A Preacher Unlike Any Other

Would that Saint John Chrysostom, the Patron Saint of Preachers, could stand here in my place today and preach with the golden-mouthed eloquence given him by the Holy Ghost! How would we respond to his preaching? Saint Chrysostom's preaching disturbed the placid, inflamed the tepid, woke up the drowsy, exposed corruption, frightened the indifferent, unsettled the comfortable, and caused the pious to squirm.

His preaching also inspired confidence in the Blood of Christ, gave hope to the hopeless, caused sinners to weep with sorrow for their faults, inspired the rich to give abundantly of their wealth, moved people to detachment from earthly goods, humbled the haughty, brought fornicators to chastity, converted swindlers to justice, and endowed the ignorant with the science of Jesus Christ.

Immersion in the Word of God

The secret of Saint John Chrysostom's eloquence was his total immersion in the Word of God. Centuries later, Blessed Abbot Marmion would say that nothing imparts a penetrating unction to preaching as much as a continual reference to the Word of God. On this point the greatest preachers are of one mind: their task is to repeat the Word in other words, to deliver not their own wisdom, but the wisdom of God revealed in the "Word of the Cross" (1 Cor 1:18).

Take to heart Saint Chrysostom's admonition:

Listen carefully to me, I entreat you. . . . Procure books that will be medicines for the soul. . . . At least get a copy of the New Testament, the Apostle's epistles, the Acts, the Gospels, for your constant teachers. If you encounter grief, dive into them as into a chest of medicines; take from them comfort for your trouble, whether it be loss, or death, or bereavement over the loss of relations. Don't simply dive into them. Swim in them. Keep them constantly in your mind. The cause of all evils is the failure to know the Scriptures well.

The Cause of All Evils

The cause of all evils is the failure to know the Scriptures well. Why does the Golden-Mouthed Doctor say this? Because he who fails to know the Scriptures well fails to know the mind and heart of Christ. He who knows not the mind and heart of Christ receives the Body and Blood of Christ with little fruit. It is the Word, the "Word of the Cross" (1 Cor 1:18), that prepares us for the Holy Sacrifice.

Lectio Divina

It is the Word heard (lectio), repeated (meditatio), prayed (oratio), and held in the heart (contemplatio) that prepares the soul to receive the Sacred Body and Precious Blood of Christ, and prolongs the effects of Holy Communion throughout the day.

The Word of the Cross and the Fruits of the Precious Blood

The intensity of our Eucharistic life is directly proportionate to our immersion in the Word of God. Ask Saint John Chrysostom today to pray that we may cleave to the "Word of the Cross" (1 Cor 1:18) and so experience the lasting fruits of the Precious Blood of Christ.

Visit Today

Come and see! Our new website is here. We have wanted for some time to have a website for the monastery, distinct from Vultus Christi. Brother Benedict has created a website that is simple, attractively designed, rich in content, and user-friendly.

Questions Asked and Questions Answered

Some of you may have heard that at the end of February 2012, with Bishop Slattery's permission, blessing, and encouragement, we will be relocating to Ireland. There has been much speculation in some quarters -- not all of it helpful -- as to why we are going to the Isle of Saints and Scholars.

It is difficult to do anything at all without drawing criticism, but the fear of being criticized and misunderstood should not paralyze one from taking risks in faith, once a particular inspiration has been carefully discerned and has received the blessing of competent authority within the Church.

For my part, the joy of this new step far outweighs the sorrow of yet another detachment in my life. My experience and knowledge of Our Lord's love far outweigh the experience and knowledge of my own weakness. It is fear that snuffs out new life. It is trust in the faithful and merciful love of Christ that permits one to follow the sound of His voice, even on those days when a dense fog should make all movement perilous, and in those nights when the light of the moon and stars seems to have receded into an impenetrable darkness.

Our Newsletter, First Issue

The first issue of our newsletter, In Coenaculo, deals with these questions and answers them. You can download the newsletter here.

Profound Gratitude

My own desire was to relocate humbly and quietly, without drawing any attention to ourselves. We are going to Ireland to do what all monks everywhere do: we are going there to pray. We are going out of a profound gratitude for all that the sons and daughters of Ireland have given to the upbuilding of the Catholic Church in the United States. We are going to disappear into the heart of the Church in Ireland, to be love in the heart of that Church, and of the Church universal.

