In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our mother the Virgin Mary defends us from the power of the evil one, who is always on
the lookout to make us sin and make us turn away from God.
And, in case of sin, our mother the Virgin Mary, like a good mother, looks for us and
waits for us to appear repentant before our Lord Jesus Christ.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori tells us the famous story of Theophilus, written by Eutiquiano,
Patriarch of Constantinople, an eyewitness to this story and confirmed by Saint Peter
Damien, Saint Bernard, Saint Bonaventure and others.
He was Theophilus Archdeacon of the Church of Adana, city of Cilicia, and he was so loved
by all that the people wanted him as a bishop.
But some malevolent person slandered him and he conceived such a sentiment against the
person that he went looking for a witch so that, invoking Satan, he would harm his adversaries.
The witch told him that he must first deny Jesus and our mother the Virgin Mary and put it in writing.
And Theophilus signed it in order to get his wishes for revenge.
But the bishop, soon after, realizing that he had been slandered without reason, asked
his forgiveness and put him back to his position.
Then Theophilus realized his great mistake and with great remorse began to cry bitterly.
What to do?
He went to a church and, prostrated before an image of the Virgin Mary, begged her and
asked her forgiveness.
Thus he remained for forty days, until one night the Virgin Mary appeared to him and said:
What have you done, Theophilus?
Have you denied me and my Son?
Have you sold your soul to the devil?
Console yourself, I will ask for you.
Encouraged by this, he kept begging and crying for God's forgiveness.
After nine days, the Virgin Mary reappeared to him and said:
God has forgiven you, be faithful and grateful.
But Theophilus kept asking until God made appear the writing that he had signed, in
which he denied Jesus and the Virgin Mary, to burn it and thus be able to remain calm,
and be very grateful to God to the end of his days because of the intercession of our
mother the Virgin Mary, who obtained his salvation.
Consecrating ourselves to our mother the Virgin Mary means putting ourselves in her hands,
at her service and disposition.
And she will guide us to Jesus.
To consecrate ourselves to her means to let ourselves be carried away unconditionally,
knowing that she knows the way better and that we can sleep peacefully in the arms of
our mother the Virgin Mary.
It is important to understand that consecrating ourselves to the Virgin Mary is not about
what we can get from her but about fully belonging to her and what we can do for her or give to her.
To consecrate oneself to the Virgin Mary means to live permanently in her Immaculate Heart,
within the divine Heart of Jesus.
It is letting her act through us.
It is like lending her our tongue to speak for us and our heart so that she loves others
through us.
In a word, it is living in total union with the Virgin Mary so we can say: I no longer
live, it is Christ who lives in me through the Virgin Mary.
For this reason, a person consecrated to the Virgin Mary must fully trust her and allow
himself to be led by her unconditionally.
Not only can we consecrate ourselves personally to our mother the Virgin Mary.
It is also very important that we consecrate our loved ones and other people or their jobs
and important things.
To consecrate them is like putting them under the mantle of the Virgin Mary so she cares
for them and protects them with a special protection.
Therefore, it is very beautiful when mothers consecrate their children at birth.
This doctrine of total consecration to Mary is such a lofty and wonderful doctrine that
the devil did not want it published.
There are several consecrations to our blessed mother the Virgin Mary, the following are
the ones we suggest:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.