Annunciation and Consecration
19 years ago, I consecrated myself to the Blessed Mother. At the time, it was both the hardest and the easiest choice I have ever made.
I was raised Baptist, we never taught about the Saints or the Blessed Mother accept in passing.
I had lost my faith the previous year, and became a secret atheist. I couldn't believe in a God that hated me, and whose followers were such self righteous hypocrites. I hated God. I hated the Church, and more than anything, I hated myself.
One night, in the December of 1994, I decided to kill myself. It wasn't a rash decision. I had made pro and con tables and given it a lot of thought, and believed the best thing I could do was end my life. Through a series of circumstances I cannot fathom to this day, I stumbled on a copy of The Secret of the Rosary by St Louis De Montfort. In one of the introductory chapters, he wrote:
“If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins “you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory.” Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if - and mark well what I say - if you say the Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins. ”
All my life I was told that God hated me, and there was nothing I could do about it. I was curious how this Rosary could do anything. So, I read through the whole book. I was moved to my core, but I didn't have a rosary. I counted the beads on my fingers and recited my first rosary.
Something changed within me. I felt a love that I never thought could be real. I cried myself to sleep that night.
I hunted down all of his books, including The Secret of Mary and True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In these books, St Louis recommends a 33 day preparation and a Total and True Consecration to the Blessed Mother. I chose the Feast of the Annunciation for my consecration day, and started my preparation.
The Feast of the Annunciation
Through this process, and over the years that followed, I have learned many things about the Annunciation of Our Lord.
Did it happen?
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! I get so tired of people who do not understand spirituality asking questions about metaphysical truth in history. Historical truth is a beautiful thing, but life is affected by stories not events.
If we ask, "Exactly what happened to Mary on that day 2000 years ago?" We have fallen off the path. Did she see an angel? just hear a voice? How exactly did she conceive the child? All of these questions are distractions. They draw our eyes away from the story which tells us a poor young Jewish girl, surrounded by oppression and poverty conceived a Child not from this world.
“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”.”
A biological child is born into a world where survival of the fittest is the only law. Her Child is the Son of the Most High, who seeks compassion over survival and power. No one who lives only by the flesh can enter the kingdom of God, which is compassion, light, and justice. Mary's Son would be different:
“And Mary said : “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave ; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM. He has done mighty deeds with His arm ; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS ; And sent away the rich empty-handed. He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.” ”
The Angel's Annunciation is for you
“My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you- ”
The call to give birth to the Son of God still goes out to this day. The difference is, no longer does an angel deliver the message, but Christ himself: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock ; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me (Revelation 3:20)."
Open the door, and let Jesus into your heart. Awaken to the interconnectedness of all things. Lift up the low. Raise up those who need your help to stand. Have the courage to live in the Light. Walk in Compassion and Justice.
Sisters and Brothers, turn your heart toward the One who holds all things together and walk the path of Spirit until Christ Jesus is born through you into the world. You are not alone. In the Matrix of the Blessed Mother who molded the Christ, we will be formed into the perfect and true Image of God.
How do we do this, we follow the example of our Blessed Mother:
“Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”