Marian Consecration

Marian consecration is a personal act of devotion in which persons entrust themselves entirely to the Blessed Virgin Mary (uniquely fashioned by the grace of God) in order to belong more fully to Jesus through her. St. Louis de Montfort called Mary the “mold of God,” the form through which Christ was shaped in the Incarnation. To pour ourselves into her is to be shaped into Christ and maternally guided by the one among us who knew Him more intimately than any other.

Baptism incorporates one as a member of Christ’s mystical body and an offspring of the Woman (Rev 12).  This Marian consecration ratifies that covenant and entrusts oneself to Our Lady’s patronage to fulfill it.  Whereas paradise was lost by disobedience, the New Eve stands as the exemplar of belief and obedience (“Let it be done to me …”).

Because that’s how God Himself chose to come to us. Jesus came into the world through Mary in the Incarnation. When we go to Jesus through Mary, we are choosing the most God-ordained path.

Do not let anyone fool you: Mary’s role is always to lead us more fully to her Son. She is not the destination (end), but the most faithful guide (means).

No. Marian consecration is not a vow in the canonical sense, nor does it bind under pain of sin. It is a private spiritual act of love and trust, not a juridical obligation. However, it is serious and should be made thoughtfully, as it expresses one’s full intention to live for Christ in imitation of Mary’s virtues.

The Rosary is a powerful prayer and meditation on the life of Christ. Marian consecration, by contrast, is a total entrustment of self – body, soul, merits, and will – to Jesus through Mary. Most people find that consecration enhances their devotion to the Rosary, Eucharist, and the Church.

They are not in competition – they are mutually enriching.

Yes – enthusiastically. Marian consecration by Montfort’s reflection and design has been promoted by saints and endorsed by many popes:

• Blessed Pope Pius IX (1846–78): Declared that Saint Louis De Montfort’s devotion to Mary was the best and most acceptable form of devotion to Our Lady.
• Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903): Granted a Plenary Indulgence to those who make Saint Louis De Montfort’s act of consecration to the Blessed Virgin. On his deathbed he renewed the act himself and invoked the heavenly aid of Saint Louis De Montfort, whom he had beatified in 1888.
• Saint Pope Pius X (1903–14): “I heartily recommend True Devotion to The Blessed Virgin, so admirably written by De Montfort, and to all who read it grant the Apostolic Benediction.” … “There is no surer or easier way than Mary in uniting all men with Christ.”
• Pope Benedict XV (1914–22): “A book of high authority and unction.”
• Pope Pius XI (1922–39): “I have practiced this devotion ever since my youth.”
• Venerable Pope Pius XII (1939–58): “God alone was everything to him. Remain faithful to the precious heritage, which this great saint left you. It is a glorious inheritance, worthy, that you continue to sacrifice your strength and your life, as you have done until today.”
• Saint Pope Paul VI (1963–78): “We are convinced without any doubt that devotion to Our Lady is essentially joined with devotion to Christ, that it assures a firmness of conviction to faith in Him and in His Church, a vital adherence to Him and to His Church which, without devotion to Mary, would be impoverished and compromised.”
• Saint Pope John Paul II (1978–2005): “The reading of this book was a decisive turning-point in my life. I say ‘turning point,’ but in fact it was a long inner journey … This ‘perfect devotion’ is indispensable to anyone who means to give himself without reserve to Christ and to the work of redemption.” … “It is from Montfort that I have taken my motto: ‘Totus tuus’ (‘I am all thine’). Someday I’ll have to tell you Montfortians how I discovered De Montfort’s Treatise on True Devotion to Mary, and how often I had to reread it to understand it.”
• Second Vatican Council (1962–1965): ‘The maternal duty of Mary toward men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. All her saving influence on men originates not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure. It flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power from it.’ … ‘The practices and exercises of devotion to her recommended by the Church in the course of the centuries [are to] be treasured.’ (Lumen Gentium).