33 day Consecration to Mary can begin this Friday!

Posted on April 26, 2023 by paulcoholic

You can tell I’ve been reading St. Louis de Montfort.

I discovered that the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary still exists, and still is managed by the Dominicans just like back in the days of St. Dominic and Bl. Alan de la Roche! (Should I have known that?) This association was mentioned quite often in a book by St. Louis de Monfort I read this past week. (I’ll tell you which one at the end. Which “ones” actually.)

Because of this I may start another 33 day Montfortian consecration thingy this Friday April 28th. It’s de Montfort’s feast day. It’ll end just in time for May 31st which is the Feast of the Visitation on the new calendar 1970 calendar; it’s the Feast of the Queenship of Mary on the old 1962 calendar.

My wife and I already did it once before, leading up to our wedding day. We may do it again, together, as a renewal.

Gabi of the GabiAfterHours YouTube Channel is also doing it beginning this Friday (just found that out.)

You can look into his effort here: Gabi After Hours Community posting on 33 day consecration to Mary.

I bring Gabi up because he’s uploaded several very important videos over the past few months or so. He posted this one quite recently on several books that are must reads:

This one:

…and this one:

…started me on saying the entire Rosary daily. Gabi got the idea from one of the de Montfort books he recommends in the first video above. Those are the one’s that I’ve read this week (numbers 1 and 2 on Gabi’s list.) “The Secret of Mary” and “The Secret of the Rosary.” They’re wonderful, inspiring reads. De Montfort writes in a style similar to that of St. Alphonse Liguori. (His “The Glories of Mary” is number 4 on Gabi’s list.)

This is a new one:

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My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Marian Consecration and the Guarantee of Eternal life

Posted on April 22, 2023 by paulcoholic

Many saints have said that those who are consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary are never lost. Sts. Louis deMontfort, Alphonsus de Liguori, and Maximilian Kolbe have all declared at one time or another that those souls who become ‘the property’ of Our Lady will never suffer eternal damnation.

This may seem to some as a kind of overconfidence and even the mortal sin of presuming upon God’s Mercy. This post will try to explain why it is not.

I have many friends (or know of people online) who are consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, either through the method of Total Consecration by St. Louis deMontfort or that of St. Maximilian Kolbe. And yet I’ve heard them express some doubt as to their salvation! I know why they say this: they are fearful of presuming upon God’s Mercy or of acting with pride. They mean well, but I think they’re wrong.

Here’s why I think this way. If you believe that consecrating yourself to the Blessed Mother safeguards your soul from eternal damnation, then still being concerned over its final destiny, as if you could still be damned, is—I think—a sign of mistrust in Our Lady’s promises (as known in private revelations) and of the judgment of saints.

Now I’m not declaring that you should consecrate yourself to Our Lady and then think that you can just go ‘Lah-dih-dah!!!Look at me! I belong to Mary! I’m saved! I’m gonna now go drinkin’ and druggin’ and whorin’ and do all sorts of stuff because I won’t go to Hell!” That’s kind of like a Catholic variant of the ‘Once Saved; Always Saved’ heresy.

I liken it to a relationship. Let’s say you’re married. This means that your relationship with someone has gotten to the point where you cannot live without them and that you wish to dedicate your life to them. You have the conviction that This Person is The One and Only and so you forsake all others. You remain faithful and married for the rest of your life. You’ve grown in maturity and wisdom and realize this person is It and you get married.

Same with Marian Consecration. You’ve grown in holiness and spirituality and now you feel that as a Catholic you must take your relationship with Mary ‘to the next level.’ You’ve heard of Marian Consecration through all this and you go ahead and do it.

So, after that, you’re the same person as before? No! If you’ve reached this level in your relationship with Mary, and therefore, with Jesus (since all authentic Marian devotion leads to Him,) then you have little desire to offend them and the rupture the relationship!

It is not that you won’t sin. We are all sinners and we will still sin after Consecration. But I believe that Consecration enables us to become more sensitive to the state of our souls; that we rise up more easily after every fall and offer prayers of repentance and contrition (plus a resolution to go to Confession as soon as possible.) In fact, I think it is Consecration which makes it easier for me to go to Confession once a month or more.

So, that is what I believe: that when you do Total Consecration to Our Lady your relationship is at a deeper level of trust and love and while you won’t stop sinning, you’ll make yourself more available to the sacraments and other means of obtaining the grace of repentance and amendment. And quite possibly the Blessed Mother, who is the channel by which graces come to us from the Lord, will help you achieve these graces, and thus ensure your salvation. You still may spend time in Purgatory; that’s OK. It’s better than Hell.

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Novena to St. Alphonsus Liguori begins July 23

Posted on July 21, 2022 by paulcoholic

A novena to St. Alphonse Liguori, whose feast day is Aug 1st, begins Saturday, July 23rd. He’s the patron saint of arthritis sufferers and those with scrupulosity (sometimes related to obsessive compulsive disorder).

Here are two: Pray More Novenas and Redemptorists.

I love this saint, although I have not read as much of his works as I’d like. I have read, and highly recommend The Glories Of Mary. The version that I linked to is from Tan Books and is the most complete volume (other publishers offer the Glories of Mary, but in an abridged form.) You read this book and you will end up loving Our Lady even more than before. This version is:

The Glories of Mary is five complete books in one volume. The first book examines the words of the Salve Regina and shows how God has given Mary to mankind to be the Gate of Heaven. The second book explains Our Lady’s principal feasts and reveals fresh truths about these mysteries. The third book explains the Seven Sorrows of Mary and why Our Lady’s martyrdom was longer and greater than that of all other martyrs. The fourth book describes ten different virtues of Our Lady, and the fifth book provides dozens of famous prayers, meditations, and devotions to her.

Included are the theological proofs for the Immaculate Conception, explanations of the invocations in the Litany of Loreto, and a description of Our Lady’s death. The Glories of Mary is the greatest compendium of nearly eighteen centuries of teaching on Our Lady and seeks to lead many souls to a greater love of Jesus through a more intimate knowledge of Mary and her exalted role in our salvation.

Source: Tan Books

Another book he wrote that I absolutely love is Visits to the Blessed Sacrament, which I often use in, well, visits to the Blessed Sacrament. It is thirty-one meditations, perfect for a quick fifteen minute visit to Our Lord.

A very good biography of him is right here: St. Alphonse Liguori.

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)