around the Incarnation, such as the Annunciation and the Nativity, etc.)
Frequently recite the Ave, Rosary, and the Magnificat
Recite, every day if it is not inconvenient, the "Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin" -- a series of Paters, Aves, and Glorias -- one Ave for each star in the Virgin's Crown. St. Louis has a special way of praying the Little Crown, which is recommended.
Do everything through, with, in and for Mary for the sake of Jesus, with the prayer, "I am all thine Immaculate One, with all that I have: in time and in eternity" in your heart and on your lips
Associate yourself with Mary in a special way before, during, and after Communion (see Supplement of the book, "True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary" above)
Wear a little iron chain (around the neck, arm, waist, or ankle) as an outward sign and reminder of holy slavery. This practice is optional, but very recommended by St. Louis. The appearance of this chain is not further specified, but they can be purchased (search for "consecration chain") or homemade.
Renew the consecration once a year on the same date chosen above, and by following the same 33-day period of exercises. If desired, also renew the consecration monthly with the prayer, "I am all thine and all I have is thine, O dear Jesus, through Mary, Thy holy Mother."
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