Becoming Different

On this wonderful Marian Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, when many are consecrating themselves to Jesus through Mary, I thought it would be fitting to share something I learned from my own re-consecration last October. I was struck by the words of Fr. Don Hying, the day's presenter. He began by reading this passage from True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort:

"But who shall those servants, slaves and children of Mary be? They shall be the ministers of the Lord, who, like a burning fire, shall kindle the fire of divine love everywhere. They shall be 'like sharp arrows in the hand of the powerful' Mary to pierce her enemies. (Ps. 126:4). They shall be the sons of Levi, well purified by the fire of great tribulation, and closely adhering to God (1Cor. 6:17), who shall carry the gold of love in their heart, the incense of prayer in their spirit, and the myrrh of mortification in their body. They shall be everywhere the good odor of Jesus Christ to the poor and to the little, while at the same time, they shall be an odor of death to the great, to the rich and to the proud worldlings.

They shall be clouds thundering and flying through the air at the least breath of the Holy Spirit; who, detaching themselves from everything and troubling themselves about nothing, shall shower forth the rain of the Word of God and of life eternal. They shall thunder against sin; they shall storm against the world; they shall strike the devil and his crew; and they shall pierce through and through, for life or for death, with their two-edged sword of the Word of God (Eph. 6:17), all those to whom they shall be sent on the part of the Most High." ~paragraphs 56-57 True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort~

Then Fr. Don asked, "Are you ready? This passage is speaking about you. This is the job description of every Christian. To live this is going to cause trouble in your life. It will stir up difficulty; even those close to you will think you're off the deep end. In Hebrew, the word Holy is translated as 'different.' How different are you willing to become in following Jesus?"

My son, Joe, who used to feel the pain my past depression quite keenly, would notice that my tears flowed more freely after I underwent a conversion experience (he called it "turning into a Jesus Freak.") He often questioned why I would suffer so much when I had given my whole heart to the Lord. I found difficulty trying to offer him reassurance until I heard Fr. Don's talk last October. I also found help to respond to his question in the following quote from Caryll Houselander, one of my favorite authors:

"It is the favorite accusation of those who, for reasons of their own, are made uneasy by the sight of someone else's honest attempt to practice Faith, that to save one's own soul is a selfish, egocentric preoccupation which makes one introverted, censorious and withdrawn from other people. In reality the opposite is true. As Christ grows in the soul, suffering and the capacity for suffering increase in the life, and with it the desire to suffer grows, not because of any morbidity, such as masochism; but because if Christ increases, love increases; when the love of God increases, the desire to atone for sin increases, because the lover of man wishes to heal the wounds from which mankind is bleeding to death." ~Caryll Houselander, The Passion of the Infant Christ

So, to Joe, and to others who struggle with the meaning of suffering in the life of a Christian, I echo the words of Fr. Don: "Are you ready? How different are you willing to become in following Jesus?" Let's follow the example of our Blessed Mother and allow the capacity and desire for suffering to increase in our lives as a means of healing the wounds of mankind and of God.

Jesus Christ, Our Sovereign King

"If anyone loves me, he will hold to my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him." Jn 14:23























...and I do believe that the Father loves me and my family so very much. Every time I look at a crucifix or a picture of Jesus with His open, gaping wound, that hollow place in His side just seems to cry out to me begging me to enter into His Most Sacred Heart and to place all of my love within it. I know that it is here where I will always be at home, and will always be loved by the Father, as well as the Son and the Holy Spirit.


But I want to live that love in a more complete way, and every wife and mother is somehow incomplete unless her family is by her side, joining her in the deepest love for our Savior. So, although Jesus has always been the King of our hearts and home, last night we prayerfully declared that fact with a special Mass and Enthronement ceremony. With the help of my good friend, Fr. Jim Kubicki, SJ, we enthroned our home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and consecrated ourselves to His Sacred Heart, as well.


