Conference #4: The Third Practice Associated with Devotion to the Immaculate Heart: Consecration

Conference #4: The Third Practice Associated with Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary: Consecration The Pope’s Consecration of the World to the Immaculate Heart of Mary In October 1942, something important happened. It was a little more than twenty-five years after the events of Fatima. Much was happening on this date. Millions had already died in World War II. Germany was advancing across North Africa to the Suez Canal. The Germans had invaded Russia. Most of Europe was under Germany’s brutal domination. In the Pacific, the Japanese had invaded China and was expanding across the Pacific. Evil mushroomed in the world, and at times there appears little that would resist it. A Gold Crown was delivered to Fatima in honor of Our Lady that month. In Rome, in a land that was not free (it was under rule of another), the Holy Father Pope Pius XII said a prayer. The audio begins with that same prayer. Listen closely to it. Prayer of Consecration This powerful prayer consecrates the whole world to Our Lady and to her Immaculate Heart. Shortly after this prayer was originally said, the English army stopped the advancement of Germany in North Africa. The process of liberating Europe by Canadian and US forces began successfully. The Battle of Stalingrad was the turning point of Russia turning back Germany on Russia soil on February 2, 1943 (which was then the Feast of the Purification of Our Lady). Shortly after this prayer was said, the Allied Forces turn the tide in the Pacific theatre. Many other things influenced all these events. However, the results might be argued as not coincidental. What an amazing prayer . . . which consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. What is Consecration? So, what actually is Consecration? Consecration in the modern age has lost some of its actual meaning. Many make their Consecration to Mary. But, as the audio elaborates, there is NO one form of The Marian Consecration. Consecration is an expression of belonging. Any real relationship . . . sooner or later involves belonging. It is intrinsic to human life. We belong to one another . . . in a variety of ways. It is this belonging that allows us to make claims on one another. When we speak of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart . . . when we speak of Marian Consecration . . . we speak of belonging. When we examine this further, we realize that everyone is not able (or ready) to belong to Mary . . . on the same level. The forms of belonging vary. Listen to the audio for more information. How Do We Grow in Devotion to Our Lady? How do we grow in Devotion to Our Lady? The first place to start is not the specific book we pick up to read! Start with an idea in how you grow in any relationship! One needs to know the person . . . and beginning to open one’s life to the other person. But how does that work in Marian Consecration? It involves that I give myself . . . or something of myself . . . to you. It is grounded in the life that you currently live. Not the life you’ll have 10 years from now . . . or the life you wish you have, but your current life. Why is this so? Listen to the audio. The power of Marian Devotion does not consist of promises or messages. It is found in the way she relates to the reality of the lives we are actually living. Where does a mother hold her children? In her heart! When the Lord gives Mary to the disciple He loved, she held him in her heart. When He says behold your son . . . Jesus planted that disciple in her heart. And not just the disciple Jesus loved, but all of us as well . . . in her heart! Jesus Plants All Of Us Into Mary’s Heart Regardless of one believing it or not . . . or wanting it or not . . . we all are in Mary’s heart! So when Our Lady comes to Fatima, at the time of a great worldly turmoil, she says . . . find your way here! There is a place here! You are already here . . . within my heart! Hear more about being in Mary’s heart . . . and what consecration does for us all!