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THE FIRST CORNERSTONE OF THE MISSION: CONSECRATIONRomans 8:19-23“ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God…in hope because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay…we know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”Exodus 19:10-11“The Lord also said to Moses: go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.”Leviticus 11:44“I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am Holy.”All through history, in the Old and New Testaments, it speaks of consecration. All through the history of our Church the word consecration appears in many different forms. The most inspiring of which comes to us through people making acts of consecration which stopped wars and plagues.Consecration is defined as to make or declare as sacred; dedicate formally to a divine purpose.As the first Cornerstone of the Mission, Consecration is the first step towards changing our lives. In every life there is a time and place when suddenly, we confront questions we cannot answer about who we are and our future. Moments when we begin to seek answers. Times when the Holy Spirit suddenly comes to us and at that very moment, we begin to feel our heart stir. It is at those moments of grace that the call of The Father comes to His child. It is then when many of us recognize that “I don’t know God as I should; I don’t feel that bond between a Father and his child”. In that moment it is the Holy Spirit Who enters and extends God’s grace, His invitation. We know in our hearts that we have to change, but because many of us in these times are lukewarm, we find ourselves serving two masters and as such, we become afraid of giving up the things of this world that we possess if we are to follow God. It is at this very instance when we ask God for His help because we know we cannot make this change on our own.It is at this point where we know that we must declare ourselves once and for all because unless we give to God all that we are, all that we have, we remain in the middle, neither hot nor cold, where our Lord says to us in Revelations 3:15-17: “I know about your activities: how you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other. But since you are neither hot nor cold, but only lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth.” As we listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying, we know that once we enter through this door, it will be by the grace of God that we never go back having known God, only to return to being a child of the world. Because many of us don’t know a spiritual life, which would give us that force we need to avoid temptation and sin. It is at this point where we need the strength of the graces we find in an act of consecration to renew us daily in our quest.In this talk, we will concentrate on the individual and parish wide consecrations; as the Mission is also the promoter of all of the various forms of consecration from individuals to countries. It has, in union with the Church, complied a manual of consecration that explains in great detail the enactment of consecration and what is to be done in each instance.When the act of consecration has been properly explained to us and we have been prepared for our consecration, it signifies our desire to imitate Christ. The consecration we refer to as a layperson has its roots in baptism but is experienced as an adult in a more close consecration, which is dedicated totally to God, as consecration is a special sign of the mystery of redemption.According to Lumen Gentium 31&2—for those who are on this narrower path encourage their brethren by their example, and bear striking witness that the world cannot be transfigured and offered to God without the spirit of the beatitudes.It is Christ’s second coming which is to be the spot on which our eyes are to be fixed. It is said: “for the people of God has here no lasting city and it is Christ who is both the origin and the rising sun of our life.” As members of this Mission, our first consecration is to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary and to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In time, according to ones’ own progression, the second consecration of the Mission is to the Chaste Heart of St. Joseph and in more time, the final consecration is to the Heart of God Our Father.St. Maximilian Kolbe wrote: “for wherever you enter, you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all grace comes to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces that is why the grace of conversion will come thru Her, for consecration to the blessed Mother is not a passing action. For it to be fruitful, it must be lived”.We are to remember that Jesus, as one of His last acts, gave the world to His mother and His mother to the world; in effect Jesus consecrated all of those who would become part of His mystical body through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of His mother. The mother that neither He nor the Father can deny any grace, any request, from this Heart of Mary who obtains for those who invoke Her through their consecration, the grace of conversion and depth of holiness.Consecration is a full renunciation of sin, temptation of evil and the devil. It is an irrevocable offering to the Heart of Mary and through it, to the Heart of Jesus as a response to their love. With this consecration, our baptismal consecration to God is now consciously renewed and deepened. If we consecrate our hearts, ourselves, our future, all that we are, all that we have, to the intercession of the Two