A Mere Mustard Seed

Brother Benedict and I are going over to Ireland like the tiny mustard seed. We are very little; the grace of Christ is immense. We are very frail; the grace of Christ is strong. We are probably very foolish; but the grace of Christ will make us wise. We are supported in our mission, not only by our beloved father in God, Bishop Edward J. Slattery of Tulsa, but also by our growing Oblate family in the U.S. We are, moreover, prepared to receive God-seeking men once we are settled in our new home.

A Monastic Mission

Ours is a mission to Ireland, it is true, but a mission that seeks not to teach, but to learn by abiding before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus; not to preach much, but to listen intently to the secrets of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus; not to reform anything or anyone but to reform ourselves by the steady and quiet pursuit of the conversion of our own hearts.

Deacon Keith Fournier on Catholic Online

Deacon Keith Fournier of Catholic Online has written a beautiful article on our monastic mission to Ireland. Whereas many folks seem not to "get it," Deacon Fournier does, and he "gets it" in such a way that one comes away from reading his article feeling humbled, grateful, and on fire with a holy charity. Thank you, Deacon Fournier.

This is the first of a series of letters that I will be writing to the Oblates of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle. I decided to address myself in these letters to each Oblate individually as well as to the entire growing Oblate family. The aim of these letters is to answer various questions that have arisen, and to offer something in the way of ghostly counsel to those who have a right to expect it from me.

My very dear Novice Oblate,

Turning and Returning to God

As your father in Christ, I am bound to offer you something in the way of instruction and guidance as you undertake the Benedictine journey of return to God. I'm writing to you today on the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul: a feast of turning, and returning to God in Christ, that effectively sums up the vocation of the monk and of the Oblate.

Becoming an Oblate

I wish that I could write to each one of you individually. Please accept instead, from time to time, my reflections on what it means to become -- and to be -- an Oblate of our monastery. I will often allude to the text of the Holy Rule in these reflections. Take the time to open your copy of the Rule and to read the references that I will provide.

Your Oblation

The word Oblate means someone or something offered irrevocably to God. An Oblation is the solemn making-over to God of a person or thing, in such wise that the person or thing, once offered, belongs to God alone. By becoming an Oblation, such a person or thing has passed out of what is ephemeral and corruptible into the heavenly sanctuary beyond the veil "where the forerunner Jesus is entered for us, made a high priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech."(Hebrews 6:19)

A Little Hand on the Altar

When Roman parents would bring their sons to Saint Benedict, offering them to God, as the child Samuel was offered to the priest Heli for a life of Divine Service in the Temple (cf. 1 Kings3:1-10), they participated in a sacred rite of Oblation at the monastery. The rite took place during Holy Mass. Saint Benedict would wrap the hand of the child being offered in the altar cloth upon which the Body of Christ would rest, signifying the child's identification with Christ Jesus in His perpetual offering to the Father.

An Offering to the Father

In later centuries, when adult Christians began offering themselves to God in a similar way, by attaching themselves to the altar of a particular monastery, the underlying significance of the Oblation remained. Your vocation as an Oblate makes you -- and your entire life -- an offering to the Father in communion with the offering that rises daily from the altar of your monastery: that of Christ, and that of your monastic family.

Your Spiritual Worship

The Benedictine tradition sees Oblation as an act intimately tied to the altar of the monastery and to the mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist (cf. RB 58:20-21; 59: 1-2). Oblation is, then, a free act of self-offering to God, patterned after the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim, from the altar of the Cross. One of the key texts for understanding your vocation as an Oblate is what Saint Paul wrote to the Romans: "I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1).

For the Body of Christ, the Church

The Holy Ghost has, in some way -- through a series of events, personal encounters, and circumstances -- drawn you to the altar of our humble little monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle to make the offering of yourself with Christ. As an Oblate you will begin to live from the altar, in communion with those of us who remain within the monastic enclosure, not for yourself alone in any narrow way, but, rather, for the sake of the whole Body of Christ, that is the Church. "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you," says Saint Paul, "and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for his body, which is the Church " (Colossians 1:24).

