The crown of Marian devotion is Consecration to Mary. It is a devotion promoted by St. Louis de Montfort and adopted and recommended by several popes, including St. John Paul II, whose apostolic motto was the Marian “Totus Tuus” (completely yours). He wrote, “Thanks to Saint Louis of Montfort, I came to understand that true devotion to the Mother of God is actually Christocentric, indeed, it is very profoundly rooted in the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity, and the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption”. (Crossing the Threshold of Truth, JP II)
What is consecration to Mary? It is to make a gift of ourselves, entirely to Jesus through Mary. Just as we offer our prayers to Jesus through Mary (Hail Mary, Rosary, etc.), we can, through Marian consecration give all our actions and merits to Jesus through Mary. Did not Jesus give Himself entirely to us through Mary? Did he not take from Mary, His own flesh, which he now gives us in the Eucharist? So why can we not give ourselves entirely to Jesus through Mary? The answer is that we can, though consecration to Mary.
Total consecration to Mary a complete setting aside of one’s total self for the purpose of becoming an image of her in her virtues by and with her union with her son Jesus with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We are to allow ourselves to become docile instruments in the hands of Our Lady in order to allow her to form us more perfectly into the image of her Son, Jesus.
Our consecration to Our Lady is to mirror, as best as we can with the help of God’s grace, the total giving of our being to Our Lady, as Jesus himself did when he took human form having allowed himself to become fully dependent upon the Blessed Virgin Mary in her womb that he may be formed into our human likeness. It is in this way in the order of grace that we in our consecration spiritually become dependent upon Our Lady so that she may form us spiritually into the image of her son, Jesus.
To become holy is to become like Jesus. It is through Mary that we are given the most expedient means of becoming images of Jesus. The path or channels of grace that Christ chose in his incarnation are not to be seen as a one-way street. Our Lord Jesus came to us through Mary and so we are given to take the same path to Him.
As images of Jesus through Mary we are to walk His path from “crib, to Calvary, to crown”. That is to say, that we are called to live out our lives carrying out our particular vocation as Jesus carried out his mission. In our baptism and through Mary we are to offer our works, joys and sufferings in union with Christ’s meritorious sacrifice in his passion and death, so that we may too, by carry our crosses, die with him daily and so be raised with him into the order of his divine grace and finally at the end of our life upon earth enter into his kingdom having aided as many other souls as possible to do the same.
To learn more about Marian consecration, you may choose to read the classic work “True Devotion to Mary”, by St Louis de Montfort. In it St Louis wrote, “Consecration to Mary is a sure, short, certain and perfect way to arrive at union with God”. Other resources include a more recent book (available for free) called 33 Days to Morning Glory by Michael Gaitley, MIC. Additional resources, rich in Marian doctrine, can be found online at the Franciscans of The Immaculate website apostolates, airmaria.com and academyoftheimmaculate.com.