What Does it mean to “Consecrate oneself to the immaculate heart of Mary”?
(CF. MESSAGE #6 – JULY 21, 1973 AND MESSAGE #22 – OCT. 20, 1973)
By the act of consecration for priests and the act of consecration for the laity, which is the first commitment for belonging to the Marian Movement of Priests we put our life completely in her hands so that she may take possession of it and transform it according to her will. Once we are consecrated to her, we cannot dispose of ourselves freely – our life is given over to her completely. She orders everything in our life so that we may be led to live perfectly the Will of God.
“To be consecrated to me means to let yourself be led by me. It means to entrust yourself to me, like a child who lets itself be led by its mother.
“You must therefore accustom yourself to a new way of thinking, to a new way of acting. It is not your place to think of what is best for you; do not be making plans of building your tomorrow…”
“…it is enough for you to say just as a little child: ‘Mother, I trust you, I let myself be led by you. Tell me: what must I do?’ ” (6abc)
“When a thing is consecrated, it is removed from all uses other than the sacred one to which it has been assigned, and so it is with an object designated for the divine worship.
But this can also be the case with a person, when such a one is called by God to render Him perfect worship. Understand then how your true act of consecration is that of baptism.
By this sacrament, instituted by Jesus, grace is communicated to you, placing you in an order of life higher than your own, namely the supernatural life. Through this you participate in the divine nature, you enter into a communion of love with God, and your actions, accordingly, have a new value exceeding that of your nature, because they have a value which is truly divine.
After baptism you are then destined for the perfect glorification of the Most Holy Trinity and consecrated to live in the love of the Father, in the imitation of the Son, and in full communion with the Holy Spirit.
The fact that characterizes the act of consecration is its totality: when you are consecrated you are then wholly so, and forever!
When I ask you for the consecration to my Immaculate Heart, it is to make you understand that you must completely entrust yourselves to me, in a total and everlasting way, that I may dispose of you according to the Will of God.
You must entrust yourselves in a manner that is complete, giving me everything; you should not give me one thing and hold on to another, for yourselves; you should truly be wholly mine. And then you should entrust yourselves to me not on one day yes and on another day no, or for a period of time as you would have it, but forever.
It is to emphasize this important aspect of a complete and lasting dedication to me, your heavenly Mother, that I ask for the consecration to my Immaculate Heart.”
(287h-p, March 25, 1984)
In the message to Fr. Gobbi given on October 20, 1973, she further explains what it means to make our consecration to her Immaculate Heart:
“What has happened to you, my son, is the great and decisive fact of your consecration to me. This act has been taken seriously by me, and it has in itself the capacity of truly changing and transforming your whole life.
With the act of consecration, you have put your life in my hands. Now it belongs to me; it is mine. I have taken possession of it, and now, bit by bit, I am transforming it according to my will.
Gently will I lead you to that perfection which is pleasing to my Heart, and little by little I will transform you into a very faithful image of my Son Jesus. (22 cde)
I will give you a new way of seeing things: you will see with my own eyes. Everything that is of the world will no longer be able to interest you; it will even leave within you a profound sadness. You will say of these things: ‘How vain they are, how useless!’ (22f)
I will also give you a new way of feeling: you will feel according to my Heart. Thus your capacity to love and to suffer will become extraordinarily more powerful, because you will feel, my son, as the Heart of your Mother feels! (22h)
I will also give you a new way of thinking: you will think according to the Heart of Jesus and my motherly Heart, seeing everything in God and as God sees, according to the Spirit of Wisdom. I will give you wisdom of heart. (22k)
Well now, the priests of my Movement must all be like this. Because they have consecrated themselves to me, they must feel, see and think as I do, together with me, because I want to take complete possession of their life. I want to transform it and make of it an image of my Son Jesus, the First Born of so many other sons of mine.
They must let themselves be formed by me, as little children, with much trust and abandonment! Then through them the light of the Gospel will shine anew in this world so filled with darkness.” (22lmn)