Near and Far

The Church will recognize your Oblation as a special bond between you and our monastery (cf. CCL, can. 303; can. 677 §2). Being primarily spiritual, this bond is not dependent upon geographic proximity. Anyone who has discerned a spiritual affinity with the Rule of Saint Benedict and with our monastery's particular charism of Eucharistic adoration, reparation, and supplication for the sanctification of priests can ask to become an Oblate.

The Holy Rule

Begin looking to the Rule of Saint Benedict to guide you in "truly seeking God" (cf. RB 58:7). Saint Benedict will teach you, gently but firmly to "prefer nothing to the love of Christ" (RB 4: 21). He will encourage you to "take your part in the sufferings of Christ through patience, so as to share also in his kingdom" (RB Pro: 50).

From Every Walk of Life

Oblates come from every walk of life: single and married and widowed, young and old. Some are the mothers and fathers of large families of little ones and not-so-little ones. There are farmers and cattle ranchers, housekeepers and cooks, teachers, doctors, lawyers, artists nurses, and photographers. What do you all have in common? You desire, while continuing in your own unique own state in life, to enroll yourself in the "school of the Lord's service" (RB Pro: 45) established 1500 years ago by Saint Benedict, our father and teacher. You desire to "persevere with one mind in prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus" (Acts 1:14). You are drawn to the adoration of the Eucharistic Face of Jesus, shining more brightly than the sun from the tabernacles of the Church, in this world's dark night of faith.

Diocesan Priests

There will be diocesan priests, deacons, and seminarians among the Oblates of our monastery. Many priests have found in Saint Benedict's "little Rule written for beginners" (RB 73:8) and in our monastery's charism of Eucharistic adoration a strong support for living boldly in the midst of the world as "ministers of Christ and dispensers of the mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1).

Be Informed, Reformed, and Transformed

Seek to grow into the full stature of your Baptismal consecration by drawing all of the little things that make up daily life into the upward movement of your Oblation to the Father. Every little thing has Eucharistic potential. There is no thing that cannot be brought to the altar and given back to God. Go forward humbly but confidently, letting the Rule of Saint Benedict inform you, reform you, and transform you. The Holy Rule is a humble handbook to holy living, one that the Holy Ghost has used through the ages to form saints ablaze with the love of Christ.

In Spirit and in Truth

In the months that lie ahead I will encourage you to become familiar with some of these saints, and to walk in their company. In the final analysis, there is no saint who was not, in all truth, an Oblate, for an Oblate is one who longs to say with Saint Paul, "I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I live now in the flesh: I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me" (Galatians 2:20). Just as Christ Jesus gave Himself up to the Father for you, give yourself up to Him, that in His priestly hands you may become an Oblation "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23).

With my affection and my blessing,
In lumine vultu Iesu,

Father Prior

A Divine Inbreaking

For Benedictines who make a vow of conversion -- conversatio morum -- the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul holds a special significance. For the Benedictine monk, the nun, or the Oblate, conversion is not a once-and-for-all event, it is a mystery of grace that unfolds day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute. It is a Divine inbreaking that re-orders what is disordered in a soul; that re-shapes what is misshapen; and that calls one out of the darkness into the radiance of the glory of God shining on the Face of Christ.

Blind Me that I May See Rightly

One does not embrace the monastic way in order to settle into a tranquil routine of pious complacency. One embraces the monastic way in order to expose one's heart to the piercing two-edged sword of the Word of God, and to the wounding darts of Divine Love. One embraces the monastic way in order to blinded by Deifying Light, so as to see again not as one once saw, but with new eyes and from an altogether new perspective.

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Christ Jesus. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Praying Against Oneself

One embraces the monastic life, in a certain sense, to pray tirelessly against one's own twisted and twisting proclivities, and to turn, and turn, and turn again, until one lives facing Christ or, as Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity puts it, until one lives "with one's eyes in His eyes," avec les yeux dans ses yeux. To vow oneself to conversion of manners is to say relentlessly over an entire lifetime with the poet:

Batter my heart, three-personed God, for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurped town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but Oh, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betrothed unto your enemy:
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

(John Donne, Holy Sonnet XIV)

But in all these things we overcome, because of him that hath loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)

