{"id":1596,"date":"2017-10-13T05:00:36","date_gmt":"2017-10-13T09:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sjcmetheology.wpengine.com\/?p=1596"},"modified":"2017-10-13T05:00:36","modified_gmt":"2017-10-13T09:00:36","slug":"why-consecrate-to-the-immaculate-heart-of-mary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/why-consecrate-to-the-immaculate-heart-of-mary\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Consecrate to the Immaculate Heart of Mary?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In celebration of 100<\/span>th<\/span> anniversary of Our Lady\u2019s apparitions in Fatima, Portugal, several bishops across the country have decided to consecrate their dioceses to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. \u00a0This act might leave some people scratching their heads, wondering \u201cWhat good will that do?\u201d or shrugging their shoulders saying \u201cThat\u2019s nice. What\u2019s the NFL schedule that day?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But if our eyes and hearts are opened to God\u2019s wisdom, we will see that this consecration is the most powerful aid that a diocese could receive. \u00a0Marian consecration makes all the difference in the world!<\/span><\/p>\n

“My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.”<\/span> \u00a0<\/b>This is what Our Lady said to Lucia dos Santos, one of the three seers of Fatima. \u00a0The Blessed Virgin told Lucia that Our Lord wished Lucia to spend her life promoting devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary so that humanity could avoid turmoil and suffering on earth and, more importantly, be guided to everlasting salvation in the arms of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

But why would Our Lord request consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary? \u00a0What does it all mean?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>To consecrate yourself to someone is to give yourself, or, as St. Pope John Paul II would say, to \u201centrust\u201d yourself entirely to someone. \u00a0Strictly speaking, we can only consecrate ourselves to God because we are His. \u00a0However, when the Church speaks of consecration to Mary, it means that we are giving ourselves to God <\/span>through<\/span><\/i> Mary. \u00a0St. Louis de Montfort, who was arguably the most famous promoter of Marian consecration (and the person from whom St. Pope John Paul II took his motto, <\/span>Totus Tuus<\/span><\/i>, \u201cTotally Yours\u201d), coined the phrase, \u201cTo Jesus through Mary!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mary\u2019s relationship with her Son and with us is unique. \u00a0She is the woman who said \u201cYes\u201d at the Annunciation, giving herself without reservation to the Father so that she could give her humanity to the Son, and she is the mother who stood at the foot of the cross, heartbroken, but freely offering her only beloved Son to God for all the world. \u00a0In return for this great sacrifice, God extended her divine maternity to include all of His adopted sons and daughters. \u00a0She is now Queen of the Universe, our Heavenly Mother and Advocate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mary\u2019s life and Jesus\u2019s life are uniquely intertwined for all eternity. \u00a0Her will is His will and, as mother of all God\u2019s adopted sons and daughters, she has been entrusted with the formation of souls. \u00a0The Son entered the world through Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit and the world is drawn to the Son through Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Does it seem strange that God would choose to draw us to Himself through a creature? \u00a0While I would not pretend to be able to explain the great mysteries of God\u2019s wisdom, I would point out that this seems to be the way that God works throughout history. \u00a0He comes to us <\/span>through<\/span><\/i> prophets, saints, objects like the burning bush, and the material elements of the sacraments. \u00a0We give ourselves to Him <\/span>through <\/span><\/i>the manmade words of prayers and hymns, acts of corporal and spiritual mercy, and reception of the sacraments. \u00a0God has always used the material realm to commune with His children who are of the material realm. \u00a0When we consider this, it does not seem so strange that He would commune with us through the Son\u2019s Beloved Mother.<\/span><\/p>\n

God created Our Lady with her special motherhood in mind. \u00a0This is why she was and is the Immaculate Conception\u2014the one born without sin, who was, is and always shall be in communion with the Holy Trinity. \u00a0She shows us the glory of God\u2019s plans for humanity and she is His greatest instrument for making those plans happen.<\/span><\/p>\n

If our earthly parents, priests and teachers can form us in the faith, how much more can our Heavenly Mother whose heart and mind are perfected and whose life has always been so intimately intertwined with her Son\u2019s do for our salvation?<\/p>\n

This year, many are choosing to consecrate themselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. \u00a0To the extent that we entrust ourselves to her motherly care and conform to her immaculate example, we will receive great graces. \u00a0We enter this consecration knowing that it is not magic. \u00a0There will still be times when we will falter and fail. \u00a0But we will persevere in faith, remembering that Our Lady of Fatima promised, \u201c<\/span>In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Maura Hearden Fehlner<\/strong> teaches Mariology for Saint Joseph’s College Online. She and her husband Deacon John Fehlner are the founders of Light of Truth Ministries<\/a>, a Catholic radio station broadcasting at 98.3 FM in Lake Placid, N.Y.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In celebration of 100th anniversary of Our Lady\u2019s apparitions in Fatima, Portugal, several bishops across the country have decided to consecrate their dioceses to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. \u00a0This act might leave some people scratching their heads, wondering \u201cWhat … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,24,1],"tags":[75,173,205],"class_list":["post-1596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spirituality","category-the-pope","category-uncategorized","tag-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary","tag-mary","tag-our-lady-of-fatima"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1596\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}