4Real Forums: Prep for Consecration on August 15

Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.

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Mackfam
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Posted: July 10 2009 at 5:54pm \| IP Logged

***

Many of us are preparing to renew our Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary following St. Louis de Montfort's preparations.

To make a formal act of consecration on August 15, preparations should begin on Monday, July 13.

I'm gathering some resources together here...

St. Louis Marie de Montfort ~ True Devotion #227 wrote:

"Those who wish to enter into this particular devotion (should spend) twelve days at least in ridding themselves of the spirit of the world, which is contrary to the spirit of Jesus Christ, (and) should employ three weeks in filling themselves with Jesus Christ by the holy Virgin."

Twelve days *** July 13 - 24
Focus:

Rid self of the spirit of the world

Three weeks *** July 25 - August 15
Focus:

Fill self with Jesus Christ by the holy Virgin.

True Devotion to Mary through TAN publishers is out of stock right now. I hate to do this, but it is also available through Amazon.

Here is the entire text available in its entirety from EWTN for printing.

There are very helpful resources here in Hidden Treasure as we seek to undertake this worthy task with the help of Our Lady.

True Devotion Study Links are broken down by chapter with so many helpful thoughts within!

We'll begin on Monday, July 13.

Helen or Anne - are you available to help organize this or just offer your thoughts?

May Our Lady guide our efforts and prayers so that they are pleasing and fruitful.

***

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Jen Mackintosh
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Helen
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Posted: July 11 2009 at 8:56am \| IP Logged

Thank you Jennifer for posting these links and reminders.

My summer is moving at a break-neck speed. I think my 33 days will have to be a simple plan for renewal -- something that I have memorized and that I could catch up on while driving in the car. I post this not to dissuade others from following a more formal plan of renewal rather to share an idea in case you are in a similar situation.

I hope to pray 9 memorares a day and continue with my spiritual reading.

May the Lord bless you Ladies!!

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Ave Maria!
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JenPre
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Posted: July 11 2009 at 9:30am \| IP Logged

Helen wrote:

I never thought of something like this Helen. I made my Consecration a few years ago and each year "try" to do a renewal. (I made my origional Consecration on March 25th). But this past year I wasn't able to do the "full" Consecration due to poor planning on my part.

I so much want to join you ladies here beginning on Monday. I like the idea of praying the Memorare's each day.

Something for me to bring to prayer this weekend to see what our Lady would be pleased for me to do

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Jen
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SuzanneG
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Posted: July 11 2009 at 12:15pm \| IP Logged

Looking forward to starting on Monday....praying for everyone as we decide how to prepare ourselves.

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stellamaris
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Posted: July 11 2009 at 7:47pm \| IP Logged

Thank you, Jennifer, for those links. I especially appreciated the study helps link. I will be committing everyone's intentions to the Immaculate Heart of our Mother as I prepare to renew my Consecration.

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SuzanneG
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Posted: July 11 2009 at 9:12pm \| IP Logged

I just found my "Welcome to Mary Vitamin" printout and went through it! I had forgotten how helpful and motivating it is!

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Suzanne in ID
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aussieannie
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Posted: July 13 2009 at 7:15am \| IP Logged

I've just found this lovely little article by the great Father John Hardon, Living in True Devotion to the Divine Maternity.

Here is something Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote, he mentions the importance of being consecrated to Our Lady in his article Dedicated to the Woman I Love.

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florasita
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Posted: July 13 2009 at 3:34pm \| IP Logged

I always forget this until I begin my preparation and of course remember how it was a bit of a bother and how I must do a break down of true devotion before I begin . I have the little prep book for total consecration but it is the breaking down of the reading true devotion I would love to have . Is there any such thing out there that breaks down the true devotion into twelve days etc. like the little prep book is ?
One thing I am doing is doing my reading in the morning hrs not at bedtime ! This makes a big difference to me as I totally had to force myself to stay awake most nights to get through my reading . I am not a late night person so any heavy reading and being able to have time to reflect is hard to make happen at bedtime . I prefer this in the morning so I can then have reflection throughout the day .
This is my 5th yr. renewing ! today my focus was on the grace of Providence begining true devtion with the grace of providence ( Trust ) I think is a must so I was glad His word led me to ask for this grace today .

