“Consecrating”
a province, confreres, community or individual member to Mary under her various
titles, seeking her protection of the vulnerable, healing of the unwell, and
for those who work to cure people from the present pandemic virus, is
theologically problematic and controversial. Louis Grignon the Montfort is
one of the great masters of the spirituality underlying the act of
"consecration to Mary". He “proposed to the faithful consecration to
Jesus through Mary, as an effective way of living out their baptismal
commitment” (Redemptoris Mater 48).
Many Popes favoured the pious practice of
"consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary" and the formulas publicly
used by them are well known. The term "consecration"
is used here in a broad and non-technical sense.
Pope
John Paul II increasingly replaced the term ‘consecration’ with ‘entrustment’,
which he did, for example, after the attempt on his life on May 13, 1981 -
Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. And the Pontifical International Marian Academy
pointed out this important shift in 2005. During his visit to Fatima in 2017,
Pope Francis confirmed this shift during his prayer before the statue of the
Virgin Mary when he said: “I entrust myself to you. In union with my brothers
and sisters, through you, I consecrate myself to God.”
The
Latin term ‘consecratio’ is reserved “for those self-offerings which
have God as their object, and which are characterized by totality and
perpetuity, which are guaranteed by the Church’s intervention and have as their
basis the sacraments of baptism and confirmation”. We
cannot consecrate ourselves to Mary. Post Second Vatican Council change in
vision, based on “liturgical theology and the consequent rigorous use of
terminology” the Church has made an explicit distinction between “worship”, the
object of which is God alone, and “veneration”, which can be shown to Mary and
other recognized saints.
The Council said veneration of Mary “differs essentially from the cult of
adoration which is offered equally” to the three Persons of the Trinity “and is
most favourable to this adoration” (Lumen gentium, 66). Within Catholic
theology and devotional practices a consecration to Jesus through Mary is only
a “praise” to the mother of Christ “for the great things” God has done to her
(Lk 1: 46-55). Therefore, we need to make distinction between Mary as a
creature and God as Creator. Such ‘entrustment’ must be expressed in
a correct liturgical manner: to the Father, through Christ in the Holy Spirit,
imploring the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom we entrust
ourselves.
Cf. Atto
di affidamento alla Beata Vergine Maria pronounced by John Paul II on
Sunday, 8 October 2000, together with the Bishops gathered in Rome for the
celebration of the Great Jubilee. Cf. Congregation
for Divine Worship, Guidelines and proposals for the celebration of the
Marian Year, n.86;
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Directory
on Popular Piety and The Liturgy Principles And Guidelines, Vatican City, December
2001, n. 204.
Prayer
of His Holiness Pope Francis, Pilgrimage of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Shrine of
Our Lady of Fatima, 12-13 May 2017, http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/prayers/documents/papa-francesco_
preghiere_20170512_fatima.html, 2.8..2020
Cf. Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of
the Sacraments, op.cit., n. 204.
Cf. Hendro
Munsterman, Why are bishops still "consecrating" their countries
to Mary, in Best of La Croix International 2020, Understanding Your
Church, La Croix International 2020, p.41
Cf. Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of
the Sacraments, op.cit., n. 204.
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