The Blessed Virgin Mary (Part Six).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The "Ave Regina Caelorum", 

one of the four Marian Anthems that are described 

as "among the most beautiful 

creations of the Late Middle Ages".

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/OAi6T7tQruE

Saint Louis de Montfort taught that God appointed Mary as "the Dispenser of Grace", and, to receive Grace from God, one can receive it through the hands of the Blessed Virgin, as a child receives from a mother. This concept of Mary, as "the Mother to us in the Order of Grace", who can intercede for "the gift of eternal salvation", was restated in the 1960s in Lumen Gentium, one of the principal Documents of the Second Vatican Council.

Consecration and Entrustment to Mary.

For centuries, Marian devotions among Roman Catholics have included many examples of personal or collective acts of consecration and entrustment to the Virgin Mary; the Latin terms oblatio, servitus, commendatio and dedicatio, were used in this context.

Consecration is an act by which a person is dedicated to a sacred service, or an act which separates an object, location or region from a common and profane mode to one for sacred use. Consecration to the Virgin Mary has been practised by Catholics for many centuries, at the personal, societal and Papal levels, where individuals, societies, regions and the whole world have been consecrated to her.

The Catholic Church makes it clear that the use of the term "consecration", with regard to Mary, is only applied in the "broad and non-technical sense" and is different from "those self-offerings which have God as their object, and which are characterised by totality and perpetuity, which are guaranteed by the Church's intervention and have as their basis the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation."

Madonna and Child (Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy).

Madonna, by Batoni, an example of Marian Art.

Artist: Pompeo Batoni (1708–1787).

Date: Circa 1742.

Source: Web Gallery of Art.

Author: Pompeo Batoni (1708–1787).

Permission: Public Domain.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Further, "the Faithful should be carefully instructed about the practise of consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary . . . it is, in reality, only analogously a 'consecration to God,' and should be expressed in a correct Liturgical manner: To the Father, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, imploring the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom we entrust ourselves completely, so as to keep our Baptismal commitments and live as her children. The act of consecration [to Mary] should take place outside of the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, since it is a devotional act which cannot be assimilated to the Liturgy. It should also be borne in mind that the act of consecration to Mary differs substantially from other forms of Liturgical consecration."

Individuals, declaring their "entrustment" to Mary, make a personal act to show their devotion and dedication to Mary as the Mother of God, who, though holy, is not, herself, a Divine being. Such individuals seek her intercession before God, through her Son, Jesus Christ, for she has no Divine power. Devotions to Mary are also commonly directed to Mary herself, to the Immaculate Heart, and/or to the Immaculata; true consecration is only to God.

Consecration to the Virgin Mary, by Roman Catholics, has taken place from three perspectives, namely personal, societal and regional and with three forms: To the Virgin, herself, as a whole, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to the Immaculata.

In Catholic teachings, consecration to Mary does not diminish or substitute the Love of God, but enhances it, for all consecration is ultimately made to God. Pope Leo XIII especially encouraged everyone to make acts of consecration to the Virgin Mary, based on the methods of Saint Louis de Montfort (who was Beatified by Pope Leo), and granted Indulgences for such consecrations. Pope Benedict XV also provided strong support for Marian consecration. Pope John Paul II's motto, Totus Tuus (i.e., "totally yours"), reflected his personal consecration to Mary.

The "Ave Maris Stella".

Available on YouTube at 

http://youtu.be/TacNIbmDZ4s

In the 18th-Century, Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort became a tireless advocate of "total consecration to Jesus, through Mary." In "True Devotion to Mary", Saint Louis de Montfort stated " . . . the most perfect consecration to Jesus Christ is nothing else than a perfect and entire consecration of ourselves to the Blessed Virgin and this is the devotion I teach; or, in other words, a perfect renewal of the vows and promises of Holy Baptism."

Early in the 20th-Century, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, called the Apostle of Consecration to Mary, began a vigorous programme of promoting consecration to the Immaculata and published Miles Immaculatae, which reached a circulation of 750,000 copies a month.

In modern times, Pope John Paul II clarified consecration to Mary in his 1987 Encyclical, "Mother of the Redeemer", in which he stated, "Mary's Motherhood . . . is a gift which Christ, Himself, makes personally to every individual." Pope John Paul II suggested Christians could best "entrust" themselves to Mary by becoming her spiritual sons and daughters.

Theologian, Garrigou-Lagrange, designated personal consecration to Mary as the highest level among Marian devotions. His student, Pope John Paul II, made Marian devotions and consecrations a hallmark of his Papacy, often referring to John 19:26–27, and heavily relying on the spirituality of Saint Louis de Montfort. He also consecrated the entire world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

PART SEVEN FOLLOWS.