Q&A: Would a consecration to Mary even be appropriate in light of this consecration to Christ?

In the eyes of Saint Louis de Montfort, there is no such thing as a consecration to Jesus which is not – at least implicitly – a consecration to Mary. And it would be nothing short of blasphemous to speak of a consecration to Mary which excludes Jesus.

The first statement: It is impossible to consecrate ourselves to Jesus without at least implicitly consecrating ourselves to Our Lady. It would be easier, says Saint Louis de Montfort, to separate the light from the sun than to separate Jesus from Mary. She is not only His virginal Mother, but even more importantly, she is the one whose “ Yes” at the Annunciation brought Him into the world. God in His impenetrable wisdom wills that the Eternal Word should become flesh upon the consent of Mary. The Second Person of the Trinity becomes our incarnate Redemption through the loving, freely – willed, salvific “fiat” of this woman. As scripture testifies (cf Lk 1—2), this is the plan of redemption and there is no other.

In consecrating ourselves to Jesus, we are consecrating ourselves to the “real” Jesus who is always and everywhere the Son of Mary and the fruit of her faith. What you have done implicitly in your consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Saint Louis de Montfort would advise you to do explicitly. Recognize that Jesus alone is the final goal of your consecration, recognize that Jesus as the enfleshed Word of God is to be adored. And in that one act of total consecration to the Heart of Christ, worship Jesus who is fruit not only of Mary’s womb but also of her loving consent. Recall that Montfort insists that there are not “two” consecrations, one to Jesus and another to Mary. It is impossible to consecrate ourselves to Jesus without at one and the same time—even if it be done only implicitly – consecrating ourselves to Mary his Mother, the cosmic Yes which opened earth to receive this infinite Gift of God.

The second statement: It is nothing short of blasphemous to speak of a consecration to Mary and exclude Jesus. Is there any truth that Montfort stresses more than the absolute centrality of Jesus? I believe not. Consecration in its strict meaning is an act of adoration, and only God can be adored. Keeping to this strict sense, a consecration to Mary, therefore, can only mean a worship of Jesus the Son of Mary. And even if we understand consecration in its broad sense as a request for her protection and intercession, it still must be held that the ultimate reason for such an act is so that we may be more intensely one with Jesus the Lord.

The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has declared in Crossing the Threshold of Hope, that it is Saint Louis de Montfort who taught him that all devotion to Mary is “Christocentric,” i.e., centered on Jesus Christ the Lord. Montfort also teaches that the more we explicitly acknowledge the role of Mary, even if it be done in a split-second, the more intensely we unite ourselves to Jesus who is ours because Mary has opened the doors of this sinful universe to His Glory.