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Consecration Aids: 28: Minimum For Mary
Fr. Christopher Lee, SMM
Minimum For Mary
N OT so long ago, I read a Marian slogan which I thought quite clever. If I am not mistaken, it is the brainchild of a student from the College of St. Rose, Albany, N.Y. I’d like to share it with you since it may well be applied to Holy Slavery.
The slogan is this: THE MINIMUM FOR MARY.
In other words, the least you can do for Mary! Translating this catch-word into action, the Mariology Commission of said college drew up an eight-point program constituting what, in their own eyes, was the minimum a student could do for Mary during the Marian Year. A cursory glance at the program should serve to convince anyone that these students don’t pussyfoot with devotion to Our Lady. They mean business ! Here’s what I mean.
- Frequentation of the Sacraments
- One extra Mass a week
- Confession twice a month
- Daily visit to the Blessed Sacrament
- Daily Rosary (preferably family Rosary)
- Perpetual Rosary
- Daily meditation – which includes mental prayer, examination of conscience or meditation on the Mysteries of the Rosary
- Contribution to student lay apostolate
And they called this THE MINIMUM FOR MARY. Don’t you agree that this was a splendid program of action for Jesus through Mary? . . . and a solid one too!
For a slave of Mary, of course, it should be THE MAXIMUM FOR MARY. But then again did it ever occur to you that the minimum and the maximum coincide in Holy Slavery?
Two Ways to Look at Holy Slavery
In other words, there are two ways of looking at Holy Slavery. One is to ask: what are the minimum requirements for a person to be a good slave of Jesus and Mary? The other, to ask: what is the most we can do for Mary? Strangely enough the answer to both these questions is identically the same. It can be formulated thus: for a slave of Mary everything should be done for Jesus and Mary. That is the maximum and the minimum required.
That means that a person consecrated to Jesus through Mary, in Holy Slavery, cannot say, for example: ”I’m going to do just so much for Jesus and Mary, today; the rest I’m going to do for myself!” And the reason is obvious: total consecration to Mary is a way of life which should take up the whole of man’s life, and not only a part of it. It’s a way of life for life! ”You mean, from the moment I open my eyes in the morning to the time I ‘konk out’ at night, I’ll have to offer everything to Jesus through Mary?” Johnny asked incredulously. ”I really don’t see how a fellow can ever remember every time, Father, ” he went on with an air of discouragement.
”You don’t have to remember it all the time, John,” I said, ”particularly when you are just beginning to practice Holy Slavery. St. Louis de Montfort tells us that we need not actually think of it every time. It is sufficient to do so before our more important actions of the day. And even then it doesn’t have to be with a distinct thought of Our Lady. ”
Author: Fr. Christopher Lee, SMM
This is the Twenty-eighth in a series of articles covering Consecration Aids.
there are two ways of looking at Holy Slavery. One is to ask: what are the minimum requirements for a person to be a good slave of Jesus and Mary? The other, to ask: what is the most we can do for Mary? Strangely enough the answer to both these questions is identically the same. It can be formulated thus: for a slave of Mary everything should be done for Jesus and Mary. That is the maximum and the minimum required.
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”What do you mean, Father, by ’not a distinct thought?’ You mean just a vague thought of Our Lady – like the foggy thoughts we have on getting up in the early morning ?”
”Not exactly, John,” I chuckled. ”When I say not necessarily by a distinct thought, I mean an actual thought, as when you are actually thinking of someone you love. Now, a thought may be indistinct without being ‘foggy,’ John. Take for instance the thought of death for a soldier on a battlefield. When the soldier is out there fighting, he may momentarily forget danger and even death. Yet one can readily understand that the very tenseness of the atmosphere around him is enough to make him instinctively cautious of his every move. The thought of death to him may be indistinct, in such moments, but no one will deny that that same thought is influencing his every move.”
”In other words, Father, ” Johnny was catching on quickly, ”even though we do not actually think of Our Lady in each and every one of our actions, the fact that it is our general intention to offer all our actions to Jesus through her is sufficient for her to have an influence on all of them.”
”That’s right, John. And, of course, the more often you will think of Our Lady in your actions, the greater that influence will be. But, like in anything else, you must begin with a minimum, the minimum for Mary – that’s about all we mortals can ever hope to do for her anyway!”
”We do the minimum for Mary and she does the maximum for us ! Right, Father?” the young man said with an air of triumph. ”A perfect slogan for Holy Slavery, ” I concluded. ”The minimum for Mary means the maximum for you !” How about making this your slogan dear reader? . . . and, of course, your way of life for life.
