Consecration means the setting of yourself aside exclusively for service to God. Throughout its history, the Church has always advocated the devout consecration of the faithful to Jesus Christ through the Blessed Virgin, the perfect model of discipleship. Such consecration to Our Lady may be expressed in many different forms and can be understood, explained, and lived in many different ways, although the doctrinal basis and the substance are the same. By consecrating yourself to Mary you pledge to become her instrument, performing all your actions through, with, and in Mary, for she most clearly points the way to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
As the Second Vatican Council teaches, calling upon Mary’s intercession “does not hinder in any way the immediate union of the faithful with Christ, but on the contrary fosters it” (Lumen Gentium 60). Therefore, coming “To Jesus through Mary” through our Marian consecration is not an extraordinary way of worshipping God and bringing about our sanctification; rather, it is the best way.
Mary herself became the prototype of total consecration when, at the beginning of the New Testament, she said “yes” to becoming the mother of God. She was chosen to help us in our consecration through her intercession and maternal care, thus disposing us to develop the gifts of God that we received in Baptism. She is the perfect example of the Church, and the model for all the faithful. In her perfect spiritual sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, she is God’s creaturely masterpiece.
Marian consecration is the spirit of continual conversion. When lived willingly in humility, the act of consecration elevates our natural gifts and inspires us to holiness and fruitful service within the Church. As Jesus said to those who would stand up and follow him: “Even greater things than these will you do.” Modern day promoters of consecration to our Lady included Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Pope John Paul II, who recommended an “act of entrustment” to Mary and whose papal motto was an enthusiastic Totus Tuus, “Totally Yours.
Perhaps the best known advocate of Marian consecration was St. Louis de Montfort who developed the teaching of Holy Slavery or Bondage to Mary, which has nurtured the spiritual lives and Marian devotions of numberless souls, including Pope John Paul II ever since. De Montfort clearly and properly stated that the purpose of consecration is to possess Christ as the Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom. His devotion was heavily based on emptying oneself of one’s possessions and oneself until one’s personal point of Calvary is reached. De Montfort viewed Holy Slavery or Bondage as a most “perfect renewal of the vows and promises of one’s Baptism.” In his book, TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY, de Montfort predicted a future age where consecrated apostles–”servants, slaves and children of Mary”–would emerge “who, like a burning fire, [would] kindle the fire of divine love everywhere.”
St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, in honor of whom this site was created, embodies in his own unique form of Marian consecration the fullest possible fulfilment of de Montfort’s great prophesy. For this reason, St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Louis de Montfort present different means of approaching their respective offerings and goals.
Kolbe, unlike de Montfort, emphasized consecration to Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception, and gave it a specific apostolic purpose: “to gain the whole world for the Immaculata so as to bring about, as soon as possible, the kingdom of the Sacred Heart of Jesus”. His view of consecration was that of incorporating oneself into the mystery and mission of the Immaculate Mother of God for the conversion and sanctification of all souls, beginning with oneself.
Kolbe wanted Marian consecrants to collectively join themselves to one another in a spiritual solidarity by enrolling in an authorized spiritual movement and corporately becoming Our Lady’s instruments–her maternal presence and activity–within the Church and throughout the world.
To accomplish this end, St. Maximilian founded the Knights of Mary Immaculate or the Militia Immaculatae (or MI), the goal of which is the total consecration of every person on earth to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary. Once consecrated, each person is then encouraged to find some way, no matter how simple, to bring others to Our Lady as well. Thus this website.
Membership in the MI (which, of course, presupposes that one has totally consecrated himself to the Immaculata), is open to all Catholics over the age of reason (approximately age seven). For more information on the MI or to find out how you can make your wn personal Kolbean consecration to Mary go to: http://www.consecration.com/index.html or write to me at: Kenneth Brown, 408 Miami, Suite 2, Robinson, IL 62454 and I will be happy to send you more information.
