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Marian Consecration for Children
At the turn of the 18th century, the French priest, St. Louis de Montfort, became a warrior for his queen. Few preached on the role of the Mother of God better and with more passion than him. St. Louis spread far and wide the practice of Marian consecration, a means by which we give our entire selves to Jesus through the hands of his mother.
In this enchanting book, Dr. Carrie Gress, author of The Marian Option, provides a fun and thrilling way for children to participate in this centuries-old practice. In just a matter of weeks, they will come to know Mary as they never have before. They will allow her to take their hand and lead them to Christ.
Gress weaves in tales of saints, kings, queens, knights, and princesses as a way to teach children about virtue, courage, and their spiritual mother who loves them. In addition, she draws valuable spiritual lessons from contemporary stories such as The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Winnie the Pooh, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and many other fables and fairy tales that have brought children’s imaginations to life for decades.
Divided into 34 days, Marian Consecration for Children includes a short meditation for each day and accompanying discussion questions. Each day concludes with prayers and a “Did You Know?” feature that delivers fun and interesting facts. Children will
• Why ladybugs are named for Mary.
• The origin of nativity scenes.
• Why the moon is a common symbol for Mary.
• The story of St. Helena’s search for the True Cross.
• The history of the Miraculous Medal and the Brown Scapular.
• The miraculous account of the priests who saved Mary’s veil from a fire in Chartres Cathedral.
• How St. Louis de Montfort’s book True Devotion to Mary was almost lost forever.
• Various stories of Mary saving soldiers in military conflicts.
• …And more!
Discover the beauty and wonder that has enriched Marian spirituality for several centuries as you allow this holy mother to lead young hearts and minds to her Son!
In this enchanting book, Dr. Carrie Gress, author of The Marian Option, provides a fun and thrilling way for children to participate in this centuries-old practice. In just a matter of weeks, they will come to know Mary as they never have before. They will allow her to take their hand and lead them to Christ.
Gress weaves in tales of saints, kings, queens, knights, and princesses as a way to teach children about virtue, courage, and their spiritual mother who loves them. In addition, she draws valuable spiritual lessons from contemporary stories such as The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Winnie the Pooh, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and many other fables and fairy tales that have brought children’s imaginations to life for decades.
Divided into 34 days, Marian Consecration for Children includes a short meditation for each day and accompanying discussion questions. Each day concludes with prayers and a “Did You Know?” feature that delivers fun and interesting facts. Children will
• Why ladybugs are named for Mary.
• The origin of nativity scenes.
• Why the moon is a common symbol for Mary.
• The story of St. Helena’s search for the True Cross.
• The history of the Miraculous Medal and the Brown Scapular.
• The miraculous account of the priests who saved Mary’s veil from a fire in Chartres Cathedral.
• How St. Louis de Montfort’s book True Devotion to Mary was almost lost forever.
• Various stories of Mary saving soldiers in military conflicts.
• …And more!
Discover the beauty and wonder that has enriched Marian spirituality for several centuries as you allow this holy mother to lead young hearts and minds to her Son!
208 pages, Paperback
Published March 21, 2018
16 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Carrie Gress
16 books189 followersCarrie Gress is a Fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based think-tank, Ethics and Public Policy Center and a Scholar at the Institute for Human Ecology at Catholic University of America.
Carrie Gress has a doctorate in philosophy from the Catholic University of America and was the Rome bureau chief of Zenit's English edition. She is the co-author with George Weigel of City of Saints: A Pilgrimage to John Paul II s Krakow and the author of Nudging Conversions, published by Beacon Publishing in 2015.
A mother of four, she and her family live in Virginia.
Carrie Gress has a doctorate in philosophy from the Catholic University of America and was the Rome bureau chief of Zenit's English edition. She is the co-author with George Weigel of City of Saints: A Pilgrimage to John Paul II s Krakow and the author of Nudging Conversions, published by Beacon Publishing in 2015.