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Helen
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Posted: July 13 2009 at 4:57pm \| IP Logged

SuzanneG wrote:

I just found my "Welcome to Mary Vitamin" printout and went through it! I had forgotten how helpful and motivating it is!

Thank you Suzanne!

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Ave Maria!
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aussieannie
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Posted: July 14 2009 at 4:34pm \| IP Logged

florista wrote:

I have the little prep book for total consecration but it is the breaking down of the reading true devotion I would love to have . Is there any such thing out there that breaks down the true devotion into twelve days etc. like the little prep book is ?

Good question Roxie, I'm not sure, Helen might know.. Sort of surprising there is no well known book like that, since many people do breakdown other people's works...for example there are a few people out there who have written about Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body...though I must say there has been controversy recently with one the best known Catholics who has written extensively..maybe there can be dangers and pitfalls with this sort of thing, putting too much of their own slant on things?

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Helen
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Posted: July 14 2009 at 8:17pm \| IP Logged

aussieannie wrote:

florista wrote:

Good question Roxie, I'm not sure, Helen might know

Sorry...I don't know of any booklet like that.

Here's a little story for you...Yesterday evening, I invited my five year old daughter to play a card game with me. I asked her to find the cards. She emptied out one of the cabinets in the family room in her search for cards. She eventually found enough cards for us to play a game. When I returned the cards to the furniture, sitting on top of the bureau was the booklet which breaks down the preparation for consecration. I tucked it away in my diaper bag. Today while I was out visiting friends, I had a chance to pray the prayers!!

I felt the loving encouragement of Our Heavenly Mother.

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florasita
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Posted: July 15 2009 at 9:47am \| IP Logged

I so love reading Pope JoHN pAUL WRITINGS HE SEEMS SUCH A ROMANTIC WRITER TO ME

So full of love always .
Anne I think the writings of others no matter how much the good intention is there we must always know we are all human and capable of weakness and misconceptions etc. even ST.Montfort there are parts in true devotion that are offensive just because of the political and culture of his time . He in fact is quite blunt and outspoken in regards to those of others religions . So we must remember saints are not God this is why they are our brothers and sisters they are human and weak and capable very much so of being wrong .
ST. Thomas Aquinas was such a wonderful writer yet he also had some very controversial views . We must remember no matter how catholic , how holy people may be they are in fact still human and not all thier words , actions etc. will be of God

we hope we will try and do our best for Him to represent His Truth but wow can people mix it up at times if we become to overly sure of ourselves .
Helen is that little book not so handy ! I love how simple it is and of course the prayer and readings I like it best . true devotion Yes I don't quite know how to break it down and if I read to much well I just do not remember it all as it is so heavy .
There is a fb group doing true devotion as well but I'm not doing fb for this prep so I'm just gonna tough it out and do my best with what I've got

maybe next yr. I will remember beforehand and try and make an effort to get the book broken down .
Thanks Gals, Roxie

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May I rise & rest with words of Gratitude on my Breath
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May I forever remember to be a Light
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Mackfam
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Posted: July 15 2009 at 10:33am \| IP Logged

Helen wrote:

Here's a little story for you...Yesterday evening, I invited my five year old daughter to play a card game with me. I asked her to find the cards. She emptied out one of the cabinets in the family room in her search for cards. She eventually found enough cards for us to play a game. When I returned the cards to the furniture, sitting on top of the bureau was the booklet which breaks down the preparation for consecration. I tucked it away in my diaper bag. Today while I was out visiting friends, I had a chance to pray the prayers!!

I felt the loving encouragement of Our Heavenly Mother.

Helen, I thought this was very encouraging! We do not live in isolation from our vocations do we! Opportunities for growth in holiness arrive in and through our vocation. I just found it so heartwarming to think of you finding your prayer book tucked amidst the contents of your diaper bag and how Our Lady must have tucked that time aside for you in your day in a similar way.

I have set my small books aside in a basket next to my rocking chair/nursing chair in the kitchen. I do not have a large chunk of time during the day to sit and read, but (coincidentally? or not!) my littlest is teething right now and likes to snuggle and nurse there frequently. I catch up on my prayers and reading as she nurses.

Thank you for sharing your encouragement, Helen. It is a good reminder that we need not over-complicate our efforts. An effort made sincerely and with the heart is enough for Our Lady to work with - she tucks away moments in the day to plant seeds of nourishment.