Hearts, they will make our hearts new again in order that we will begin to act, think, speak, and most importantly, love as they love.St. Margaret Mary Alacoque tells us that Jesus explained to her that all those who are lukewarm Catholics, who consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, would become impassioned and the impassioned would rise quickly to great perfection.The Two Hearts are inseparable, as the Heart of Mary was the first to adore the Heart of Jesus. The Heart of the Mother is in the Heart of the Son. When the young soldier thrust his lance into the Sacred Heart, it was the Immaculate Heart that was also pierced with sorrow. Where there is the Son, there is also the Mother. In pure terms, we can only consecrate ourselves to God, but as Jesus, God made man, we find that consecration is therefore available to us. When we consecrate ourselves to Mary, we do so in an extended way as the Church is now instructing us; we do so as a commitment or offering. With a consecration to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, we consign ourselves to Jesus. St. Margaret Mary wrote: “ that there is no shorter way to rise to perfection and no more reliable means for salvation, than that of consecration to the Heart of God.”When an act of consecration is done in a parish by the individuals of that parish, it multiples the spiritual resources for the conversion into holiness of its assembly. These individual and parish wide acts of consecration are also for the good of the entire body of Christ.This form of consecration establishes the person living in the world, in prayer, penance, and service to their brethren according to the state of life and spiritual gifts given to each person. All members of this Mission, who are consecrated in this way, work for the sanctification of the world, especially from within.According to Pope Pius XII in his Provida Mater, “by a life perfectly and entirely consecrated to such sanctification, the members of institutions, (like this Mission) share in the Church’s task of evangelization in the world and from within the world, where their presence acts like leaven in the world…their witness of a Christian life aims to order temporal things according to God and informs the world with the power of the Gospel. They observe among themselves the communion and fellowship appropriate to their particular secular way of life…”Consecrated members of the Mission lead a life as brothers and sisters in common, according to a particular manner of life and strive for perfection of charity.Already dedicated to Him through baptism, the person who surrenders himself to the God he loves above all else, thereby consecrates himself more intimately to God’s service and to the good of the whole Church. Our example is to live out our consecration. As consecration dedicates us to the service of the Church, we are obliged in a special way to engage in missionary work in accord with the character of this Mission.We as consecrated members of this Mission serve the Church’s saving mission; to act in His person, to proclaim the faith and to plant His reign. We are given a share within this Mission of His Mission. We function in the midst of the world and of secular affairs, called by God to this Mission through the vigour of our Christian spirit. It is also the laity who also shares in Christ’s priesthood; even more united with Him and so fulfil their call to holiness. It is the lay that have a prophetic mission to be witnesses to Christ in all things and at the heart of the community of mankind.Within this Mission as it were, we have a “kingly mission” as told to us by the Church, to uproot the rule of sin within ourselves and in the world, by our self-denial and holiness of life. We have forgotten as Catholics that we, as the laity, share in the priesthood of Christ. It was Christ who made of the Church a Kingdom, priests for His God and Father. The whole community of believers is as such, priestly. The faithful exercise their baptismal priesthood through their participation, each according to his own vocation, in Christ’s mission as priest, prophet and king. Through the sacraments of baptism and confirmation the faithful are consecrated to be a holy priesthood. Thus, this common priesthood of the faithful participates with the ministerial and hierarchical priesthood, each in his own proper way, in the one priesthood of Christ. Unfortunately, many of us have forgotten or never knew this teaching of the Catechism of our Church. As such, it is our responsibility to learn these very important aspects of our faith and it is through our consecration that we begin to want to learn more of our faith, due to our ever-increasing love of God.And lastly, after the parishes are consecrated, it is the job of the Mission to help lead the individual and families to the next level. It is at this point that our teams within the parishes and mission teams of people establishing prayer cenacles move in, to establish themselves with the people who have just undergone consecration. Thereafter, it is the teams of people in good works whose job it is to help people parish wide, to become active within the various platforms of the Mission where the people work to build that parish and their community. As individuals, families, parishes, we consecrate ourselves in complete trust to the love of Our Father that we may serve Him and one another in a world that is rapidly demanding we turn to this act, to help us bring about the coming of Christ in the world. Come Lord Jesus, come to your servants and to this troubled world!THE