The Presence of Saint Paul

Why does Saint Paul hold, even after two thousand years, such sway over hearts and minds in every culture and nation? Why does Saint Paul continue to speak compellingly to every man and every woman? Why was Saint Augustine's life turned around so dramatically and so gloriously when he seized upon a book and, opening it, read from Saint Paul's Epistle to the Romans? Why is the Rule of Saint Benedict shot through with the Pauline passion for the love of Christ? Why, even in the conflicts that set believer against believer, did Saint Paul remain, on both sides of the conflict, the measure of what it means to belong to Christ? Why, in the last century did Saint Paul so capture the thought of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, Doctor of the Church; of the Benedictine Abbot, Blessed Columba Marmion; of the young Carmelite, Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity that one is obliged to conclude that, apart from an immersion in his Epistles, there can be no lasting conversion of souls to Christ, and no authentically Christian mysticism?

To me, the least of all the saints, is given this grace, to preach among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ. (Ephesians 3:8)

Paul Gives Me Christ

I began reading Saint Paul as a small boy, withdrawing on quiet mornings into the narrow space between my bed and the wall, and going from discovery to discovery in the New Testament that my father gave me, and that I still treasure. More than fifty years on, I am still reading Saint Paul in whatever quiet space I can find? Why? Because Saint Paul gives me Christ. Because Saint Paul places my soul in Christ, and Christ in my soul. Because Saint Paul, once converted on the road to Damascus, has never stopped converting others to Christ Jesus in the wake of his own experience, and because I need, and want, and have vowed a lifetime of conversion.

And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me. And that I live now in the flesh: I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Doctor of the Virginity of Mary

Today is the feast of Saint Ildephonsus, Archbishop of Toledo (+ 23 January 667). Dom Guéranger calls him the Doctor of the Virginity of Mary. Saint Ildephonsus established the feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is still kept in some places on December 18th.

At the Altar

It is recounted that on this feast of the Mother of God, Archbishop Ildephonsus, together with some of his clergy, hastened to church before the hour of Matins to honour Our Blessed Lady with their songs. Arriving close to the church, they found it all ablaze with a heavenly radiance. This so frightened the little band that all fled, except for Archbishop Ildephonsus and his two faithful deacons. Deacons, take note! With wildly beating hearts, these entered the church and made their way to the altar. A great mystery was about to unfold.

A Chasuble from the Treasury of Heaven

There, seated on the Archbishop's throne, was the august Queen of Heaven surrounded by choirs of angels and holy virgins. The chants of paradise filled the air. Our Blessed Lady beckoned Ildephonsus to approach her. Looking upon him with tenderness and majesty, she said: "Thou art my chaplain and faithful notary. Receive from me this chasuble, which my Son sends you from His treasury." Having said this, the Immaculate Virgin clothed Ildephonsus in the chasuble, and instructed him to wear it for the Holy Sacrifice on her festivals.

The account of this apparition, and of the miraculous chasuble, was deemed so certain and utterly beyond doubt, that news of it spread through the Church, even reaching the Ethiopians. The Church of Toledo honoured the event with a special proper Mass and Office. What was the miraculous chasuble like? Artists through the ages have sought to depict it, more often than not in rich brocades of gold and blue.

Gifts from Heaven

Sceptics may smile condescendingly and dismiss the story as a pious fabulation. Serious studies of the various gratiae gratis datae -- graces freely given -- are not without evidence of the phenomenon of material gifts brought from heaven. One finds examples of it as recently as in the life of Mother Yvonne-Aimée of Malestroit (1901-1951). A classic example of the phenomenon would be the cincture of the Angelic Warfare with which angels girded Saint Thomas Aquinas after his victory over a temptation of the flesh.

The Prayer of Saint Ildephonsus

I used the celebrated prayer of Saint Ildephonsus this past January 1st to renew my total consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I am thy slave, because Thy Son is my Master. Therefore thou art my Lady, because thou art the handmaid of my Lord. Therefore I am the slave of the handmaid of my Lord, because thou, my Lady, didst become the Mother of my Lord. Therefore I have become thy slave, because thou didst become the Mother of my Maker.

You will find the full text of the prayer here together with Murillo's depiction of Our Lady's bestowal of the chasuble from heaven.