When I had told my sisters that Paul and the children and I were going to have a Mass and Consecration in our home, their love and excitement for us could not be contained and they asked to join in the celebration. I am so grateful for their presence because they made the joyous occasion complete. I know that the devil did all he could to try to dissuade us from following through on our plans; he threw lots of kinks into the works, such as a three hour drive to and from a funeral on the day of the consecration in the most blustery 60 mph winds, he caused my husband and I to argue more than usual and he brought immeasurable worry, stress and frustration to our household in the weeks leading up to this special night. But in the last hour before our guests were to arrive, I walked into the fierce autumn winds that were blowing through the yard to pick the last of the mum-daisies from our garden to decorate the house, and I couldn't help but smile and think "God wins! He always wins! And nothing will stop us now!"


And truly nothing did! Our celebration of Mass and Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was absolutely beautiful! With Holy Water sprinkled on the pictures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary that are now Enthroned in our home, and Holy Water sprinkled on each and every one of us as well, I feel more blessed than I have ever felt in my entire life! After Mass, Bob, my brother-in-law, popped open a bottle of champagne. This was without a doubt a most joyous occasion to celebrate! As my sisters were leaving at the end of the night, Diann, my oldest sister, mentioned that she had goosebumps the entire evening long, and Paul, who wasn't 100% sure that this would be a good idea when I first mentioned it to him, thanked me for working to make the Consecration possible. What greater blessing could I ever ask for?


And now, it is our responsibility to live that Consecration each and every day of our lives. We are to share the love of our Lord and King that overflows from His Most Sacred Heart with everyone we meet, both inside our home as well as in the world around us. With His help, I know we will succeed!


If you are interested in Enthroning the Sacred Heart of Jesus as King of your home, please visit the Apostleship of Prayer website to order leaflet #825. And please, pay a special visit to Fr. Jim's blog, Offer It Up, where he gives a fascinating history on the Enthronement and Consecration.

She Leads the Way

At the end of October, my family and I will be enthroning the Sacred Heart of Jesus as King of our home, and consecrating ourselves to His Most Sacred Heart. My good friend, Fr. Jim Kubicki, SJ, the head of the National Apostleship of Prayer which promotes devotion to the Sacred Heart, will be coming to our house to say Mass and to lead the Enthronement and Consecration ceremony. I thought that since this will be such a special and solemn occasion, I should be spending the month preparing by attending prayerful events and by praying to the Sacred Heart of Jesus each day, asking Him to enter into the hearts of my family and I and to draw us ever more deeply into love with Him.

Last Thursday, on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, my son Jack and I attended a special Mass and outdoor candlelight procession with the recitation of the rosary to honor our Mother. As we were re-entering the church after the procession, one of the doors would not stay open on it's own, so, since Jack and I were near the front of the line, we stood at the door to hold it open as everyone in the procession stepped into the church. At the end of the procession, my dear friend, Fr. Don Hying, the priest who said the Mass and processed with our Lord was walking past us and I couldn't help but notice how his eyes were fixed on Jesus in the Monstrance which was directly in front of his face.

How wonderful it must be for a priest to hold our Lord directly in front of himself for a full twenty minutes! It's no wonder that Fr. Don's face always seems to have a glow about it when I consider that he spends so much time looking directly at Jesus up close! And the fact that he doesn't trip and fall when he is walking in the dark over cracks in the sidewalk, down curbs and steps, and around corners while his eyes are constantly fixed on Jesus, is truly a miracle in itself!

My sweet and tender Jesus, how beautifully you care for us when we are spending time adoring you! You see to it that no danger will ever befall us as long as we keep our eyes fixed on you!

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Today my sister Diann, and my niece Jenny and I renewed our consecration to Jesus through Mary via St. Louis de Montfort. Upon arriving at the church, I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw that Fr. Don had pulled up right behind me. I was blessed to spend a few minutes in confession with him, and then attend a lovely Saturday morning Mass. The music director at the parish where the Consecration Conference was held chose all Marian music for the Mass and had asked one of the parish cantors to sing "Panis Angelicus" for an after communion meditation. It was breathtaking, and a rare occurrence for a daily Mass!

