Today we celebrate the Queenship of Mary, a day that reminds us of Our Lady’s exalted place in the Kingdom of Heaven as the “Queen Mother.” One popular way of honoring Mary and her crucial role is to make a Marian Consecration.
What is a Marian Consecration? It means “entrusting one’s body, soul, possessions, works, and entire life to the protection, guidance, and intercession of Our Lady.”
The history of this practice begins with Jesus Himself. He entrusted His beloved disciple, John, to his mother Mary while He was on the Cross (John 19:26-27). Meanwhile, Christians have asked Mary to pray for and help them since the earliest days of the Church.
The act of consecrating oneself to Jesus’ Mother became more formal in the 1600s:
Every year, many Christians choose to make a consecration to Mary. A new book helps parents and educators to include children in the consecration too.
Marian Consecration for Children: Bringing Mary to Life in Young Hearts and Minds, by Dr. Carrie Gress, offers a fun and thrilling way for children to participate in this centuries-old practice.
It’s a book that will not only hold the attention of children, but also help them approach God on their own. Making a Marian Consecration as a family is a wonderful way to foster children’s friendships with Christ and His Mother.
If that sounds great to you, and you’re fired up about making a Marian Consecration, you might be wondering, “When should I begin the Consecration?” Ideally you want to end the 33-day process on a Marian feast day. So what day do you need to start?
Fortunately, Gress provides a really useful chart in the front of the book to help readers figure out this question.
Here are the 20 best days of the year to start a Consecration in order to finish on a Marian feast:
Gress writes in Marian Consecration for Children,
Gress' beautiful description of a Marian Consecration applies to anyone. Hopefully this list of the best dates to begin will help with planning for your own Marian Consecration, either on your own, with your children, or with others.
