The Holy Slavery to Jesus in Mary

On August 15th, 2008, the Feast Day of the Assumption, my wife and I finished a 33-day novena, Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary, and entrusted ourselves entirely to the Lord Jesus Christ through the Blessed Virgin Mary. We have it renewed it every year since. St. Louis Marie de Montfort, the saint most noted for bringing this devotion to the world (although he himself admits to not being the originator), considered it the easiest, surest path to Jesus Christ and thus, ultimately, to heaven. He wrote, in his brief masterpiece True Devotion to Mary, that very few would find this devotion, this hidden jewel, and yet among the few who would find it, only fewer still would bring it to fruition in the lives and live it out.

My intention here is not to give a full blown treatment on what this devotion consists of, only some main points. I would encourage the reader to delve into Montfort’s writings themselves to get the full treatment. And perhaps, as time goes on, God-willing, I will continue to write more about this glorious subject, as it is so dear to my heart, my marriage, and our spirituality.

The primary end and purpose of man is to bring glory to God and to one day go to heaven. Jesus Christ, as Acts 4:12 and John 14:6 tells us, is the only Way to heaven (sorry if that offends you, but the Bible says what the Bible says). Thus, mankind must connect itself to Christ, who is the mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). He is the bridge between a sinful, fallen world here, and a perfect, holy existence in heaven. But as sinners, we realize that there are many obstacles in our way in this life, trying to prevent us from coming to Jesus Christ. The world wars against us; the devil prowls around trying to destroy us; and our own sins keep creeping up time and time again. So we ask ourselves, what is the easiest and surest way to come to the Lord Jesus, to connect with Him and remain in Him? It is through His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Why Mary? She, along with her Son, was prophecised as far back as Genesis 3:15 to be the one to crush the head of Satan. She is the one who bore the Savior in her womb for 9 months, making the God of the universe totally and willingly dependent upon this young Jewish girl. She is the one who raised Jesus and initiated his public ministry (check out the account in John 2). She knows Him better than anyone else, as only a mother could. She loves Him more than anyone else, as only a mother’s heart could. She has suffered with Him more than anyone else, joining her spiritual suffering to His physical suffering in His passion and death. She is the one entrusted to St. John, representing the faithful flock, in John 19:26, as Jesus prepares for His final breath. She is the one in the center of the Apostles, praying with them for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2). And finally, she is the one seen at the end of time, bringing the Savior to the world and, with Him, waging war against Satan (Revelation 12). She is the most perfect example of humility, trust, faith… in short, the disciple all of us should model ourselves after. We should run to her, and ask her to show us her Son through her eyes… through her heart… through her soul. As she herself says to Elizabeth, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” She teaches us about Jesus the way no one else ever could. Through her, our love and zeal for Him grows and grows, leading us more intensely to His Sacred Heart, and thus bringing greater glory to Almighty God.

So if the primary end is adoration of Jesus and glory to God, thus bringing about our final salvation, then the best means to the end is devotion to Mary. Notice that devotion to her is not the ends… but rather, the means. If devotion to her were the end, then we would not be bringing glory to God. Rather, we cling to her, trusting that she knows best how to lead us to Jesus, who is our Savior and Redeemer. We show her the love that Jesus Himself has for her, perfectly living out the commandment to honor and obey His mother and father. To love Mary is to bring greater glory to God, for she is His masterpiece. She is, once and the same, the Mother, Daughter, and Spouse of God (consider her relation to the Son, the Father, and the Spirit). Just as one of us might see an amazing piece of art and exclaim, “How beautiful it is!,” the artist knows that, really, he is the one receiving the credit, for it was him who painted it. So, too, when we look at Mary and say, “How beautiful she is!,” God smiles, for it was His grace that made her and sustains her.

Servants have the option to request certain things of their masters. An employee can request time off or a change of hours from his employer. A slave, on the other hand, can do no such thing. A slave is entirely dependent upon the will of his master. Fortunately for us as Christians, our Master is the All-Loving, All-Merciful God, whom Jesus tells us knows what is best for us and watches over us as a father does his children. Thus, we willingly entrust, or enslave, ourselves entirely and totally to Jesus Christ. This means, we trust completely in Him, surrender all to Him, knowing with full confidence that He knows how to lead us to heaven. But at the same time, we entrust ourselves to Him through Mary, or better yet, to Him in Mary. We worship and serve the God who was solely dependent upon His mother for His first 9 months of existence, and from then on lived out His life quietly for the next 30 years in humble surrender to her, and then ultimately entrusted her to us at the Cross. We turn to Mary, knowing with full confidence that she knows how best to lead us to her Son, who is the end goal for every Christian… for every human. We have no need to fear, because she exists for only one purpose… to lead people to her Son. She wants no credit given to her… only given to Him. “Do whatever He tells you,” she says in John 2:5.

And so, my wife and I are slaves to Jesus in Mary. We entrust all things to her, asking her nothing in return except for one thing… to lead us to Jesus. After all, ultimately, that is all that matters in this life. To be united to Jesus Christ. Some will say, “But we do not need Mary to get to Jesus, we go to Him ourselves without her.” That is fine, but I guarantee, no matter how much your heart is open to Him at this moment, it can only open up a hundredfold more once you go to His mother and say, “Please, teach me to love your Son as you love Him. Teach me to trust in Him as you do. Teach me to suffer with Him as you have.” Seen in this light, Mary is the great instructor of Jesus Christ, the One she most loves. St. Montfort’s chief slogan in life, and the way he signed and ended every letter or work he ever wrote, was, “God Alone.” Mary truly led him to God in ways no one else could understand.

So we do not ask anything specifically in prayer. We entrust all our prayers, works, sufferings, and joys solely to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and allow her to best lead us to Christ as only she can. Thus, our love for Him continues to grow, as does our trust in His Providence. Once entrusted to Mary, she allows us to see the world, the Church, and her Son through her eyes… through the eyes of a Mother. It is my contention that the first saint to practice devotion to Mary was none other than St. John the Apostle, the Gospel writer himself. It was he to whom Jesus said, “Son, behold your mother!” Tradition tells us that St. John remained with Mary until she was called home to heaven. This is the same St. John who informs us of Mary’s crucial role in Jesus’ first public miracle, and who is granted the vision of her bringing forth the Savior of the world to wage war against Satan and his demons.

Let no one fear this Holy Slavery! Let no one fear coming to Mary. She only wants to lead you to Jesus. And yes, Jesus wants you to love her just as He did. The Son is glorified when honor is given to His mother. And allow her, without abandon, to show you the secret path to the very Heart of Jesus. So much more could be said on this topic. This is just a small, tiny, brief introduction to one of the greatest secrets in Christianity and it just barely scratches the surface.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.