To Your Heart, Holy Mother, Queen Of Ireland

Today, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady, the Bishops of Ireland will consecrate Ireland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, at the National Shrine in Knock.   It is an important spiritual event for us here, and hopefully the consecration will yield fruit for us in our struggle for religious freedom and in the struggle for life. 

That said I cannot help but think of it being a little too late, like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.  But at least it is being done now.  

 

Here is the prayer which will be used for the consecration: it will be prayed at the Apparition Gable, where Our Lady appeared with St Joseph, St John with the Lamb of God, in 1879.

 

 

Prayer for the Act of Consecration

Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Refuge of Sinners, we entrust and consecrate ourselves, our family, our home and our Dioceses to Jesus through your Immaculate Heart. As your children, we promise to follow your example in our lives by doing at all times the will of God.

O Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, we renew today the promises of our Baptism and Confirmation. Intercede for us with the Holy Spirit that we may be always faithful to your Divine Son, to his Mystical Body, the Catholic Church, and to the teachings of his Vicar on earth, our Holy Father the Pope.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Queen and our Mother, we promise to uphold the sanctity of marriage and the welfare of the family. Watch over our minds and hearts and preserve our youth from dangers to the faith and the many temptations that threaten them in the world today.

We ask you, Mary our Advocate to intercede with your divine Son. Obtain for our country the grace to uphold the uniqueness of every human life, from the first moment of conception to natural death.

O Blessed Mother, Our Life, our Sweetness and Our Hope, we wish that this Consecration be for the great glory of God and that it lead us safely to Jesus your Son.

A Naomh-Mhuire, a Mháthair Dé, guigh orainn na peacaigh, anois agus ar uair ár mbáis.

Amen.

First Saturday

Today, being the First Saturday, we honour the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  It is a good day to consecrate oneself to Jesus through Our Lady's Heart.  Given the times we are in, is it time, perhaps, for the bishops of Ireland to formally consecrate Ireland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary?  A ceremony which could take place in Knock with all the bishops and as many clergy, religious and laity possible, present.   What do you think? 

We start with a person consecration.  Here is the text of the Fraternity's act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart, our Dedicated Members pray it every day.

To you, Immaculate Heart of Mary,
we consecrate ourselves –
our hearts, minds, will and lives
and all those works we undertake
so they may be for the glory of God,
for the sake of the Gospel
and the salvation of souls.
Holy Mother, our Queen and our Joy,
give to our hearts the dimensions of yours
and form us in the image of your beloved Son.

Consecration Programme Starts



My former Legion of Mary Praesidium begins a progamme of preparation for the Act of Total Consecration to Our Lady today, as devised by St Louis-Marie de Montfort (whose feast it would be today if it were not Easter Thursday.  The ceremony of consecration will take place in St Mary's Church, Drogheda, on the 31st May next.

St Louis-Marie's famous book Treatise on True Devotion to Mary is a spiritual and theological classic, well worth a read.  It transformed the lives of Pope John Paul II and Frank Duff, founder of the Legion of Mary.  I often wonder how long we have to wait for St Louis-Marie to be declared a Doctor of the Church - I always thought Pope John Paul would have done it.  His theology and teaching has had an enormous influence in the Church, one of the criteria for proclaiming a Doctor.

That said, if you want a good spiritual exercise, then this Consecration is as good as you will get.  And if you are around Drogheda on the 31st May, you might come to the ceremony.