The Introit

In the Introit of today's Mass we call upon the Angels of God to adore Him. This angelic adoration is the setting in which the Holy Mass unfolds, in a particular way today. "But you are come," we read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, "to mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels" (Heb 12:22). Sion, that is to say, the Church, even in this valley of tears, hears echoes of the angelic songs in her liturgy, and so the daughters of Juda, the children of Mother Church, rejoice and, placing themselves in the school of the Angels, learn to adore.

The Angels

Our participation in the liturgy of the Angels and their participation in the liturgy of the Church on earth is recalled with a wonderful lyricism in the Preface of every Mass: Through Christ, the Angels praise the majesty of the Father, the Dominations adore, the Powers tremble in awe. The Heavens and the hosts of heaven unite together with the blessed Seraphim to exult and celebrate the praise of God. It is a distinctively Benedictine trait to celebrate the Sacred Liturgy conscious of the presence of the Angels, and attentive to their heavenly adoration and jubilations. The presence of the adoring Angels, then, would be, I think, the first element in today's Mass that solicits the attention of our minds and hearts.

The Collect

The second element appears in the Collect. We ask God to look mercifully upon our weakness, just as Jesus looked mercifully upon the infirmity of the leper who approached Him weighed down by the frightful nature of his affliction and yet confident in His compassion and in His power. Infirmitatem nostram propitius respice. We ask, however, not only that the Lord fix His gaze upon us -- although that alone of itself would be sufficient to purify and heal us completely. We ask God to stretch forth His right hand -- that is, the mighty, active hand by which He works wonders -- to be a shelter over us. Ad protegendum nos, dexteram tuae majestatis, extende. "Stretch for the right hand of Thy majesty to protect us."

The Hand of God

The powerfully evocative image of the hand of God recurs in the Gospel. "And behold a leper came and adored him, saying: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus stretching forth his hand, touched him, saying: I will, be thou made clean. And forthwith his leprosy was cleansed" (Mt 8:2-3). The Gospel brings the petition of the Collect into focus. One needs the word of the Gospel in order to understand the implications of the petition made in the Collect.

The Offertory Antiphon

But wait! There is still more. The Offertory Antiphon, sung after the proclamation of the Holy Gospel, celebrate the cleansing of the leper with accents of surpassing gladness and thanksgiving. "The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength: the right hand of the Lord hath exalted me: I shall not die, but live: and shall declare the works of the Lord" Ps 117:16-17). It is the leper who, with the vigor and energy of a man made altogether new, intones the Offertory Antiphon today in the midst of the Church, so that we might take it up, and make it our own.

The Word of the Lord

The third element that captures our attention in today's Mass is the efficacious and all-powerful word of the Lord. When Jesus speaks with Divine Authority, what He utters is accomplished. "All wondered at these things which proceeded from the mouth of God" (Lk 5:22). What are these things? The things that proceed from the mouth of God are recounted for us in the Gospel. To the leper Jesus says, "I will. Be thou made clean" (Mt 8:3) And to the centurion, He says, "Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee" (Mt 8:13).

The Body and Blood of the Lord

And there is still another word of Jesus that the Communion Antiphon brings to mind. It is this one, spoken in the Cenacle on the night before He suffered: "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of me," and "This is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you" (Lk 22:19-20).

Three Elements

These three elements: the adoration of the Angels; the Hand of the Lord, and the Word of the Lord speak to us not only during the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice, but continue to capture our attention long after the Ite Missa Est. In particular do we bring them with us to our adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament. There too, the Angels are present and adoring. There too does the Lord stretch forth His right hand to effect changes within us, to cleanse us, to heal us, to raise us up. There too, does the Lord speak words of power, words capable of changing our hearts and giving us back our lives.

Learning from the Leper

To experience these three elements, even in personal prayer, we have only to imitate the four steps taken by the leper in the Gospel. First, he came to Jesus. Second, he adored Jesus. Third, he spoke to Jesus. Fourth, he allowed Jesus to act in him and upon him. Contemplative prayer, real contact with Our Lord by faith, hope, and charity, is much easier than some books of piety would have us believe. First, come to Jesus. Second, adore Jesus. Third, speak to Jesus. Fourth, allow Jesus to act upon you, to change you.

Singing Your Thanksgiving

Do these things and you too will begin to sing with the leper who got his life back in the words of today's Offertory Antiphon and in harmony with the Angels: "The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength: the right hand of the Lord hath exalted me: I shall not die, but live: and shall declare the works of the Lord" Ps 117:16-17).

