By contemplating Christ, the Church is drawn to Mary and vice versa; by contemplating the mystery of the Virgin Mother, the Church understands the mystery of Christ. We can say, therefore, ‘through the Heart of Christ to the Heart of Mary’, and vice versa.
Christ’s pre-eminence must not be forgotten; the relation between the Heart of Christ and Mary’s is not equal. From the Heart of Christ, sacificed in love, came the redemption of all sons of Adam. Mary, too is redeemed at her Immaculate Conception. From Mary’s heart comes the sacrifice of the ‘servant of the Lord’.
The proposal to the faithful is therefore, to become part of the covenant between Christ and Mary, ie, to be involved in the dynamism whereby Christ gave Himself to Mary, because of Mary’s self-giving to Christ. Thus, consecration should be understood in the context of the devotion to the Alliance of the Two Hearts.
The baptized belong to Christ by the 'yes' of the Saviour and of His Mother, pronounced in their ‘Heart’. The giving of Christ’s Heart brings an encounter with Mary’s heart. In the movement towards Christ, the Church is associated to itself by the Virgin and associates itself to the Virgin: with Mary, like Mary, through Mary we give ourselves to Christ and through Him to the Father, in the Holy Spirit.
To bind ourselves to Mary in a vital way allows us to be closer to Christ. Consecration to Mary is the imitation of the choice made by the Eternal Word of God, to be subservient to Mary for love of the wounded humanity. By His prayer while hanging on the cross, Christ has made us heirs of His Kingdom by His love toward His Mother Mary.
As taught by St Louis de Montfort: ‘we can draw the precious indication that the consecration requires an awareness, free and personal in the hearts of the faithful, which involves a way of preparation’.
The proposal of the consecration to the Two Hearts is based on the mystical spiritual intuition that opens the heart to a more sincere and conscious vital adherence to the mystery of Christ ‘with’ and ‘like’ Mary.
Ref: C Maggioni, in “Alliance of the Two Hearts”, pp185-6, 191
Kindness and tenderness of the Heart of Jesus -- ‘Shown by his tears’
Kindness or goodness of heart is a disposition which inclines a man to do good to his fellowmen, and to be compassionate in their misfortunes. ‘Goodness’, says St Leo the Great, ‘is the nature of God’. How great, then, must be the goodness of the Heart of Jesus! In how many ways his tenderness showed itself!
First, by ‘tears’. Even during his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and thinking of the miseries which would so soon burst upon the devoted city “... he wept over it”. (Lk 19:41; Jn 11:35) And again, St John tells us he was deeply touched by the death of Lazarus and the grief of Martha and Mary: “And Jesus wept.” (Jn 11:35)
We know not this tenderness of heart. Even the sight of a crucifix, which reminds us of the Passion and death of Jesus, draws no tears from our eyes. The sight of so many sinners, who crucify him anew every day, does not even move us. And the thought of so many souls who go down daily into hell costs us not a single sigh. We do not even weep over our own sins.
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp333-4
Bringing Mary into Our Homes
“From that hour onward, the disciple took her into his home.” (Jn 19:27) May the same be said of us? Do we welcome Mary into our homes? We should bring her with full rights into the home which is our life, our faith, our affections, our commitments, to recognize the maternal role which is proper to her, ie, a function of guidance, admonition, exhortation, or even of silent presence only, which is sometimes enough to inspire strength and courage on its own ...
After Jesus’ ascension, the first disciples gathered “with Mary, the mother of Jesus”. ... Indeed, it was she who gave it cohesion. And the fact that she is described as “the mother of Jesus” shows how much she was linked with the personality of her Son.
It shows, therefore, that Mary always reminds us of the salvific value of the work of Jesus, our only Savior. On the other hand, it shows that belief in Jesus Christ cannot dispense us from including the person of her who was His mother in our act of faith as well.
In God’s family, Mary safeguards each difference within the communion among all. At the same time, she can be a teacher of availability to the Holy Spirit, of trembling participation in Christ’s total dedication to the will of the Father, of intimate sharing, above all, in the Son’s Passion and in assured spiritual fecundity.
“There is your mother.” Let us feel these words as addressed to each one, and so find confidence and drive for ever more decisive and serene progress upon the committed path of one’s own life.
Ref: cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, p206
Our Lady -- “Invoke the Blessed Virgin. Keep asking her to show herself a Mother to you -- ‘monstra te esse Matrem!’ As well as drawing down her Son’s grace, may she bring the clarity of sound doctrine to your mind, and love and purity to your heart, so that you may know the way to God and take many souls to him.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Forge”, 986)
“‘Sancta Maria, Stella maris’ -- Holy Mary, Star of the sea, be our guide.”
“Make this firm request, because there is no storm which can shipwreck the most Sweet Heart of Mary. When you see the storm coming, if you seek safety in that firm Refuge which is Mary, there will be no danger of your wavering or going down.”
Ref: St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Forge”, 1055
Dedication of the church of the Carthusians of Paris, under the title of Our Lady, by John d’Aubigny, Bishop of Troyes in Champagne in the year 1325. — Du Breuil, Theatre des Antiquites, lib. ii. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
Dedication of ‘Notre Dame de Paris’ (1325). (http://www.starharbor.com/santiago/m feasts.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
‘Angelus’ is instituted throughout Europe by Pope Callistus III in 1456, although its origins are hundreds of years earlier. Commemorates the Annunciation. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
Institution of the ‘Angelus of Our Lady’ (Europe, 1456). (http://www.divinewill.org/feastofourlady.htm; MaryLinks Calendar.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
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