FIRST CORNERSTONE OF THE MISSION: CONSECRATIONRomans 8:19-23“ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God…in hope because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay…we know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”Exodus 19:10-11“The Lord also said to Moses: go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.”Leviticus 11:44“I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am Holy.”All through history, in the Old and New Testaments, it speaks of consecration. All through the history of our Church the word consecration appears in many different forms. The most inspiring of which comes to us through people making acts of consecration which stopped wars and plagues.Consecration is defined as to make or declare as sacred; dedicate formally to a divine purpose.As the first Cornerstone of the Mission, Consecration is the first step towards changing our lives. In every life there is a time and place when suddenly, we confront questions we cannot answer about who we are and our future. Moments when we begin to seek answers. Times when the Holy Spirit suddenly comes to us and at that very moment, we begin to feel our heart stir. It is at those moments of grace that the call of The Father comes to His child. It is then when many of us recognize that “I don’t know God as I should; I don’t feel that bond between a Father and his child”. In that moment it is the Holy Spirit Who enters and extends God’s grace, His invitation. We know in our hearts that we have to change, but because many of us in these times are lukewarm, we find ourselves serving two masters and as such, we become afraid of giving up the things of this world that we possess if we are to follow God. It is at this very instance when we ask God for His help because we know we cannot make this change on our own.It is at this point where we know that we must declare ourselves once and for all because unless we give to God all that we are, all that we have, we remain in the middle, neither hot nor cold, where our Lord says to us in Revelations 3:15-17: “I know about your activities: how you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other. But since you are neither hot nor cold, but only lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth.” As we listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying, we know that once we enter through this door, it will be by the grace of God that we never go back having known God, only to return to being a child of the world. Because many of us don’t know a spiritual life, which would give us that force we need to avoid temptation and sin. It is at this point where we need the strength of the graces we find in an act of consecration to renew us daily in our quest.In this talk, we will concentrate on the individual and parish wide consecrations; as the Mission is also the promoter of all of the various forms of consecration from individuals to countries. It has, in union with the Church, complied a manual of consecration that explains in great detail the enactment of consecration and what is to be done in each instance.When the act of consecration has been properly explained to us and we have been prepared for our consecration, it signifies our desire to imitate Christ. The consecration we refer to as a layperson has its roots in baptism but is experienced as an adult in a more close consecration, which is dedicated totally to God, as consecration is a special sign of the mystery of redemption.According to Lumen Gentium 31&2—for those who are on this narrower path encourage their brethren by their example, and bear striking witness that the world cannot be transfigured and offered to God without the spirit of the beatitudes.It is Christ’s second coming which is to be the spot on which our eyes are to be fixed. It is said: “for the people of God has here no lasting city and it is Christ who is both the origin and the rising sun of our life.” As members of this Mission, our first consecration is to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary and to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In time, according to ones’ own progression, the second consecration of the Mission is to the Chaste Heart of St. Joseph and in more time, the final consecration is to the Heart of God Our Father.St. Maximilian Kolbe wrote: “for wherever you enter, you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all grace comes to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces that is why the grace of conversion will come thru Her, for consecration to the blessed Mother is not a passing action. For it to be fruitful, it must be lived”.We are to remember that Jesus, as one of His last acts, gave the world to His mother and His mother to the world; in effect Jesus consecrated all of those who would become part of His mystical body through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of His mother. The mother that neither He nor the Father can deny any grace, any request, from this Heart of Mary who obtains for those who invoke Her through their consecration, the grace of conversion and depth of holiness.Consecration is a full renunciation of sin, temptation of evil and the devil. It is an irrevocable offering to the Heart of Mary and through it, to the Heart of Jesus as a response to their love. With this consecration, our baptismal consecration to God is now consciously renewed and deepened. If we consecrate our hearts, ourselves, our future, all that we are, all that we have, to the intercession of the Two Hearts, they will make our hearts new again in order