Two weeks ago, on Monday, June 14th, the Feast of the Visitation, I offered myself to Jesus as a victim soul of His Merciful Love. My life has forever changed. This consecration is said to continually renew your soul, constantly purify you, and allow you to become little, as St Thesese of Lisieux calls it, so that Jesus can lift you to the heights of Heaven without the rough stairs of perfection. Below I am going to outline the 33 days to Merciful Love preparation as well as share some consequences this offering has had on my life personally.
The consecration prep is broken down into 4 weeks plus review.
Week 1: What is Trust? In this week Fr Gaitley reviews our distrust in God that was formed in the Garden and how both Abraham and Mary had perfect trust, a trust we should aim to model.
Week 2: The Little Way. This is the way of St Therese. She knew she was a little soul, one that could not “climb the stairs of perfection.” In this week, you are invited to embrace becoming a little soul as well, so that you may become a Saint.
There are three requirements to become a Saint, according to St. Therese:
- Recognize the darkness of your littleness. Embracing a deep humility is required for this.
- Try to be holy. We must continue to try to climb the rough steps, as if we were little babies attempting to walk. We won’t climb them but we must try. Ultimately, it means we must try to do good works and be as holy as possible, even while recognizing our complete inadequacy.
- Keep trusting in God’s mercy
Week 3: The Offering of Merciful Love. This week goes over what is actually happening in the Offering you’re about to make. This is where a lot of the practical sides of this offering are explained. You will become a victim soul for God’s love that others reject. The consequence of receiving this love is that you will become more compassionate, more sensitive to the sufferings of others, more tender, and more loving. Our hearts will become more like His.
One of the big moments for me was the day that Fr Gaitley shared that if done right (staying little, but striving, as stated above) you will avoid purgatory. I have known ever since I accepted the dogma of purgatory that there HAD to be a way to avoid it. Just accepting that most souls go there was not something I was willing to do. I love God too much to accept being separated from Him.
Well, by making this offering, life becomes purgatory. Your longing for God increases. You are consistently purified. There are amazing quotes in the book that back up this claim. Again, this is why I suggest that all Catholics at least read the entire book! You will want to make this offering!
Week 4: Darkness. “We must be humble and recognize our nothingness, and that is what so many are not willing to do.” – St Therese. This offering requires a deep humility. A humility many are not willing to embrace. To help you with this journey, I suggest you pray the Litany of Humility Daily, perhaps get a copy of Humility of Heart to read, and watch Fr Ripperger’s video on the dangers of Pride.
The other part of darkness is the daily darkness, recognizing that the world doesn’t really care about us, that all is vanity. God will keep us in the dark regarding our holiness because He does not want to puff us up. We approach Sainthood all the while not seeing that approach. That’s where trust comes in!
My Personal Experience With This Consecration
I told you I would share my personal experiences with you regarding this consecration. The first consequence is that there have been a few times already where my heart literally hurt when encountering others who did not long for the Eucharist as they should. Mostly this was with lukewarm Catholics, who hurt Christ’s heart more than those who do not know Him.
I’m more sensitive to how others speak on behalf of Mother Church. Any semblance of anger or other sins causes my heart great grief, as Jesus does not with us to be visibly angry but to share joy and to correct from the inside. Yes, I know there are many problems within the Church today. But when we get angry is scandalizes others, especially those outside the Body of Christ who are wishing to enter, and it can do more harm than good.
Finally, I have a great desire to become and stay little. This consecration has helped me focus on what is important in my life and what I could let go of. I have so much more peace.
The Consecration Prayer
Merciful Father, relying on the prayers and example of Abraham and Mary, my father and mother in faith, and of St Therese, my sister in the way of humble confidence, I, ______, choose this day, with the help of your grace, to strive with all my heart to follow the Little Way. And so,
I firmly intend to fight discouragement, do little things with great love, and be merciful to my neighbor in deed, word, and prayer.
I aim to keep before my eyes my poverty, weakness, brokenness, and sin, trusting that my littleness and contrite heart will attract your Merciful Love.
I choose to remain always little, not relying on my own merits but solely on yours, dear Lord, and those of the Blessed Mother.
Finally, I believe, my God, that you can and will make me into a saint, even if I won’t see it, even if I have to struggle all my life against vice and sin, even if I have to wait until the very end. This blind hope in your mercy, O Lord, is my only treasure.
And now, to confirm my resolve and to console you for so much rejection of your mercy, I OFFER MYSELF, THROUGH THE HANDS OF MARY IMMACULATE, AS A VICTIM OF HOLOCAUST TO YOUR MERCIFUL LOVE, asking you to consume me incessantly, allowing the waves of infinite tenderness shut up within you to overflow into my soul, and that I may thus become a martyr of your love, O my God, and a gift of mercy to so many others.
I ask all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
33 Days to Merciful Love (134-35)
Can you imagine a Church where its members, the Body of Christ, consoled His Merciful Heart for all of those who rejected Him? How beautiful! How humble! How charitable! How focused on Christ’s desires and not the desires of men that Church would be! How we could change the world!
Daily Consecration Prayer
“Merciful Father, in the name of our lovable Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and all the Saints, I ask You to set me on fire with your Holy Spirit of Love and to grant me the grace of making you deeply loved.”
If you have done this consecration, please share below how your life has been impacted.