Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Annunciation, in which we recall the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary and announcing that she would be the Mother of Our Lord. It is a feast of great significance to me, whether to just myself, or to others special to me. My Dad became a Catholic March 25, 1989, as the Easter Vigil happened to fall on that date that year. Nine years ago today, I met my beloved wife in person for the first time. Finally, seventeen years ago, and renewed every year since then, with the exception of 1999, I made my Total Consecration to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In that sweet devotion, one consecrates all he is and has to Our Lord through the Blessed Mother.
This year, I felt myself aware of the prayers of this devotion in a way not felt since 1998. There are 33 days of prayer before making one's consecration: 12 preparatory days, followed by 7 days each focused on knowledge of self, Mary and Jesus. As I approached my date of renewal, I became aware of what my offering would be. While a devotion such as this might be foreign to those of other Christian denominations, or to those who do not know Christ at all, I urge my Catholic brethren to place yourselves in the loving care of our Blessed Mother, and ask her to lead you to Jesus, and to help you bring Christ to the world.
One need only look at the recent history of scandal within the Catholic Church, including but far from limited to the clergy sex abuse scandal, to know the Church is wounded and suffering from a severe crisis in faith. The individual scandals only serve as symptoms of a greater evil, a lack of supernatural faith and of fidelity to what the Catholic Church truly teaches. It has resulted in a dying of the love many once had for the Church, and eager hand wringing from those who have long hated Her, whether those of no faith or those of a different faith who, for one reason or another, want to see Her disappear from the earth. I love to disappoint those in both categories; it's not going to happen. The gates of hell shall not prevail against us.
That said, it is not a time to become complacent or dismiss the undeniable challenges to the Faith. The powers of hell may not have the last laugh. They may know they're going down in the end in utter defeat, but they are determined to bring down as many souls with them in the end, and if we are not careful, any one of us could be one of them. We need to grow in humility if we are to grow in faith. What good is it to proclaim boldly, as Peter and the other Apostles at the Last Supper, "I will die with you," then fall because we failed to take the time to pray? You may not be called to die for the Faith, but if you are a Catholic and expect to skate through life without having to put up or shut up when it comes to defending the truth, your head is in the sand.
We see people losing their livelihoods because of their fidelity to Christian teaching. The worst part is the number of Catholics who have lost and will lose jobs at CATHOLIC institutions for daring to share Catholic teachings. Don't believe me? Look up Patricia Jannuzzi. Being from the same diocese at the moment, I've probably just guaranteed I will never hold any position of significance within it, but the administrative jobs in parishes and dioceses will come and go. Besides, being blackballed by the establishment in the Church (not to be confused with the Magisterium) would put me in good company. Christ lasts forever, and I want to be on His side. Believe me, it's easier to shut up and just accept every new trend and every assault on the teachings of the Catholic Church, go through life taking the Sacraments, still identifying as Catholic. In so many ways, it would be easier to give up Our Lord for thirty pieces of silver; Lord knows I've struggled monetarily at times in my life. It would be easier to say, as Peter did three times when put to the test, "I don't know him," even swearing and cursing to get people off my back. It would be easier to run, as did nine other Apostles, than to stand by Him at the Cross. That is, at least until death.
Catholics, you have a choice today. You can do what is easy, or you can do what is right. There is no way to have it both ways. If we live with the spirit of entitlement, as is so prevalent today, then our faith will be smothered. If we live, to paraphrase Mary, proclaiming humbly, "I am the servant of The Lord," we open ourselves to God's grace within us, and we will be faithful. This leads me back to the original point of my post, the Total Consecration. When choosing a consecration date, it is customary to choose a Marian feast day. The next date on the calendar after today, while not specifically a Marian feast, is April 28, the feast of St. Louis Marie de Montfort, who began the Total Consecration devotion. For those wishing to begin, the first day of the preparatory prayers is tomorrow. You can follow along according to the schedule on their website. Or, if you prefer book form, you can purchase it and other materials from Montfort Publications. If another devotion is what works for you, whatever the case may be, let us ask God to purify and humble us. A war is upon us that will not be fought with earthly weapons, but in the heart and soul of every human being. On your knees for battle, soldiers! Deus Vult! Totus Tuus!
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