By Livia Soetedjo (Total Consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary Facilitator)
St Louis de Montfort recognized that at its very foundation Christian life is nothing less than a total sharing and a profound participation in the life of Jesus Christ. Fr de Montfort’s great desire was to produce a stable, deep, profound devotion to Our Lady in the heart of the Christian faithful. Because through that, he recognized that Christian life itself will be renewed and this is the key to the renewal of the Church. In the words of Fr de Montfort, no one can truly be a child of God the Father without also being a child of Mary.
Many of us come to the idea of consecration in various ways. We recall “The Heart of Living” seminar organized by the Montfortian Associates on 2 October 2021. 90 people attended the seminar and listened to Brother Dominic Yeo-Koh’s sharing on how Mary gave her consent for God’s will to be done. During the seminar, Brother Dominic also invited participants to reflect whether they have given their ‘yes’ to God.
This year as we celebrate the 180th anniversary of the discovery of True Devotion, Montfortian Associates Singapore embarked on the 5th batch of the Total Consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary (TCM) Journey. Upon attending “The Heart of Living” seminar, 57 participants were inspired to begin to learn the True Devotion and embark on this journey to make an act of consecration to Our Lady and endeavor to live the consecration.
Participants are divided into 6 groups and 12 Montfortian Associates from previous batches are involved in this journey as facilitators. The TCM journey will take about 9 months.
The Preparation for Total Consecration involves the following movements:
· Introduction and Renunciation of the world – 12 days, started on 22 January 2022
· Knowledge of self – week 1 (7 days)
· Knowledge of Mary – week 2 (7 days)
· Knowledge of Jesus – week 3 (7 days)
· Total Consecration Retreat on 7-9 October 2022
The first session was introduction and renunciation of the world; it was conducted online on Saturday, 22 January morning. Participants had the chance to get to know each other and to get to know the facilitators before sharing the reflection question. There will also be face-to-face sessions at Montfort Centre at the beginning of each movement.
We pray for God’s graces and protection over all participants and all people involved in this TCM journey. May Almighty God grant us His graces to surrender ourselves fully into the care of the great Mother of God in the same way that the Lord himself has done for us and for our salvation.
My reflection on the Total Consecration journey
As a convert, I didn’t know much about Mary, however, I was curious to know about her, especially having seen how novena devotion at Church of St Alphonsus was always crowded and packed. I picked up and read a do-it-yourself retreat booklet (33 days to morning glory), but nothing really seemed to click for me, and I didn’t feel like anything had changed. Finally, I signed up for the TCM journey at Montfort Centre and did the consecration for the first time in 2020. It was a wonderful experience to learn what true devotion really means. To me making an act of consecration to Our Lady is just the beginning of a long journey, on the daily basis I need to always turn to her with confident, trust and place my life in her care. It is a way of life to be lived.
Indeed, it is a blessing that I can go through the TCM journey again this year as a facilitator. We are still at the beginning of the journey; however, it remains as a continuous learning experience, and it helps me to go deeper in my understanding of Montfort Spirituality. I pray that this journey will be a renewal in my Christian life, to do all things through Mary, with Mary, in Mary and for Mary, for the greater glory of God.
May this 180th anniversary year of the finding of the True Devotion be for all of us a renewal of our baptismal consecration to Christ Jesus, Son of Mary.
Mary, Queen of all hearts, pray for us.
St Louis de Montfort, pray for us.