Among the treasures of authentic Catholic spirituality, few devotions have borne more fruit than Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary, as taught by St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716). His classic work True Devotion to Mary has inspired saints, Popes, and countless faithful to entrust themselves entirely to Our Lady, so that She may lead them most perfectly to Her Divine Son.
Pope Pius XII, commemorating the bicentenary of Montfort’s death, praised him as “an outstanding preacher of the word of God and a promoter of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary” (Le Pèlerinage de Lourdes, 1947). The heart of Montfort’s teaching is that consecration to Mary is the surest, easiest, shortest, and most perfect way to union with Christ.
Scriptural and Theological Foundations
The foundation of Marian consecration is the unique role God gave to our Blessed Mother in salvation history.
- Mary’s Divine Maternity – “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto Me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38). By Her Fiat, Mary consented freely to God’s plan, becoming the Mother of the Word Incarnate.
- Mary’s Mediation – At Cana, Mary interceded, and Christ performed His first miracle (John 2:1-11). St. Louis de Montfort saw this as a figure of Her continuing maternal mediation.
- Mary at Calvary – “Woman, behold Thy son… Behold thy Mother” (John 19:26-27). In giving Mary to St. John, Christ gave Her to all the faithful.
St. Alphonsus de Liguori summarized: “If Jesus is the head of the Church, Mary is its neck, through which all graces pass” (The Glories of Mary, Part I, Discourse II). Thus, consecration to Mary is not an end in itself but a way of belonging more perfectly to Christ.
What Total Consecration Means
In True Devotion to Mary, Montfort defined Total Consecration as the complete gift of oneself – body and soul, interior and exterior, spiritual and temporal – to Jesus through Mary. This includes:
- Offering one’s good works, past, present, and future.
- Entrusting merits and satisfactions of prayers and penances to Our Lady’s disposal.
- Living as Her servant and child, seeking to act always in union with Her.
St. Louis de Montfort explained: “We must give Her everything: our body with all its senses and members; our soul with all its powers; our exterior goods… our interior and spiritual goods… our good works, past, present, and future” (True Devotion, no. 121). By this consecration, nothing is lost – the Blessed Virgin Mary purifies, perfects, and presents our offerings to Christ, making them more acceptable.
The Spirituality of Dependence and Union
If the spirituality of Total Consecration could be summarized in one word, it would be: dependence. Just as Christ chose to come into the world through Mary, so too the Christian chooses to approach Christ always with and through Her. St. Louis de Montfort wrote: “God the Son came to us through Mary, and we must go to Him through Her” (True Devotion, no. 85). This mirrors St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who said: “Of Mary there is never enough… it is God’s will that we should have nothing which does not pass through Her hands” (Hom. super Missus est, IV, 8).
This dependence fosters humility for one renounces any claim to self-sufficiency. It fosters purity, for Mary purifies all that She touches. It fosters union, for She unites us more intimately with Her Son.
Relation to the Evangelical Counsels
St. Louis de Montfort saw consecration as a practical way of living out the evangelical counsels, even for the laity:
- Poverty – By entrusting temporal goods and merits to Mary, one detaches from self-ownership.
- Chastity – By becoming wholly Hers, one safeguards purity of body and soul under Her mantle.
- Obedience – By submitting to Her guidance, one conforms more perfectly to the will of Christ.
As Fr. Adolphe Tanquerey observed:
“Devotion to Mary is an efficacious means of acquiring perfection, because She leads us to the practice of the evangelical counsels and of the virtues proper to our state” (The Spiritual Life, no. 1137).
Fruits of Total Consecration
St. Louis de Montfort also insisted that true devotion bears fruit in the soul. Among the chief effects:
- Transformation into Mary’s spirit – A greater likeness to Her virtues of humility, purity, and charity.
- Greater union with Christ – For She always leads souls to Her Son.
- Interior freedom – Liberation from attachment to self-will and sin.
- Assurance of perseverance – Those who entrust themselves to Mary are under Her special protection.
Practical Spirituality of the Preparation
St. Louis de Montfort further provided a method of preparation for consecration lasting 33 days involving prayer, litanies, and renunciations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. The goal is interior death to self so that one may live entirely in and through Mary for Christ. This preparation is not magic but ascetical formation.
As Fr. Prümmer notes:
“Consecration to Our Lady presupposes an interior disposition of humility and trust, without which the mere formula is fruitless” (Manuale Theologiæ Moralis, vol. 3, no. 679).
Continuing Relevance Today
In a secular age marked by pride, impurity, and rebellion, St. Louis’ Total Consecration is more necessary than ever. It is the antidote to self-sufficiency, for it teaches humble reliance. It is the safeguard against impurity, for it places the soul under the Immaculate. It is the cure for disobedience, for it fosters docility to God’s will. Pope Pius XII summarized this relevance:
“Where Mary is present, there Christ is present also; where She reigns, there the enemy is put to flight” (Auspicia Quædam, 1948).
St. Louis de Montfort’s doctrine of Total Consecration is not a private devotion for a few, but a perennial call to all Catholics. It is deeply rooted in Scripture, confirmed by Tradition, and recommended by the Popes. Its goal is nothing less than perfect union with Jesus Christ, through the most perfect of His creatures, the Blessed Virgin Mary.
By entrusting ourselves completely to Her, we echo the words of Montfort and the saints: Totus Tuus ego sum, et omnia mea tua sunt. Accipio te in mea omnia. Præbe mihi cor tuum, Maria. (I am all Thine, and all that I have is Thine. I take Thee for my all. O Mary, give me Thy heart.)