that we will begin to act, think, speak, and most importantly, love as they love.St. Margaret Mary Alacoque tells us that Jesus explained to her that all those who are lukewarm Catholics, who consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, would become impassioned and the impassioned would rise quickly to great perfection.The Two Hearts are inseparable, as the Heart of Mary was the first to adore the Heart of Jesus. The Heart of the Mother is in the Heart of the Son. When the young soldier thrust his lance into the Sacred Heart, it was the Immaculate Heart that was also pierced with sorrow. Where there is the Son, there is also the Mother. In pure terms, we can only consecrate ourselves to God, but as Jesus, God made man, we find that consecration is therefore available to us. When we consecrate ourselves to Mary, we do so in an extended way as the Church is now instructing us; we do so as a commitment or offering. With a consecration to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, we consign ourselves to Jesus. St. Margaret Mary wrote: “ that there is no shorter way to rise to perfection and no more reliable means for salvation, than that of consecration to the Heart of God.”When an act of consecration is done in a parish by the individuals of that parish, it multiples the spiritual resources for the conversion into holiness of its assembly. These individual and parish wide acts of consecration are also for the good of the entire body of Christ.This form of consecration establishes the person living in the world, in prayer, penance, and service to their brethren according to the state of life and spiritual gifts given to each person. All members of this Mission, who are consecrated in this way, work for the sanctification of the world, especially from within.According to Pope Pius XII in his Provida Mater, “by a life perfectly and entirely consecrated to such sanctification, the members of institutions, (like this Mission) share in the Church’s task of evangelization in the world and from within the world, where their presence acts like leaven in the world…their witness of a Christian life aims to order temporal things according to God and informs the world with the power of the Gospel. They observe among themselves the communion and fellowship appropriate to their particular secular way of life…”Consecrated members of the Mission lead a life as brothers and sisters in common, according to a particular manner of life and strive for perfection of charity.Already dedicated to Him through baptism, the person who surrenders himself to the God he loves above all else, thereby consecrates himself more intimately to God’s service and to the good of the whole Church. Our example is to live out our consecration. As consecration dedicates us to the service of the Church, we are obliged in a special way to engage in missionary work in accord with the character of this Mission.We as consecrated members of this Mission serve the Church’s saving mission; to act in His person, to proclaim the faith and to plant His reign. We are given a share within this Mission of His Mission. We function in the midst of the world and of secular affairs, called by God to this Mission through the vigour of our Christian spirit. It is also the laity who also shares in Christ’s priesthood; even more united with Him and so fulfil their call to holiness. It is the lay that have a prophetic mission to be witnesses to Christ in all things and at the heart of the community of mankind.Within this Mission as it were, we have a “kingly mission” as told to us by the Church, to uproot the rule of sin within ourselves and in the world, by our self-denial and holiness of life. We have forgotten as Catholics that we, as the laity, share in the priesthood of Christ. It was Christ who made of the Church a Kingdom, priests for His God and Father. The whole community of believers is as such, priestly. The faithful exercise their baptismal priesthood through their participation, each according to his own vocation, in Christ’s mission as priest, prophet and king. Through the sacraments of baptism and confirmation the faithful are consecrated to be a holy priesthood. Thus, this common priesthood of the faithful participates with the ministerial and hierarchical priesthood, each in his own proper way, in the one priesthood of Christ. Unfortunately, many of us have forgotten or never knew this teaching of the Catechism of our Church. As such, it is our responsibility to learn these very important aspects of our faith and it is through our consecration that we begin to want to learn more of our faith, due to our ever-increasing love of God.And lastly, after the parishes are consecrated, it is the job of the Mission to help lead the individual and families to the next level. It is at this point that our teams within the parishes and mission teams of people establishing prayer cenacles move in, to establish themselves with the people who have just undergone consecration. Thereafter, it is the teams of people in good works whose job it is to help people parish wide, to become active within the various platforms of the Mission where the people work to build that parish and their community. As individuals, families, parishes, we consecrate ourselves in complete trust to the love of Our Father that we may serve Him and one another in a world that is rapidly demanding we turn to this act, to help us bring about the coming of Christ in the world. Come Lord Jesus, come to your servants and to this troubled world!
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