Hi all. A few of us thought it would be a good time to consecrate (or reconsecrate ) ourselves to Our Lady. With so much going on in the world and within the Church, turning to our Mother is perhaps our best choice now. Thanks to Sam who first did this back in 2019 and posted all the days in link below. May I suggest that you use this link each day. I’m not technically astute to post each days readings. But I think this should still work I was also thinking perhaps we could figure out a weekly virtual get together if anyone knows how that could be done via Zoom or Teams. If interested send me a PM. At the least I can create a group chat and we can post reflections /thoughts there. So, we start on January 9th. And we conclude abs do our consecration on the feast of Our Lady of Lords. Our Lady will lead us into Lent! Peace. And thanks again Sam! https://motheofgod.com/threads/2019-forum-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary.13083/#post-237372
Yes with the help of dear God, I would love to join the preparation for Consecration to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary starting 9th January ready for 11th February in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes. Thank you miker.
I will wait to tomorrow and will start a group chat here and if interested people can share email that would be needed to set up video calls. If anyone is an expert in how these work, let me know
Is tomorrow day 1? https://www.fisheaters.com/totalconsecrationmontfort.html I seem some proposed reading in that page. Example: The wonderful affects of this devotion: https://www.fisheaters.com/totalconsecrationbook7.html
Yes, as AED notes we start tomorrow and finish on feast of Our lady Of Lourdes. I am going to send out a group PM to those who have gotten back to me as a start. I will do my best to bump a reminder each day. I will foloow up with additional ideas on how we can do our best to make it as communal as possible. If anyone else wants to join, please let me know and i will add you in. Thanks all. Peace
Wow Well I probably won’t join the zoom group but I know i will try the Consecration It will be a renewal for me I can’t even remember how long ago I did this I used St Louis de Montfort Thanks for trying
Thank you Miker, for this uplifting effort. I too will participate and join you all in spirit, as I will be following in print. My iternet connection has been difficult lately. Bless you for doing this for us.
Fr. Michael Gaitely's 33 day preparation for consecration from 33 Days to Morning Glory Format: Week 1 — St. Louis de Montfort Week 2 — St. Maximillian Kolbe Week 3 — Blessed Mother Teresa Week 4 — St. Pope John Paul II Note - the full introduction for this book can be found on this thread: http://motheofgod.com/threads/33-day-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary.8329/ DAY 1: The Passionate Saint of Brittany This week, we'll focus on the example and words of the first great prophet of Marian consecration. We'll begin by learning about his life, and then we'll ponder the essential aspects of his Marian teaching. [Please note: We do not have space here to cover every essential element of de Montfort's teaching. Omitted elements will be covered in later weeks.] DAY 1 The Passionate Saint of Brittany Take a look at a map of France. Now notice something about its shape. See how one part sticks way out almost as if it were running away from the rest of the landmass, ready to dive off into the Celtic Sea? That jutting arm in the northwest of the country is called "Brittany," and that's where St. Louis de Montfort grew up. There's something special about Brittany that seems to have had an influence on St. Louis: its Celtic roots. Brittany is considered one of the six Celtic nations, meaning that the Celtic language and culture still survive. (So, scratch that part about Brittany being ready to dive into the Celtic Sea. It's already in and swimming.) And one part of Celtic culture seems to have seeped deeply into the heart of St. Louis: the high-spiritedness of its warriors. From ancient times, Celtic warriors have struck terror in the hearts of their enemies. If you've ever seen the movie Braveheart, you know what I mean. Think of the fearless figure of Sir William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson) and his crazy crew of Scottish Highlanders who take on an English enemy many times their size. This shows something of the Celtic fighting spirit, but the real life version is even more intense. Often wearing nothing but blue battle paint, real Celtic warriors would work themselves into a blood-thirsty frenzy, rush into combat screaming their heads off, and wildly slash, bash, and slice away at their enemies with huge, two-handed swords. These fierce fighting men, despite their lack of discipline, armor, and order, were extremely effective in battle because of their unmatched passion and ferocity. Throughout history, nobody has wanted to mess with the crazy Celtic warriors. St. Louis's dad, Jean Grignion, must have been descended from these wild-men warriors, for nobody wanted to mess with him either. In fact, he was known for having the most fiery temper in all of Brittany. As one author puts it, "He was a volcano frequently erupting." St. Louis, on the other hand, was as gentle as a lamb, right? Wrong. He confessed that his temper was just as bad as his father's. But Louis channeled his fiery passion not to threats and violence but to laboring for the greater Glory of God — well, except for the time he knocked out a couple of drunks who wouldn't stop heckling him while he preached. We can get a better sense of Louis's remarkable zeal if we reflect on his short but incredibly productive priestly life. When he died in 1716, St. Louis was just 43 years old, having been a priest for only 16 years. Tireless labors to bring souls to Jesus through Mary, especially by his preaching an endless succession of parish missions, brought about his early death. As if these life-sapping labors weren't suffering enough, Louis had to bear vicious persecution from the clergy and Jansenist heretics,10 even to the point of being physically attacked and poisoned by them. Despite all this, our indomitable warrior kept advancing on the battlefield, continuously preaching his trademark path to Jesus through Mary. In fact, when leaders in the Church in France thought they had put an end to his work, Louis walked the thousand-mile journey to Rome and asked the Pope for his wisdom and counsel. The Pope not only told him to go back to France and continue preaching but awarded him the title "Apostolic Missionary." Obediently and joyfully, our saint returned to France where he continued to preach, write, and patiently bear his many sufferings out of love for Jesus, Mary, and souls. St. Louis's passion and zeal lit a fire in a young Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope John Paul II. A few years before his death, the Pope was able to realize a lifelong dream and visit de Montfort's tomb. He said on that occasion, "I am happy to begin my pilgrimage in France under the sign of this great figure. You know that I owe much to this saint, and to his True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin." Now what about us? Do we have a fire in our hearts as we begin this retreat? We should. Or at least we should strive for it. Desire and generosity are key ingredients to making a successful retreat. May Mary intercede for us, and may the Holy Spirit fill us with a passion to conscientiously make these days of retreat, despite any fatigue, distractions, or obstacles. And let's remember that what we may have to endure in terms of the discipline of prayer is nothing compared to what St. Louis went through, and he'll be interceding for us. Relying on his intercession and that of the Mother of God, let's resolve right now to dedicate ourselves to this retreat with the intensity and zeal of a Celtic warrior — though without all the face-paint and screaming. Today's Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary. Help me to make this retreat with generosity and zeal.