A friend came by the monastery today and asked if I might reflect with her on the practice of Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary, following the doctrine of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort. I remembered having written this little reflection in the form of a letter for Alessandro, and thought that I would post it again. I trust that my friend will find it, in some way, helpful.

14 August 2009
Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe, priest and martyr
Vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Dear Alessandro,

With your characteristic candor and enthusiasm, you asked me a few days ago about the various ways of consecrating oneself to the Blessed Virgin Mary. You referred, in particular, to Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort's plan for total consecration to Mary, and to the Act of Consecration composed by today's Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe.

I prayed this morning about your question and found myself reflecting on the meaning of consecration. You know, of course, that Pope John Paul II proposed the word affidamento, which one might translate as entrustment. (Read Msgr. Arthur B. Calkins' book: Totus Tuus: John Paul II's Program of Marian Consecration & Entrustment.) Personally, I think that, at least in English, entrustment rather weakens the notion of consecration, especially when one approaches it through the lens of Saint John's Gospel and through Saint Paul's Epistles.

Consecration can mean two things: it can refer to the action by which one hands oneself over to God in imitation of Christ:

The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal 2:20).

Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph 5:2).

Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her that He might sanctify her (Eph 5:25).

You can see that "handing oneself over" "giving oneself up" is intrinsically linked to the idea of sacrifice, which, in turn, is related to sanctification or consecration.

And for their sake I consecrate Myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth (Jn 17:19).

The meaning of "to consecrate" in this context is "to sacrifice." One might render the above verse correctly as:

And for their sake I sacrifice Myself, that they also may be sacrificed in truth (Jn 17:19).

You may find the equivalence of to consecrate and to sacrifice a little frightening. I understand your apprehension. To sacrifice comes from two Latin roots: sacer (sacred) and facio (to do or make). In Book Ten of the The City of God, Saint Augustine explains that anything or anyone placed upon the altar becomes sacrificium; it or he becomes consecrated, that is, radically and irreversibly made over/given up/handed over to God. This is what Saint Paul says:

I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (Rom 12:1).

There are two moments in every sacrificium or consecration. The first moment corresponds to the Offertory of the Mass. One hands oneself over, offering to God one's body and soul, one's past, present, and future. Here the action is human; it engages one's free will and, normally, finds expression in the formulation of an "act of consecration."

From the human perspective, this is the active mode of consecration. One must hold fast, nonethless, to the truth that every good action is a free response, made possible by grace, to a divine solicitation of the heart. One consecrates oneself at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and in the grace of obedience to that inner prompting. I consecrate myself.

The second moment corresponds to the consecration of the Mass. One is acted upon by the Holy Spirit sent by the Father at the invocation of the Son. Here the action is divine, not human. The agent is God Himself, the work of sanctification/consecration being fittingly attributed to the Holy Spirit. I am consecrated.

Why would one risk an act of consecration, knowing full well that it will bring upon the one making it a configuration to Christ Jesus in the mystery of His sacrifice? One dares to consecrate oneself because it is the only response worthy of the love of God.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? (Rom 8:32)

To be consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and to be abandoned or given over to His love are, in effect the same thing. By consecrating oneself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is to hand oneself over to His merciful love. This action on our part allows Our Lord to act upon us freely in view of the glory of His Father, the fruitfulness of His Church, and our own sanctification. Our Lord seeks souls who will hand themselves over to His love, just as He handed himself over to His Father's love upon the altar of the Cross.

This is where Marian consecration comes in. The most effective way of handing oneself over to Jesus is through Mary. The consecration of oneself, made in her virginal hands, is immediately "handed over" to Jesus, the Eternal High Priest, who, in turn, unites it to His own perfect oblation to the Father.

There are many ways of making this act of consecration to Our Lady. This past year I renewed my own Marian consecration by using the prayer of Saint Ildephonsus of Toledo. The beautiful prayer of consecration of Père Croset has marked my own life profoundly. You will find it here.

The act of consecration should not be done lightly. One should take counsel of one's spiritual father and prepare for the act of consecration over a certain period of time. I recommend that the act of consecration coincide with one of Our Blessed Lady's liturgical feasts. An act of consecration should be renewed frequently and need not always be renewed using the same formula.

