Totus Tuus

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We are familiar with the words, ‘TOTUS TUUS’ ( Totally Yours),  the  dearest quote  of  St Pope John Paul II. It was his apostolic motto as well. He always used it to demonstrate his total consecration to the Blessed Virgin. 

Readers would recall an  earlier article   narrating the importance of consecration  to the  Immaculate Heart of  the Blessed Virgin.  Since  then many people have elicited their interest in  consecrating their lives to  Mother Mary.  We  remember them all  in gratitude as it was their request  that prompted us to post this article detailing the preparation for the  Act of Consecration. However, the most important reason for releasing this  post is the realization  that  now we are  passing through the perils of end times as prophesied and  we need the  protection of  Mother Mary at this critical juncture, lest our enemy  lead us  astray in many ways.

Before proceeding further,  I would like to make  something clear. That  devotion to  Mary is in no way  superior to  the devotion to Jesus, nor does it  impede us from  coming  closer to him. On the  other hand, it complements, supplements  and augments  our  devotion to Jesus. In fact the only  goal of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is  to bring us closer to Jesus.

Why should we  take this circuitous route to reach  Jesus?  He is not an inaccessible person. Jesus was  the most accessible man  in  history. He never turned away any  person who approached him directly.  Then why through Mary?

Because she was instrumental in the  act of salvation at every stage. Right  from the moment she  granted her ‘FIAT’ to God’s will, to  her  innumerable sorrows in bringing up Jesus the sacrificial  lamb, to  her  journey accompanying Jesus to Golgotha, to the  hours she spent at the foot  of the cross where her son was   going through the  most excruciating pain, to the final commission she received from her son (“Woman, here is your son”), she stood by her son. If  Mary molded  Jesus, she  is the  apt  mold  for us too. If Holy Spirit is the  source of  all graces, then Mary is the distributor of those graces, because  she was  filled with  Holy Spirit from the moment of  her immaculate conception.

Consecration is  an attempt to  be like Mary and through her,  like  Jesus. It is no doubt, beyond our power, but with Mary’s intercession it is possible. For her intercession to  be  quick and effective we need to submit to her   everything  which belong to us.  Though the devotion  to the Blessed Virgin has its origin in the early centuries, it was St Louis de Montfort who raised it into a  form of special devotion through  Consecration. He  suggested a preparation lasting  33 days which concludes with the Act of Consecration   on  day 34.

Here I am attempting to  give  you a brief idea of how to proceed with  the preparation  for consecration. The following narration and quotes are  based on the famous book, ‘True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary’ authored by the saint. I strongly recommend you to read the book  to know more about  consecration.

St Louis de Montfort  suggests starting the preparation for  Consecration sufficiently early so that  the Act of Consecration  could be done on  any of the feast days of   the Blessed Virgin. For example, if you plan to do the Consecration on   the feast day of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary falling on 7th October, you need to  start the preparation on  4th September.

Louis de Montfort  arranges the preparation period of  33 days  into sections of days, each section with  its own prayers, and each  day having its own  readings  coming  from Sacred Scripture, ‘The Imitation of Christ’ (by Thomas a Kempis), and ‘True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary’. 

The first section is  a 12-day preparation period that focuses on  emptying oneself of the spirit of the world in penance and mortification. Praying the Veni Creator, the Ave Maris Stella, the Magnificat, and the Glory Be every day is suggested.

During these  12 days we should  examine our conscience, pray,  practice renouncement, mortification and purity of heart.  The first part of the preparation should be employed in casting off the spirit of the world

which is contrary to that of Jesus Christ. The spirit of the world consists essentially in the denial of the supreme dominion of God; a denial which is manifested in practice by sin and disobedience; thus it is principally opposed to the spirit of Christ, which is also that of Mary.

This  spirit of the world  manifests itself by the concupiscence of the flesh, by the concupiscence of the eyes and by the pride of life, and by disobedience to God’s laws and the abuse of created things. Its works are: sin in all forms, then all else by which the devil leads to sin; works which bring error and darkness to the mind, and seduction and corruption to the will. Its pomps are the splendor and the charms employed by the devil to render sin alluring in persons, places and things.

Next three sections consist of  7 days each,  with each week having a specific focus.

Theme for the  first week is ‘Knowledge of Self’.  During this period we should  concentrate on prayers, examinations, reflection, acts of renouncement of our own will, of contrition for our sins, of contempt of self, all performed at the feet of Mary, for it is from her that we hope for light to know ourselves. The Litany of the Holy Spirit, the Litany of Loreto (Marian Litany), and the Ave Maris Stella  that are to be  prayed  everyday help us in  understanding our true nature and where we stand in relation to God.

Theme for the  second week is ‘Knowledge of Mary’. During this period, we ask the Holy Spirit to help us better understand the Blessed Virgin; we pray the Litany of the Holy Spirit, the Litany of Loreto, the Ave Maris Stella, the prayer to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort, and 5 decades of the Rosary each day.

Acts of love, pious affection for the Blessed Virgin, imitation of her virtues, especially her profound humility, her lively faith, her blind obedience, her continual mental prayer, her mortification in all things, her surpassing purity,her ardent charity, her heroic patience, her angelic sweetness, and her divine wisdom:these are the “ten principal virtues of the Blessed Virgin”.

Theme for the  third week is  ‘Knowledge Of Jesus Christ’. During this period, we seek to better understand Christ through meditation and the Litany of the Spirit, the Ave Maris Stella, and the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, Montfort’s prayer to Jesus, and the prayer ‘O Jesus Living in Mary’.

Day 34:Day of Consecration

On the day of consecration, either fast, give alms, offer a candle, do some spiritual penance and approach consecration in the spirit of mortification. Now go for Confession (or, if that is not possible, go during the 8 days prior) and then receive Communion with the intention of giving yourself to Jesus, as a slave of love, by the hands of Mary.

Now pray the words of the consecration. Copy them and have them with you at church, read them after the Mass (preferably in front of the tabernacle), and sign your copy of the Act of Consecration.

Prayers and readings for each day as also the prayer of consecration for  the  final day are available in  the book “True Devotion  to the  Blessed Virgin Mary”.  Handbooks containing  the prayers and readings in a simpler form are also available in many languages. We request you to  make use of them in your preparation.

Let us  start the  preparation  for  a meaningful Consecration  to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary because our  hope is in her  promise; ‘IN THE END MY IMMACULATE HEART WILL TRIUMPH’. If her  Immaculate Heart is set to triumph, we are also to be  sharers in that great  victory over  Satan.

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