Just before the consecration, everyone gathered in front of the Shrine of Mary, Queen of Hearts to pray the rosary. Although this is the third year that I have attended this conference, it was the first time that I noticed that in the shrine, Mary is holding a heart blazing with fire. This was significant to me in light of my family's upcoming consecration to the Sacred Heart. I couldn't help but feel that my most beautiful Mother is truly leading me to her Son and His Most Sacred Heart. It is only fitting that today I consecrated myself to Jesus though Her, and later this month, I will be consecrating myself to His Sacred Heart. She really does always lead us to Him, if only we will let Her.

Mary, My Most Beautiful Mother, thank you for always leading us to Jesus and for giving His Most Sacred Heart to us so that the fire of His love will burn within us forever!

Five Favorite Devotions

I have been noticing with great interest a wonderful devotional MEME that has been making the blogosphere rounds. Recently, I was tagged by NC Sue at In Him We Live and Move and Have our Being and so I will eagerly play along.

1. Starting at the very beginning of my list is the devotion I always pray at the beginning of my day: The Morning Offering. How simply wonderful it is to promise God every moment of my day to use as He sees fit. All that I am and all that I have is a blessed gift from Him and so I give it all back to Him with joy in my heart. I ask that He use the thoughts and events of my day for the intentions of the Pope, for priests and vocations and for the spirituality of my family. "I belong completely to You, O God, take me, all of me, and use me for Your benefit. Amen."


2. I often attend Eucharistic Holy Hours as my way of offering adoration to the Lord and uniting my intentions with those of the others gathered at the Holy Hours. I enjoy these hours of adoration as a silent group with occasional vocal prayers and lots of incense more than adoration on my own. Maybe it's because I grew up with lots of siblings and I now have lots of children that I enjoy having a crowd around me when I pray, I'm not sure, but you say Holy Hour and I'm there! I could add that the same theory applies to the rosary...I prefer to pray it with fellow parishioners before daily Mass and with my sisters and nieces at our once-a-month rosary gatherings than to pray it by myself.


3. Now the Stations of the Cross is just the opposite. This devotion is one that I like to pray when I am alone, and the version by St. Alphonsus Liguori is my all-time favorite. Whenever I get a chance, I like to pray this version at an outdoor stations where it almost feels as if I am actually walking the way with the Lord.

"My Lord, Jesus Christ, You have made this journey to die for me with unspeakable love; and I have so many times ungratefully abandoned You. But now I love You with all my heart; and, because I love You, I am sincerely sorry for ever having offended You. Pardon me, my God, and permit me to accompany You on this journey. You go to die for love of me; I want, my beloved Redeemer, to die for love of You. My Jesus, I will love and die always united to You."

4. Is it considered a devotion to light candles? If so, count me in! That flickering light on the blessed candle that continues my prayer long after I have left the church until it burns out with a whiff of sweet scented wax brings me so much comfort and peace.

5. Consecrations are another devotion with the lingering effects that carry me in prayer for much longer than the actual moment of Consecration. Last fall I had the honor of Consecrating myself to Jesus through Mary via St. Louis de Montfort. The prayer from the Crown of Mary continues to resound in my heart as I prepare to receive the Lord in Holy Communion each day..."Rejoice, O Virgin Mary, rejoice a thousand times!" It's almost time for me to begin my preparation to reconsecrate myself this year and I am greatly looking forward to it.

My family and I recently consecrated ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as well, in a very informal way, but I can never look at the picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that hangs on my living room wall in the same way, for now, my heart explodes with love and gratitude at the sight of that divine image.