The best way of demonstrating what an act of consecration might look like is by sharing with you the one that I wrote this morning during my prayer. Here it is:

O Immaculate Virgin Mary,
beloved Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Mother of the Church and Mediatrix of All Graces,
I want to "hand myself over" to you,
just as your servant Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe "handed himself over" to you
in a inspired act of consecration.
You are my Mother;
therefore I am not afraid of trusting you with my life
You are my Advocate;
therefore I am confident that you will plead for me
until I am safely with you in heaven.
You are my Queen;
therefore I know that all power in heaven and on earth
has been given you by your Divine Son,
Creator, Redeemer, and King of the Universe.
You are the Coredemptrix participating fully in the sacrifice of your Son;
therefore all that is made over to you,
you hand over to Him
to be taken up into His oblation for the glory of the Father and the salvation of souls.
There is no more effective way of entering into the Work of Redemption
than by consecrating myself to you.
I am confident that your Immaculate Heart will so order all things
that by giving myself to you,
I will be handed over to your Son, Priest and Victim,
to pass over, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, with Him
into the glory of the Father where you wait for the homecoming
of all your sons and daughters.
O clement! O loving! O sweet Virgin Mary!

I hope that this letter responds, in some way, to your questions about Marian consecration. I bless you and keep you in my prayer.

Father

Lo Spagnoletto, José de Ribera (1591-1652) here depicts Saint Irene of Rome (+288 A.D.) ministering to Saint Sebastian (+288 A.D.)

Left for Dead

There are mortal sufferings from which human beings are not expected to recover. There are torturers of the soul who leave their victims for dead, certain that they will not recover their strength and revive. There are people who, having suffered the cruel assaults of evildoers, astonish those who know them, by going on to live and give witness to the love of Christ.

Saint Sebastian, Martyr

I am thinking today of the Christian soldier Saint Sebastian, condemned to death for comforting persecuted Christians; then bound to a tree, shot through with arrows, and left for dead. And I am thinking of Saint Irene of Rome, the wife of Saint Castulus, who sought out Saint Sebastian and washed his wounds, applying healing balms and medicines, until with strength renewed, Saint Sebastian appeared in the presence of Diocletian to bear witness to Christ.

The Sexually Abused Child

I am thinking today of the small child who was sexually abused. Having had his innocence taken from him; having suffered a confusion of emotions too terrible for him to sort out; having lost all sense of security and safety; and locked into a silence born of fear, the odds are against such a child ever emerging from the shadows and fully living the life he was meant to live.

The Battered Wife

I am thinking today of the woman who, after having given herself to a man in marriage, finds that he is possessed of an uncontrollable rage. She suffers violence at the hands of the very man who pledged to cherish and protect her. The odds are against such a woman ever emerging from the shadows and recovering the ability to love again, and to trust.

The Forsaken Priest

I am thinking today of the man, the priest, who, after having pledged his life, his energies, and his all to the Church, the Body and the Bride of Christ, finds himself accused of a weakness, a sin, or a crime, and then, utterly forsaken, cast aside, and declared untouchable by those who profess to be in the service of the all-merciful Saviour. The odds are against such a priest ever emerging from the shadows and finding repentance, healing, and reconciliation in the heart of the Church.

But They Do Not Die

These are but three examples of innumerable the soul-killing aggressions from which the perpetrators walk away, leaving their victims for dead. But the victims do not die. They suffer. They bleed. Their wounds become infected and even putrid, but they do not die.

Saint Irene the Healer

Somehow -- often by the ministrations of one mortally wounded like themselves, but come back to life, life in abundance -- such victims can and sometimes do recover and, in a certain sense, return from the dead. Someone stops to tend to their wounds, to disinfect them, and bind them up. "A certain Samaritan," says the Lord, "being on his journey, came near him; and seeing him, was moved with compassion. And going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine: and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. " (Luke 10:33-34).

Into the Light

Saint Sebastian is an icon of souls left for dead, but brought back to life in order to give their witness to Christ. Saint Irene is an icon of those who minister to the mortally wounded, often risking their security and their reputation to do so. Today I ask the intercession of both saints, that those who are mortally wounded in their souls may emerge from the shadows to contemplate in the light the Face of Him who says, "I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).