Consecration to Mary: the “Totus Tuus” and true devotion
Consecration to Mary is the total giving of oneself to Jesus Christ through Mary. Far from being a devotion that rivals Christ, it is a sure path to Him: “to Jesus through Mary.” Popularized by Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort and adopted as a motto by Saint John Paul II – Totus Tuus (“all yours”) – it is today one of the most widely practiced Marian devotions. This guide explains what it is, its origin, and its theological meaning.
What consecration to Mary is
To consecrate oneself to Mary is to entrust to her one’s whole life – body and soul, interior and exterior goods – so that she may offer them to Christ and lead us to Him. The foundation is simple: if God willed to come to us through Mary, it is also through Mary that we most surely go to God. Marian consecration is therefore essentially Christocentric: it has its end in Christ and depends totally on Him, as does the office of Mediatrix.
Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort and the “Totus Tuus”
In the eighteenth century, Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort wrote the Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, proposing the “holy slavery of love” to Mary as the most perfect and easiest way to union with Christ. From him comes the motto “Totus Tuus ego sum” (“I am all yours”), which Saint John Paul II chose for his pontificate, making of it a synthesis of his entire Marian spirituality.
From “consecration” to “entrustment”
Recent theology, especially since the Second Vatican Council and the encyclical Redemptoris Mater, has deepened the meaning of this self-giving. More than a juridical act of “consecration” (a term that, strictly speaking, belongs to God), one speaks of entrustment – the filial confidence with which the disciple “welcomes Mary as his own,” after the manner of the beloved disciple who received her at the foot of the Cross (Jn 19:27). It is the relationship of a son with his mother, not the replacement of the self-giving owed to God alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does consecrating oneself to Mary take something away from God?
No. Consecration to Mary is ordered entirely to Christ: one gives oneself to Him through Mary. She always leads to the Son.
What does “Totus Tuus” mean?
“All yours” – the formula of Saint Louis de Montfort, adopted by Saint John Paul II, which expresses the total self-giving to Christ through the hands of Mary.
See also
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This article grows out of the works in the Locus Mariologicus library. The Postgraduate Program in Mariology takes you to the same source, with academic guidance: Scripture, the Fathers of the Church, and the Magisterium, from the first dogma to contemporary questions.
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