I will pass this MEME on to the following bloggers:

Jeff at Secret Harbor
Linda at Don't Poke the Baby
Autumn at Autumn's Leaves
Tiffany at Family at the Foot of the Cross
Elizabeth at 100th Lamb

Consecration to Jesus through Mary according to St. Louis de Montfort

Today I had the great honor and privilege of Consecrating myself to Jesus through Mary according to St. Louis de Montfort. This post will describe a little bit more about what it means to be consecrated and the process that it entails.

Last year, my sister Cindy and I attended a conference at Mother of Good Counsel Church in Milwaukee which explained a bit about St. Louis de Montfort and his consecration. The day began with the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Mass followed by the conference talk given by Fr. Don Hying, the Rector of St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee. Then everyone gathered around a Shrine of St. Louis de Montfort to pray the rosary, followed by the consecration for those who were participating and then the day ended with a benediction. The program was hosted by a woman whose mother had been responsible for the installation of the Shrine at Mother of Good Counsel Church. This year was the 55th year in which the Consecration Conference was held at Mother of Good Counsel. However, it is not necessary to attend a conference in order to consecrate yourself to Jesus through Mary. It is something that you can do on your own.

At the time when my sister Cindy and I had attended the Conference last year, I had never heard of the Consecration. We had only attended because it sounded like a nice, spiritually enriching program. This past year as I began the great blogging adventure, I ran across several blogs in which people wrote about their experiences with the consecration and I was moved to learn more about it.

St. Louis de Montfort, who lived from 1673-1716, wrote a book called True Devotion to Mary. This book explains the Consecration in detail. If you are interested in consecration, it is recommended that you obtain, read and study this book. Before I was sure that I would consecrate myself, I picked up the book from our Seminary Library. After reading it, I was thoroughly confused and decided that the consecration was not for me as I really struggled to understand it. It wasn't until I purchased the book and read it again, that the process became more clear to me. Today as I was skimming through the book once more, (I own the version copywrited in 1941 with this final edition printed in 1985), I ran across a quote from Pope John Paul II that really surprised me. He said "It is from Montfort that I have take my motto 'Totus Tuus"(I am all thine). Someday I'll have to tell you Montfortians how I discovered De Montfort's Treatise on the True Devotion to Mary, and how often I had to reread it to understand it." It looks like I am in excellent company!!!

The book is divided into three parts: Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Perfect Consecration to Jesus Christ, and the Supplement. It is the supplement that explains the process for Consecration. To Consecrate yourself to Jesus through Mary, you must prepare for 33 days by saying certain prayers and reading selections from Scripture and spiritual books. Spiritual practices such as mortifications are also part of the preparation process. When the 33 days of preparation are complete, it is Consecration Day! After the sacrament of Reconciliation and the reception of Holy Communion "with the intention of giving themselves to Jesus Christ in the quality of slaves of love, by the hands of Mary", an act of Consecration is recited. In addition a special tribute such as a fast, a mortification, an almsgiving or a candle is offered.

After the Day of Consecration, the slave of Jesus and Mary recites the Crown of Mary daily. This prayer consists of three Our Father's and twelve Hail Mary's. The consecration is to be renewed annually, again beginning with the 33 day preparation period.

The Consecration is normally done on a Feast Day of the Blessed Mother. In my case, it was not a Feast Day of Mary, but since the whole month of October is dedicated to Mary, the Conference I attended is always held in this month.

If you are interested in learning more about this wonderful devotional practice but are unable to obtain a copy of True Devotion to Mary, Fish Eaters has a great website on the topic and includes everything you may need. For further reading about my experience in discerning whether or not to consecrate myself, you may enjoy the following posts: A Beautiful Holy Day, Consecration, and Pondering Pages/True Devotion to Mary. It is the comments to these posts that are truly wonderful and inspiring! Once again, I am deeply grateful to the blogging community for all of your support and encouragement. You are wonderful and I thank you for writing for God, you are doing more good than you can ever imagine!

TOTUS TUUS!