Total Consecration to Mary

Total consecration to Mary is one of those things that many Christians, including some Catholics, are confused about.  But for me personally, this is one of the things that has made all of the difference in my life.  Consecrating ourselves completely to Mary brings us closer to her Son, Jesus. Consecrating ourselves completely to Mary increases in our lives the graces of contrition, repentance, holiness, and love. Consecrating ourselves completely to Mary leads us more surely to eternal life.  But what is total consecration to Mary?  Below are some of the most common questions and answers on this issue that I would like to share.

What is total consecration to Mary?

The word "consecrate" means to be set aside for sacred use.  In consecrating ourselves completely to Mary we are setting ourselves completely aside for Mary's use. We are entrusting our prayers, our thoughts, our emotions, our bodies, our gifts, our everything, to Mary's care and love, and promising to obey her in all things.

Catholics and a Relationship with God

I hear the accusation many times from Protestants that Catholics do not have a relationship with God.  Is this true?  Of course not.  You see, we have a REAL and CERTAIN relationship with God through our baptism.  In baptism we became children of God, and God became our Father.  In baptism we received the life of Christ within our hearts, and became members of God's own family. This relationship with God is real, and something of which we can be sure.

But do all Catholics have a close and growing relationship with God?  Unfortunately, they don't. Let me use my wife and I as an example. We were married August 22, 1992.  Because of our wedding, we have a real and certain relationship.  After all, we are husband and wife.  But wonder if we never spent time talking to each other, or sharing our lives with each other? We would still have a husband and wife relationship, but that relationship would not be close and growing.  Our relationship will only begin to grow when we take time for each other, and share with each other our lives, hopes, dreams, sorrows, fears, joys, successes, failures, etc.  It is through these things that our love for each other becomes deeper and more intimate.