The Queen: Articles:
Consecration Aids
Originally Published: May 1950
Author: Fr. Lucien Ledoux, SMM
This is the first of a series of articles covering Consecration Aids.
A Challenge
HAVE YOU GRASPED the full meaning of your consecration? Has your devotion to Mary meant a change in your life? Do you still think the same thoughts, do the same things? Have you tried to make yours Mary’s kindness, Mary’s devotion to duty well done, Mary’s spirit of moderation and sacrifice in your moments of fun and relaxation? 1s Mary’s prudence your line of conduct in choosing your books, your movies, your friends? Would you take Our Lady to your favorite amusement spots? Do you make light of self-discipline, self-denial in little things? Are you earnestly endeavoring to adopt Mary’s ideas, her principles?
In short, has it ever occurred to you that your consecration to Jesus through Mary is A CHALLENGE? And have you taken it up heart and soul?
Surface Devotees
There are many followers of Our Lady; but, sadly enough, few turn out to be sincere imitators of her virtues. Many embrace the exterior practices of this Holy Slavery of Jesus and Mary, but few there are who enter into its interior spirit and still fewer who persevere in it.
Some people always seem to stop at the surface of things. They are enthralled by the crimson beauty of a waning sunset. And yet, gratitude to the Divine Artist will never so much as enter their minds‘ The celebration of Our Lord’s feast days, Easter for instance, means nothing more to them than sparkling, triumphant music. or a dazzling, breath-taking display of flowers. They will even count the lilies on the altar, and voice their approval of the beautiful vestments worn by the priest, that day. But, as for the all important lesson of a rebirth in Christ, which is the ever recurring leit-motif of the epistle, the gospel and the other prayers of this wonderful mass, that inevitably escapes their notice.
The True Devotion is treated in somewhat the same way by many would-be slaves of love of Our Lady. They are so concerned about the externals of this devotion taught by St. Louis Mary de Montfort, that they fail to grasp its spirit. They will inquire about the exact number of days to be spent in preparing themselves for their consecration, what the precise formula should be, what prayers they should recite, whether they are bound to say the Magnificat every day. etc. These secondary aspects of the True Devotion are important. They are by no means to be treated lightly or brushed aside as “mere externals.” However they should not be overemphasized. They do not affect the substance of this devotion. The great difficulty lies not in adopting, but rather in persisting in this attitude of constant dependence on Mary.
This challenge of the True Devotion to our sense of self—sufhciency is not understood as it should be. This is due, in great part, to a superficial knowledge of what this consecration implies.
A New Way of Life
Need I tell you, dear Slave of Mary, that your consecration opens for you a new way of life? Surely you have already realized that your consecration is not a mere passing donation, a self-surrender of an hour, a day, a week or a month. You have given yourself to Mary, as her slave of love, ”for time and eternity.”
To practice True Devotion, to remain true to your consecration, you must not be content with merely repeating its formula. You must live and act as Mary would in your place. The spirit of this True DevotiOn to Our Lady is to make you depend on her every moment of the day. To renew your consecration daily, many times a day, is surely commendable. But to think this is the best service you can give Mary is a sad illusion. Meditate upon these words of St. Louis Mary de Montfort, they will give you the clue to what I mean.
“It is not enough to have given ourselves once as slaves of Jesus through Mary. Nor is it enough to renew that consecration every month, or every week or every day. That alone would not make this a permanent devotion, nor could it bring the soul to that degree of to which it is capable of raising it. It is not very difficult to enroll ourselves in a confernity (The Association of Mary, Queen of All Hearts), nor to practice this in as far as it prescribes in saying a few vocal prayers every day; but the great difficulty is to enter into its spirit. Now its spirit consists in this, that we be interiorly dependent on Mary; that we be slaves of Mary and through her, Jesus.” (Secret of Mary, no. 44)
Total Dependence
Ponder over the Mystery of the Incarnation. There you will find Jesus captive and slave in the womb of Mary, totally dependent on His Mother for every breath of life. This mystery is a perfect illustration of your new way of life. The Model set up for your imitation in your total surrender and continuous dependence on Mary, is none other than Jesus, the Son of Mary. Your consecration does not demand additional prayers; it entails this new way of life as you see it portrayed in this adorable mystery.
It would have you realize that you no longer belong to yourself but to Mary, and consequently, that you must depend on her for everything you do, the way you do it, and the reason why you should do it. You must train yourself to think in terms of total dependence on Our Lady. That is why you must accustom yourself to see life, with its moments of pleasure and diversion, as well as its long, dreary hours of duty, as your service of Mary, Our Queen. You are Mary’s slave of love“ you know. You can therefore have no desire of your own. Your one wish must be to serve and please Mary as best you can. By your consecration you have given up your right to a final decision. That is Mary’s privilege now.
Don’t Take Anything Back
Obviously there is no point in giving yourself to Our Lady, body and soul, then taking everything back when the time for action comes.
You have surrendered your body to Mary. The implication is that you are not free to use your eyes, for instance, as you may choose, but only as she, your Queen, would permit. Movies, best-sellers, up-to-date, top-notch magazines must he submitted to her for approval. In like manner, your conversation and your general behavior must become daily more like Mary’s. You must learn to say the things Our Lady would say in your place, to meet discourtesy with a smile, sorrow with a word of understanding and sympathy, discouragement with the needed wholesome advice. Your speech must mirror a soul that is steeped in humility, kindness and love of God.
Yes, you are Mary’s own and as such, you must reproduce in your walk of life the God-winning ways of your Mother, Mary.
