Knowledge of Mary: Day Two

Our Lady of Lourdes, file downloaded from Wikipedia

Day twenty one at Fish Eaters.

Day twenty one at The Catholic Company. *note: no mention is made here of praying the Rosary at the completion of prayers as is done in the older book by Montfort Publications*

Today's reading comes from the Secret of Mary by St. Louis de Montfort. The older Preparation for Total Consecration book by Montfort Publications has a few errors and today has one of them. The paragraph numbers from Secret of Mary actually go from 23 to 29 instead of 23 to 24 according to the text used for day 21 in Preparation for Total Consecration. It's obvious that the number 24 is wrong rather than the text used. Both Fish Eaters and The Catholic Company above have copied that minor error.

It's useful to go directly to the source in The Secret of Mary, since it provides a little more information in the footnotes, and provides headings to the paragraphs. The reading starts out with a brief answer why we should do this devotion:

If we would go up to Him and be united with Him, we must use the same means He used to come down to us, to be made man and to impart His graces to us. That means is a true devotion [perfect devotion] to our Blessed Lady.

Then the text compares this perfect devotion with other Marian devotions. I'll provide the missing headings for a summary: 1) Devotion without Special Practices; 2) Devotion with Special Practices; and 3) The Perfect Devotion: The Holy Slavery of Love.

Next the nature of this devotion is given:

It consists in giving oneself entirely and as a slave to Mary, and to Jesus through Mary; and after that to do all that we do, with Mary, in Mary, through Mary and for Mary.

And finally, it gives some specifics of the devotion: "We should choose a special feast day on which we give, consecrate and sacrifice to Mary voluntarily lovingly and without constraint, entirely and without reserve: our body and soul, our exterior property such as house, family and income, and also our interior and spiritual possessions: namely, our merits, graces, virtues, and satisfactions." The heading to this paragraph says "Total Surrender."

Americans and those cultures which are significantly influenced by classical liberal ideas, might have a lot of difficulty with the ideas of "slavery" and "total surrender." I did. These strong words are typically seen in opposition to "freedom." The total surrender is what we offer to God in our detachment from the world, in our placing of trust in Him, and in aligning our wills to His. And we should do it willingly. Regarding slavery: note that it's not a servile slavery but a "holy slavery of love." In many instances, men and women have loved so deeply, that they would do anything for their lover or beloved. And God's courting of His bride is a common image in the Bible, including the union of Christ the bridegroom and the Church, his bride. Jesus went all in—in his passion and crucifixion—and expects us to follow him, in love. Indeed, Jesus in his human nature placed himself in complete dependence of Mary in her womb. The Annunciation and Incarnation is the most fitting feast on which to perform this consecration.

Another objection is the total consecration not to God, but to a human being. While Jesus is the true end of this devotion, our experience with other human beings might cause us to hesitate in our placing of trust in another human being. I overcame this issue of trust, by trusting the Church which in turn is trusted because I trust that Jesus is God (and man) and the true founder of the Church. The Church teaches that Mary was immaculately conceived and did not sin. If I believe that is true, then Mary, full of grace, can be trusted. It's not mere trust in a human being, but a trust in a human being backed by God—and she is a creature who has united her will with the will of God.

Surprising to me, that despite my initial trust issues with Mary, I've found her easier to approach than to Jesus. I don't expect others to feel the same, but I know this is true for me. And this trust has been repaid, especially in bringing me into a closer relationship with the three persons of the Holy Trinity, first with the Holy Spirit, and then with Jesus. "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 12:3). Mary brings us Jesus, and Mary brings us to Jesus, her Son. The slavery to Mary is the means to slavery to her Son.