Dec 16, 2014
by Andrew Dawson
Seminarians make their total consecration to Mary on patronal feast day.
Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary is based upon a set of prayers devised by St. Louis de Montfort (1673-1716), the French priest and Mariologist who authored the popular tracts True Devotion to Mary and The Secret of Mary. A preparation period of thirty-three days of prayer and meditation leads devotees to making a final act of consecration in which they offer themselves to Christ more fully, rejecting all that is contrary to that relationship.
It was St. Louis' conviction that Mary is the most holy channel through whom God chose to bring his beloved son into the world. We are assured of a special intimacy with Christ if we unite ourselves to Mary as a willing instrument in her hands for the sacred purpose of humble, loving service to the Lord. After faithfully praying the daily exercises that culminated in the consecration ritual, the seminarians say they have gained new insights into their own lives, the life of Mary, and the life of Christ.
First-year theologian Adam Maher comments, My consecration has amplified my prayer life, because as I ask Mary to lend me her heart,' she does! And so, in my prayer, I am loving Jesus with and through the heart of his Mother Mary, who loves him with such an incredible love, we cannot imagine.
All the seminarians at Sacred Heart spent the morning in a conference with Archbishop Vigneron, who celebrated Mass on this, the annual patronal feast day of the seminary. The Immaculate Conception was chosen as a patronal celebration because the Feast day of the Sacred Heart falls outside of term time, but also because of the unique role Mary must play in the life of every seminarian.
Fr. Robert Spezia, director of liturgy and spiritual director for the college, believes that a devotion to the Blessed Mother is important for all Christians, but especially so for the priest, and therefore the seminarian. Since her vocation was, and is, to form Jesus, she will form the seminarian and future priest to be more conformed to Christ, explains Father Spezia, who is a great believer in the efficacy of total consecration to Mary. There is a profound connection between Our Lady and priests in the Eucharistic risen flesh and blood that unites us. The Virgin Mary, as she contemplates her son, can also say This is my body' and this is my blood.'
The vocational role of Mary is something that third-year theologian Bryan Kassa finds to be at the heart of his own consecration and was why he decided to make this spiritual journey. Jesus gave Mary a mission from the Cros— to Behold thy son.' With this consecration, Bryan says, I am allowing Mary to fulfill this mission given to her by Jesu—beholding me, as well, and helping me get to heaven.
After making the thirty-three-day journey, first-year theologian Bardy Jaddou observes, I wanted to make the consecration because I desired a relationship with Mary, but I was not allowing her to lead me to her son. I didn't realize how powerful the consecration would be to my spiritual life.
From here, the six men go forward assured that the Blessed Mother accompanies them every step of the way, leading them to a renewed and deeper bond with Jesus, her heavenly son.
Andrew Dawson
Andrew Dawson is a second year theology seminarian at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.