In the middle of World War II, a young factory worker named Karol Wojtyla picked up a copy of a book by St. Louis Marie de Montfort titled, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He couldn't put it down. In fact, he read the book so often he memorized entire pages. That book would have a profound impact on the rest of his life, and especially on his papacy as Pope John Paul II.
The late, beloved pope was only one among millions to have been profoundly influenced by the 33-day consecration to Jesus through Mary, recommended by the humble parish priest who died in 1716. People all over the world report the same, astonishing results in both their spiritual and their temporal lives.
One mother, who recently completed the consecration, credits the Blessed Mother with protecting her daughter in a high-speed, head-on collision. Everyone on the scene said no one should have survived such a crash. "By rights, she should have been propelled through the windshield," the mother wrote. "My daughter was under the veil of Our Lady's protection."
Another report comes from a priest who credits the consecration for saving his vocation. He was considering leaving the priesthood, but after completing the consecration, he suddenly felt renewed in his vocation.
Those reports come to us from an apostolate known as the Friends of Our Lady, which is dedicated to spreading the devotion worldwide. It was born when two men, Anthony Mullen, a Drexel Hill businessman, and Richard Sohm, a retired civilian manager for the Department of the Army in Washington, D.C., had a chance meeting on-line in 1999.
Earlier, Mullen had decided to make his consecration to Jesus through Mary after watching the steady decline in church attendance. He felt the decline was the sign of a need for a more active laity. "With a college degree from a Catholic college, and an advanced degree from Drexel, I felt that I had an obligation to do more because I had received more," Mullen said.
By the early 1990s, he felt he could respond to that call. "Finally, I was in a position where I was able to sell the main business that I had. Even though I still have to work for a living, it gave me a year to be able to give back," he said. "It was during that period of time that the Lord wanted me to start this effort." Mullen began an apostolate known as the Children of the Father Foundation, which distributes Catholic literature for use in evangelizing Catholics. Included on his book list was the de Montfort consecration. For him, the consecration is the perfect antidote for the world's problems. "God made the sun spin out of control at Fatima to show us that the answer to our problems is to consecrate ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary," he said.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Sohm was coming to the same conclusion. He credits the de Montfort consecration he made in 1995 for ending a seven-year battle with diabetes complications, and for snapping him out of a long period of lukewarm Catholicism. He came to believe in the consecration so strongly that he began promoting it himself. "There's no easier way to get to Jesus, to be closer to Him, and to be prepared for our salvation, than to go through Mary," Sohm said. "She's going to help us. She's going to protect us. She's going to be with us all the way through," he said. "Why should we break our backs trying to do it by ourselves, when Our Lady is ready, willing and able to help us, if we just ask her?"
By 1999, Sohm was distributing about 90 copies a year of the de Montfort consecration by advertising on a popular Catholic Web site, the same site where Mullen was advertising. One day, they spotted one another's ads, and got in touch. With the Jubilee Year looming, they decided to team up to co-found the Friends of Our Lady apostolate and try to collect 1,000 consecrations for Our Lady as a Jubilee gift. It was an ambitious goal, but the favor of heaven was on them. By the end of the year, they had mailed out 3,212 consecration packets, three times more than they planned. Those numbers convinced them to keep going.
That was six years ago. To date, they have sent more than 46,000 packets to people in 94 countries. More than 300 people around the world have become apostolate members, with 15 others promoting the Friends of Our Lady in key areas such as the Catholic media, prisons, and the Knights of Columbus.
They've also received several special endorsements and blessings. The first came from Pope John Paul II, who imparted an apostolic blessing on all apostolate members in March 2003. Three years later, Cardinal Justin Rigali sent a letter to all the priests in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia recommending the de Montfort consecration to their parishioners and them.
Father Joseph Gleason, director of spiritual formation for the theology division of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, promotes the devotion among seminarians. "We really take this seriously here," he said. "It's an important aspect for the priesthood to have a close relationship with the Blessed Virgin, in order to deepen that relationship with Jesus Christ." Every year on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the vast majority of seminarians either renew or make their consecration for the first time.
It is a practice among priests that Sohm and Mullen are hoping to spread. From now until October 1, they are conducting an outreach to clergy and seminarians in every diocese in the country, to invite them and their parishioners to consecrate themselves to Jesus through Mary. "We're trying to get the bishops, clergy and seminarians, in the United States and anywhere in the world, to begin the cycle of prayers beginning on Nov. 5 and ending on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception," Sohm said. "We will provide any bishop with enough prayer books for his chancery, his diocese, his priests, and any of his parishes. The books are free, and there's no charge for shipping. All they need to do is contact us, tell us what they need and where to send it."
That will be a special labor of love for Catholic clergy. "All you have to do is read the newspaper and you know our priests need Our Lady's protection," Sohm said. "Mary can give them the extra help they need in these troubled times. In addition to protecting our bishops and priests, our objective this year is to strengthen the vocations of our clergy, and increase the ordination rates within our seminaries," Sohm added.
Of course, everyone could use extra help from the Blessed Mother. Mary offers us the shelter of her immaculate heart, and unites us in a common mission to bring souls to Jesus. The combination of her protection and our willingness can make exciting things happen. Mullen and Sohm attest to that. "There's no reason in the world why I ever would have met Dick Sohm, unless the Lord brought us together," Mullen said.
For a free de Montfort Total Consecration package, visit www.ourlady33.com, or write to Friends of Our Lady Apostolate, 1748 Heather Lane, Frederick, Maryland 21702, or call 610-853-9801. Be sure to provide your name and postal mailing address.