What a tender and attentive mother Our Lady is!

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Jen Mackintosh
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Posted: July 15 2009 at 12:22pm \| IP Logged

This is only the third day of the Consecration and I already am feeling the effects! Although it's not the "happy feelings" that I had wanted but rather I'm feeling "blah".

As I have the past few days I stayed in Church after morning Mass to say my prayers for the Consecration. I felt the warmth of my prayers and was bouyed up by them.

But mid-morning I started to feel all "yucky". Nothing horribly bad! but just in some sort of funk that I can't shake. There are things in life right now that are uncertain; I'm pregnant with our first child and feel so happy about that but also anxious; I feel like I need direction in my life--a daily rhythm like I've been reading on other threads but when I sit to think about where to begin I get overwhelmed and don't do anything!

I'm sorry! I suppose this isn't the thread nor forum to bring all this up in but I do feel this is an effect of beginning the renewal. I know this will bring me closer to Our Lady whom I have a great devotion to but have let that devotion "waver" in the last few months. I'm just feeling a little down today but am resolved to continue on in prayer!

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aussieannie
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Posted: July 15 2009 at 4:31pm \| IP Logged

florista wrote:

Anne I think the writings of others no matter how much the good intention is there we must always know we are all human and capable of weakness and misconceptions etc. even ST.Montfort there are parts in true devotion that are offensive just because of the political and culture of his time . He in fact is quite blunt and outspoken in regards to those of others religions . So we must remember saints are not God this is why they are our brothers and sisters they are human and weak and capable very much so of being wrong .

I don't know about wrong, as it has been approved by the church and de Montfort is a saint (saints who are writers can take longer to be canonized due to their work also needing to be free from serious error.)

I agree that Pope John Paul II is the writer you say he is, his papacy and writings have been such a tremendous blessing to us in our age. I have used one of his quotes from a letter he wrote to artists and I have used it in my Tota Pulchra Beads blog, I read that and think just what a beautiful, poetical passage it is!

Yet, his whole being was devoted to living out de Monfort's writings...how different in personality and style those two men are...

And you are right that Montfort's style of writing is not of our age, I read it and think parts are harsh in a way we would just not hear today.

I think that some things mentioned in deMontfort's writings would be similar to the way people in different ages have viewed this Church statement:

"Outside the Church there is no salvation"

That quote in itself sounds harsh and you think it wrong because you wonder if it means only Catholics go to heaven but it's true meaning is quite beautiful and it doesn't mean only Catholics go to heaven! In this day and age we make great emphasis of that beauty. In deMontfort's age they may not have focused on what it meant to ALL but only to those they were writing to and that would be: grace comes only through the Catholic Church that Christ founded. In this global world we live in, we naturally focus on what that statement meant to all.

The beauty in that statement would be that yes, those saving graces ONLY come through the Catholic Church that Christ founded but that people of good will outside of the Church through no fault of their own, are mysteriously drawing upon those graces from the Catholic Church as they are a part of the mystical body of Christ that St Paul talked about. So they are receiving a transfusion of grace from a source they are yet to recognise due to no fault of their own but their desire is to love Christ or to love the God who created them.

Those outside of the Church cannot be saved except through Christ's death and the grace from His Death and Resurrection passes through the hands of Mary to His Church, upon the whole world. A bit like someone drawing water from a spring in a forest, not knowing the original source of that spring and who may own it.

And that draws me to the writings of St Therese, she put that same image of the mystical body in a different and more feminine way. Remember how she said that the souls in heaven would be like a varied garden? That Jesus would not want all majestic lilies and roses but that it was the varied mix of lilies, roses, violets (more hidden and shy) wildflowers (the souls that may have never heard of the Gospel or the name of Jesus but followed the natural law written in their hearts) and every other imaginable flower in between - it is that mixture that pleases the eye of God more than just a garden of roses.

St Therese describes the truth and beauty of the mystical body of Christ. Her touching analogy can also describe the variety of saints the Church has raised up and approved writers the Church has given us. We need that variety in writing styles because souls are all different and so you could say in all truth, there is a saint for everybody and a church writer for everybody.

Sorry to have written so much but I wanted to finish by saying that while deMontfort's writing is very different for the time we live in, the essense of what he wrote is what will raise up the greatest saints that live in our age and beyond.

