What is Total Consecration?
Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary is a 33-day course that builds on True Devotion to Mary according to St. Louis Marie de Montfort. It’s an amazing way to grow deeper in your faith and draw closer to Jesus through Mary. Each of the 33 days includes a short video, some written reflections, and prayer time. Join us!
First 12 days: Reflection, Day 7
We are now moving towards the second half of the first 12 days preparation. Hope you enjoyed and learned a little bit why St. Louis de Montfort established this first stage of preparation. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Br. Julian Mary from the Community Knights of the Holy Eucharist. For this 7th day, I would like to divide our presentation into two parts: Firstly, the grace and divine consolation unknown to people who are dominated by the spirit of the world but refreshes the souls of those who follow and possess the spirit of Christ. Secondly, understanding the nature of virtues, for there are a lot of virtues mention in our reading today. Let’s, begin with the basic understanding of what the word virtue means. It is not our intention here to explore the whole theological definition of this word. We made mention the word virtue for the first time in our introduction, explaining its important connection to consecration to Our Lady. So, virtue is the habitual disposition of the soul of doing good and avoiding evil.
I learned from our study in Spiritual Theology that virtue is a habit acquired from the repetition of acts. Now, we must be very careful here of two very important points: first, the repetition of acts is the repetition of doing good. Secondly, a virtue or a habit of doing something good can only be called virtue if the purpose is good and directed toward good, otherwise, it’s not a virtue. Practicing a habitual kindness to a particular person is good if it’s intention is good, but if the purpose is to take advantage or to destroy the person is obviously not a virtue. Virtue is a habit of training the will, doing something worthwhile and avoiding the dangers of sin and its consequences. If we have a habitual dependence on Our Lady and filial recourse to her, as we should, then we have the virtue of faith and trust in her. Now, moving attentively the reading for today, we will encounter a parade of virtues, and how the saints advance and grow in spiritual life. If we wish to renounce the spirit of the world, it is important to aspire and cultivate virtues following the order that God established in our lives. The intelligence enlightened by faith must direct the will, and the will must be docile and obedient to reasoning enlighten by faith. The problem is, the will often rebel the reasoning enlighten by faith and does not listen even to the voice of formed and informed conscience. St Paul noticed this when he exclaimed in his letter to the Romans, “There’s a war that is waging within me.” [Rom.7: 23] Indeed there is a war that is waging deep within, a fight between two lions, and the one that is going to win, is surely the one that you nourish well.
With the grace of God and his divine consolation, we will win. The grace of God is absolutely necessary for it is a kind of divine influence that will truly set us in motion to renounce the spirit of the world beginning in our mind, our will and our senses The role of grace is to enlighten our intelligence, to strengthen our will and to temper our senses. While Divine consolation provides new spiritual energies to move on and so fortifies our faith. We must be accustomed to the beauty of grace and divine consolation by renouncing the spirit of the world for this worldly spirit truly diverts and obscures our mind from the possession of heavenly things.
Readings and Prayers for Day 7 of 33
Spiritual Exercises: Examine your conscience, pray, practice renouncement, mortification, purity of heart; this purity is an indispensable condition for contemplating God in heaven, to see Him on earth and to know Him by the light of faith.
Imitation: Continued: Book 1, chapter 18
Outwardly destitute, inwardly they were full of grace and divine consolation. Strangers to the world, they were close and intimate friends of God. To themselves they seemed as nothing, and they were despised by the world, but in the eyes of God they were precious and beloved. They lived in true humility and simple obedience; they walked in charity and patience, making progress daily on the pathway of spiritual life and obtaining great favor with God.
They were given as an example for all religious, and their power to stimulate us to perfection ought to be greater than that of the lukewarm to tempt us to laxity.
How great was the fervor of all religious in the beginning of their holy institution! How great their devotion in prayer and their rivalry for virtue! What splendid discipline flourished among them! What great reverence and obedience in all things under the rule of a superior! The footsteps they left behind still bear witness that they indeed were holy and perfect men who fought bravely and conquered the world.
Today, he who is not a transgressor and who can bear patiently the duties which he has taken upon himself is considered great. How lukewarm and negligent we are! We lose our original fervor very quickly and we even become weary of life from laziness! Do not you, who have seen so many examples of the devout, fall asleep in the pursuit of virtue!
Veni, Creator Spiritus (Come Holy Spirit, Creator Blest)
Come, O Creator Spirit blest!
And in our souls take up Thy rest;
Come with Thy grace and heavenly aid,
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
Great Paraclete! To Thee we cry,
O highest gift of God most high!
O font of life! O fire of love!
And sweet anointing from above.
Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts art known,
The finger of God’s hand we own;
The promise of the Father, Thou!
Who dost the tongue with power endow.
Kindle our senses from above,
And make our hearts overflow with love;
With patience firm and virtue high
The weakness of our flesh supply.
Far from us drive the foe we dread,
And grant us Thy true peace instead;
So shall we not, with Thee for guide,
Turn from the path of life aside.
Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow
The Father and the Son to know,
And Thee, through endless times confessed,
Of both, the eternal Spirit blest.
All glory while the ages run
Be to the Father and the Son
Who rose from death; the same to Thee,
O Holy Ghost, eternally. Amen.
Ave Maris Stella
Hail, bright star of ocean,
God’s own Mother blest,
Ever sinless Virgin,
Gate of heavenly rest.
Taking that sweet Ave
Which from Gabriel came,
Peace confirm within us,
Changing Eva’s name.
Break the captives’ fetters,
Light on blindness pour,
All our ills expelling,
Every bliss implore.
Show thyself a Mother;
May the Word Divine,
Born for us thy Infant,
Hear our prayers through thine.
Virgin all excelling,
Mildest of the mild,
Freed from guilt, preserve us,
Pure and undefiled.
Keep our life all spotless,
Make our way secure,
Till we find in Jesus,
Joy forevermore.
Through the highest Heaven
To the Almighty Three,
Father, Son and Spirit,
One same glory be. Amen.
Magnificat – English
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
Magnificat – Latin
Magnificat anima mea Dominum;
Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo,
Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae; ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen ejus, Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus eum.
Fecit potentiam brachio suo;
Dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.
Deposuit potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles.
Esurientes implevit bonis, et divites dimisit inanes.
Sucepit Israel, puerum suum, recordatus misericordiae suae, Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semeni ejus in saecula.
Glory Be – English
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Glory Be – Latin
GLORIA PATRI, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
