I don't know about you, but I was very happy to farewell 2021! I tried to remain positive throughout the year but, come December 31st, I was exhausted. Lock-downs, false news, societal division... it wore me down.
My New Year's resolution was to surrender the fear and fatigue to Jesus and start 2022 afresh. Covid-19 is no match for my God, and I want to live with that confidence. But it's easy to be sucked in to the gloom and doom, especially when our way of living is still significantly impacted by the virus (gosh I'm over travel restrictions, masks and check-ins!)
Even though we are only a few days in to January, I've already found myself feeling disheartened. My (flawed, broken) human nature easily slips in to despair and I am in desperate need of God's graces to remain faithful to Him. I definitely can't do it on my own.
This has sparked a desire to consecrate myself to Mother Mary. I need aaaaall the help I can get to 'stay the course' and trust in God's plan during this pandemic. Who better to call on than the woman who was entrusted with raising and caring for Jesus?!
As Pope John Paul II explained, “Consecrating ourselves to Mary means accepting her help to offer ourselves and the whole of mankind to him who is holy, infinitely holy; it means accepting her help—by having recourse to her motherly heart, which beneath the cross was opened to love for every human being, for the whole world—in order to offer the world, the individual human being, mankind as a whole, and all the nations to him who is infinitely holy” (May 13, 1982).
When we consecrate our selves to Mary, we are actually consecrating ourselves to Jesus through Mary (intercession is explored further on this page). We can, of course, surrender ourselves to God directly. But Mary is so intimately united with Jesus, that seeking her always leads us to her son. As an analogy (albeit, limited), you may imagine asking for Mary's intercession as if you are sharing an intimacy with your own mum knowing (and relieved!) that it will be communicated and debriefed with your dad. I have also imagined it as though I am running in to the arms of Mary, only to be part of a big, warm group hug with Jesus.
So I am consecrating myself to Mary, asking her to listen to my "sighs... in this valley of tears". My specific intention is that I may be granted the grace to trust in God's plans for this year and, ultimately, for my life. I don't expect 2022 to be a smooth ride, but I feel uplifted knowing that I have the backing of the Mother of God.
I am going to try a 'Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary'. This is a specific 33-day program developed by St. Louis de Montfort which consists of various prayers and readings. It is designed to help us detach from the world and bond more closely with Christ through the example and intercession of Mary.
If you are interested in also giving this a go, the program can be found in St Louis' classic work True Devotion to Mary and it can also be completed online through this website.
We would love to hear your testimonies about a Marian consecration!