We only have to look at the tenderness and love of Mother Teresa, her's was a True Devotion spirituality and so was Pope John Paul II's.. They are so different from St Louis in personality and expression but it was his spirituality that formed them and I would say predominately.

I believe deMontfort's writings and spirituality are very special and unique. The truths contained within raises up great saints as we have already seen (it was predicted) but that it doesn't make those saints take on the persona of deMontfort (the persona that many might not not completely relate to in this day and age.)

What is the essence of deMontfort's writing? Simply this: 'Jesus came to us all the most perfect way, which was through Mary' therefore 'the most perfect way back to Jesus must also be through Mary.' It's simple, it's perfect and it allows each soul that takes on that spirituality to raise up to great heights in his or her's own unique way.

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florasita
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Posted: July 16 2009 at 7:42pm \| IP Logged

oh Anne I was not reffering to ST.Monfort writings in there intirty but just some statements of his regardings the muslims and jewish religions . Different times throughout our church history there have been both tolerent and very opressive views of other religions .
I also do not believe our church is always right ( this is my opinion

) I do believe people are people and capable of mistake this includes saints , religious etc. Yes divine Truth of course comes through those such as Pope JPII and Momma T when living fully surrendering etc. I just being who I am will never be able to believe any human being will be without faults or failures of some kind no matter how small they may be like Padre Pio getting impatient or ST.Paul being a fool or a writer going on a rant etc.
The only word that is full Truth is ultimatly His
of course truely ST.MOnfort did achive His purpose regardless of the saints weakneses just as Mother Teresa did admist her doubt . The final work of ST.Montfort truely does His job otherwise we would not have those inspirations from JP II

and thousands of others inspired through him to Him

again I'm sorry if I in anyway led you to beleive I was implying the works were not divinly inpired , devote etc.
I do so love how in the end HE connects us all

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May I rise & rest with words of Gratitude on my Breath
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May I forever remember to be a Light
May Peace Love & Hope be My Sight

aussieannie
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Posted: July 16 2009 at 7:46pm \| IP Logged

Yes, I agree with all you have said there Roxie, thank you for sharing it for it gives balance to what I said and you have expressed it well.

God works with a poor, frail lot and often that is where He glories most, making something wonderful with a poor instrument. St Paul talked of that in the Mass readings recently, ..."when I am weak, I am strong (in God alone)"

I think that example started with the apostles, their different temperaments, their frailities and yet He raised up an infallible Church that exists to this day and will to the end of time! It's amazing really and only God could do it!!

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aussieannie
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Posted: July 16 2009 at 8:22pm \| IP Logged

Actually I should come back and say that if St Louis de Montfort was here, he'd make it QUITE clear to us what a miserable sinner he was!!!

He was so humble and of course humility is nothing more than acknowledging reality!! It is one of the wonderful qualities about him that make him the saint he is - that and his incredible acceptance of everything that came in his life, his LOVE of God's Will and not his own.

Have you read Mary Fabyan's Windeatt's version of his life Roxie? For a children's story it is very meaty and great for adults too. It's a fav of mine and makes a great read aloud with the children.

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Posted: July 17 2009 at 7:04am \| IP Logged

Jen,
I'll pray for you. Your at the start of pregnancy with your first and I am at the tail end of my pregnancy with my 9th. I can relate to what you are saying. In reading the devotions and the book for the very first time I see that we truly need to just continue taking it to Jesus through Mary and not look for that good feeling. As you have seen it nevery speaks of that good feeling, but only of being faithful and trusting in our good Mother and her Son. I will tell you though that it certainly has been showing my (painfully) my weaknesses and serves as a great examination of conscience!

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CaraTheresa
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Posted: July 27 2009 at 1:39pm \| IP Logged

Greetings Ladies!
I have had trouble posting, but have worked out all the bugs I hope.

I just wanted to chime in and say I have been following the Consecration to Mary for August 15. This will be my first time in doing so, and the date has special meaning to me as it was my grandmothers birthday. After she passed away I recieved her beautiful white porcelain statue of our blessed mother and cherish it dearly. I am enjoying the readings and they have caused me some deep thought and prayer.
I am in an unusual situation as we have no church to attend and I am not able to attend mass or reconciliation, but I am sure the blessed mother is aware and will be with me thru it all as I do the best I can.
Peace to you all,
Cara Theresa

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