Or, Preparing to Prepare

Whether to plan to make the full 33 day consecration or you are making an abreviated three day re-consecration, there are some practical considerations to take into account. First, do I intend to make my act of Consecration on a specific day? Next, do I have all the needed items to prepare fully? Do I understand the gravity of what I am about to do? Am I really ready?

When Should I Start?

On a practical level, any day will do. Taco Tuesday is a possibility, Maybe the 29th of February. Like the old saying goes, if you don’t have a destination, it doesn’t matter much how you get there. But for most people who make their consecration, they begin with the end in mind. They may wih to honor Our Lady’s Assumption on August 15th, and so they begin to prepare 34 days before on July 13th. For those making a 9 day consecration in the spirit of St Maximilian Kolbe, you may want to consider August 14th.

What Do I Need?

The resources that you need to prepare for consecration are pretty well at hand for anyone with an internet connection. If you would like to use a pdf version of the 33 day preparation of St Louis de Montfort, take a look at our Resources page for a quick download. This can be added to any ereader or smartphone. If you would like a physical copy, I suggest purchasing from a local Catholic store (Subsidiarity!) or a catholic publishing house online. You might also consider items like a chain to wear once you’ve made your consecration. It is a helpful reminder of the total entrustment you have made by giving yourself completely to Jesus through Mary. Helpful, but not required.

What am I Doing?

Making an act of total consecration is serious business. In short, it is the total giving of your self, all that you have, are, and will be. Everything belongs to Christ and his Mother. Every grace you merit is given to Our Lady to do with as she will. I had a friend who decided not to make the act of consecration after his preparation because he did not think that he could live a life truly based on absolute donation of his self. He said, jokingly, that he didn’t want to get to purgatory and be handed a broom and dust pan and be told that once everyone leaves, his job was to tidy the place up and turn out the lights.

It is a humorous example, but there is a serious consideration there. Having given up everything we have to Our Lord and Lady, we will appear before God empty handed. No works or merits in our favor. Every act of love, kindness, devotion, charity, everything will have been given up with trust in a God who loves us with an infinite love. Are you willing to give that much? Are you ready to trust that completely?