Catholics invited to join 33-day preparation for individual, family consecration

Archbishop Bernard Hebda has invited the people of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to participate in preparation for a reconsecration of the archdiocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Oct. 13.

People of the archdiocese can join in the 33-day preparation for an individual or family consecration to Mary, which begins Sept. 10 and concludes Oct. 13. The archdiocesan Office of Evangelization, which is organizing the devotion, directs people to the book “33 Days to Morning Glory,” a user-friendly guide to making a personal consecration to Mary.

“She’s the queen mother, the ‘gebhirah.’ From Old Testament times, they always went to the queen mother to make their petitions more acceptable to the son,” said Crystal Crocker, director of the Office of Evangelization.

The reconsecration will occur at the Cathedral of St. Paul as part of the annual archdiocesan rosary procession at 7 p.m. The consecration honors the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima’s final appearance in Fatima, Portugal, and the famous miracle of the “dancing of the sun.”

According to her seers, Our Lady of Fatima requested devotion to her Immaculate Heart, specifically the consecration of Russia to it. Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to Mary’s Immaculate Heart in 1942. Pope John Paul II consecrated Russia specifically to the Immaculate Heart in 1984, as well as the world. Pope Benedict and Pope Francis both have re-consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart in 2010 and 2013, respectively.

The archdiocese has been consecrated to the Immaculate Heart annually with the October rosary procession. The archbishop has placed greater emphasis on the act of piety this year because of the Fatima anniversary.

Although consecration to Mary as a devotional practice dates to the Church’s early centuries, St. Louis de Montfort wrote a treatise on Mary in 1712 that later popularized a 33-day method of consecration to her.

Marian Father Michael Gaitely, author of “33 Days to Morning Glory” (Marian Press, 2013), synthesized St. Louis de Montfort’s material and weaved in other insights from more recent saints such as St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Maximilian Kolbe, the latter of whom worked to spread devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary through the Marian movement he founded, Militia of the Immaculata.

The Office of Evangelization has worked with Catholic bookstores Leaflet Missal in St. Paul, St. George Books and Gifts in Blaine and Holy Cross Books and Gifts in Lakeville to make “33 Days to Morning Glory” available for purchase in conjunction with the archdiocesan-wide devotion. Crocker said the book is easy to use in completing the daily prayers.

Crocker, who said she has previously completed the devotion, encouraged Catholics to adopt the devotion.

“You’re spending time with your mother, Mary,” she said.