What is a Marian Consecration? St. Louis de Montfort's Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary
This could change everything for you!
Holy Mother Church offers us an incredibly rich spiritual buffet. As Catholics, we can feast on a vast array of prayers, devotions, liturgies, and traditions. There is devotion or tradition to fit every appetite, personality, and life stage of the Church's children.
One such tradition that is particularly powerful is Marian consecration. Consecrating yourself to the Blessed Mother is a profoundly impactful path to sanctity.
Here are the updated translations of St. Louis de Montfort's Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary that I have published:
What is a Marian Consecration? Introduction to Consecration and Entrustment to Mary“Consecrate” means to “dedicate formally to a religious or divine purpose.”
Marian consecration is the act of entrusting one’s body, soul, possessions, works, and entire life to the protection, guidance, and intercession of the Blessed Mother.
The act of entrusting oneself to Mary’s care and intercession is nothing new. Jesus Himself entrusted His beloved disciple, John, to Mary while He was on the Cross (John 19:26-27).
Early Christians and the Church fathers recognized Mary’s holiness and her significance as the Mother of God. We’ve been asking for Mary’s intercession and intervention in our lives since the beginning of the Church. She is our mother, after all!
Saint Louis de Montfort developed a formal method of consecration to Jesus through Mary in the 1600s. More on this below ...
A Marian Consecration can be as short and simple as praying the following prayer. However, there are many more rigorous, formal, retreat-like methods, as well, which I will describe in the next section.
Here is the Marian Consecration prayer composed by St. Maximilian Kolbe for the Militia of the Immaculata:
O IMMACULATA, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you. I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet, humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you. If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head,” and “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world.” Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. For wherever you enter you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
V. Allow me to praise you, O Sacred Virgin.
R. Give me strength against your enemies.
Since this time, other kinds of Marian Consecrations or variations of St. Louis' formula have been developed. St. Maximilian Kolbe developed a 9-day version. Fr. Michael Gaitley developed 33 Days to Morning Glory.
These variations will be described below:
The Original and Classic Marian Consecration: St. Louis de Montfort's Total Consecration to Jesus through MaryThe original! Lost for centuries but miraculously recovered, St. Louis de Montfort's Marian Consecration is the gold standard for Marian consecrations. St. Louis' Consecration follows the 34-day format.
Here are the updated translations of St. Louis' Marian Consecration books that I have published:
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Here is the prayer journal version, as well. This version of my translation includes extra writing space for your thoughts and reflections: [image error]
St. Louis de Montfort's 33-day sequence consists of prayers and readings from his book Total Devotion and St. Thomas a Kempis' Imitation of Christ. These meditations focus on why consecration to Mary is proper. The prayers include some beautiful litanies and praying the Rosary.
St. Louis' 33 days of Marian Consecration prayers culminates in a beautiful prayer of consecration on the 34th day, which is ideally a Marian feast day. The Act of Consecration is made in conjunction with the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the reception of Holy Communion.
More recently, Fr. Michael Gaitley wrote 33 Days to Morning Glory, which focuses on the Marian spiritualities of four Saints: Mother Teresa, Pope Saint John Paul II, St. Louis de Montfort, and Maximilian Kolbe.
Why Should I Consecrate Myself to Mary?
What’s the point of consecration to Mary, anyway? What if I already have a devotion to Mary, pray the Rosary, and ask for her intercession?
Consecration to Mary is simply a furthering and deepening of our devotion to and relationship with Jesus through Our Lady. If you already have an affection for Mary and talk to her often, consecration is a natural next step. But even you don’t really know Our Lady yet and aren’t convinced of the hype, Marian consecration can be that bridge that unites you to her more deeply.
When we consecrate ourselves to Mary, we give her our entire lives and selves as well as the merits of all our prayers and works in order to belong more fully to Our Lord. We give Mary everything we are and do to present to the Lord and use at her disposal.
Why give Mary everything? Because she’s a good mom. She only wants what’s best for us and for all her children. Mary wants us to know, love, and serve Jesus more. She wants us to get to Heaven even more than we do. She’s invested in our happiness, both temporal and eternal. Mary takes all the good we are and do, adds her grace, and presents us to her Son. The best part? When she presents us to Jesus, in all our littleness and with all our feeble efforts, He does not refuse her, because she never refuses Him.
Yes! And ultimately, that’s exactly what Marian Consecration accomplishes. When we consecrate our selves to Mary, really we are consecrating ourselves to Jesus through Mary. They are so intimately united that truly giving ourselves to Mary can lead to nothing but total surrender to God.
By consecrating ourselves to Mary, we leap with faith and joy into the arms of our mom, knowing that she advocates for us, loves us, and wants to see us become saints. We cannot go wrong with Marian Consecration.
To complete a Marian consecration, you really just need a willing heart. Just begin with a desire to know Jesus more deeply through His Mother.
You’ll probably also want a guide. St. Louis de Montfort’s Preparation for Total Consecration is timeless and has been used for decades.
St. Maximilian Kolbe’s 9-day formal consecration to Mary is also beloved by many.
In more recent years, Fr. Michael Gaitley wrote 33 Days to Morning Glory, which focuses on the Marian spiritualities of four Saints.
I suggest taking a look at each one and praying about which best suits your soul at this time. Again, you can’t go wrong here, so don’t stress too much about which form of consecration you select.
It is customary to renew one’s consecration to Our Lady every year by repeating the 33-day process and ending on the same Marian feast day. You can always select various methods of consecration throughout the years, too!
We are all called to holiness. God created us to be saints. We are made to know the Lord, to love Him, and to serve Him. Consecrating ourselves to Mary is one way that we grow in that knowledge, love, and service. We allow Mary to take us by the hand and lead us to her Son. She knows, loves, and serves Him best. We have so much to learn from her life, and so much to gain by placing ourselves in her hands.
Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church, and Our Mother, pray for us!
Have you consecrated yourself to Our Lady? Is your heart stirred to it for the first time?