A mother of four, she and her family live in Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 29, 2023
Fantastic consecration to Mary for the whole family! We finished the 33 day consecration today on the Feast Day of our Mother of Perpetual Help.
May 10, 2018
I bought this book to read to my children during the month of May, to help prepare them for consecrating themselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It's divided into 33 short "conferences", one to be read each day of the month, ending with the Consecration on Day 34. While some of the conferences are probably very beautiful and inspiring, my kids will never know -- unless they first chug through 18 children's classics as a prerequisite to consecrating themselves to Our Blessed Mother! Sound weird? Yeah, to me too.
When I purchased this book, I'd read in the blurb that the author uses a few children's stories to make some of her points. But I was totally unprepared for and very dismayed by the many, many references to fiction books sprinkled throughout. When I picked it up and started reading aloud Day One to my sons, I stopped short at the second paragraph. The entire rest of the conference talked about nothing but the lion character, Aslan, in the Chronicles of Narnia, comparing him to Christ. My boys aren't into fantasy and have never read the Chronicles of Narnia. A little upset, I flipped to Day Two. The story of Aslan continued. Okay, so jump to Day Three. By this time, I was really hoping the author would start talking about Our Lord or Our Lady. Nope. All of a sudden we have a new character, Digory, from the book "The Magician's Nephew." To say I was getting frustrated is an understatement. The spell of reading to my sons had been broken, and I was starting to wonder what kind of book I'd spent my money on. I sent them off to play while I rifled through the next few conferences. FINALLY one was about Our Lady and the Annunciation, which came at Day Four. Immediately following, on Day Five, was a long reference to the characters in the novel, Little Lord Fauntleroy, comparing Cedric's love of his mom to Christ's love for His Mother. My sons had not read that book either. Great.
By this time I was pretty dismayed. I looked in the index and discovered that the author compares Our Lady's life and devotion to Her to no less than EIGHTEEN children's books, everything from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I jest not) to Green Eggs and Ham and Winnie-the-Pooh. Out of the eighteen books referenced, my sons were only familiar with four of them. Even of those four, I couldn't figure out what on earth they had to do with loving the Blessed Virgin at all. My heart sank as I realized I would be skipping many of the conferences in this book, unless I waited a year and read all those novels to my children first.
I put the book on the shelf and haven't picked it up since. I somehow doubt I ever will. It could have been such a beautiful treasure, but instead it was extremely disappointing.
When I purchased this book, I'd read in the blurb that the author uses a few children's stories to make some of her points. But I was totally unprepared for and very dismayed by the many, many references to fiction books sprinkled throughout. When I picked it up and started reading aloud Day One to my sons, I stopped short at the second paragraph. The entire rest of the conference talked about nothing but the lion character, Aslan, in the Chronicles of Narnia, comparing him to Christ. My boys aren't into fantasy and have never read the Chronicles of Narnia. A little upset, I flipped to Day Two. The story of Aslan continued. Okay, so jump to Day Three. By this time, I was really hoping the author would start talking about Our Lord or Our Lady. Nope. All of a sudden we have a new character, Digory, from the book "The Magician's Nephew." To say I was getting frustrated is an understatement. The spell of reading to my sons had been broken, and I was starting to wonder what kind of book I'd spent my money on. I sent them off to play while I rifled through the next few conferences. FINALLY one was about Our Lady and the Annunciation, which came at Day Four. Immediately following, on Day Five, was a long reference to the characters in the novel, Little Lord Fauntleroy, comparing Cedric's love of his mom to Christ's love for His Mother. My sons had not read that book either. Great.
By this time I was pretty dismayed. I looked in the index and discovered that the author compares Our Lady's life and devotion to Her to no less than EIGHTEEN children's books, everything from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I jest not) to Green Eggs and Ham and Winnie-the-Pooh. Out of the eighteen books referenced, my sons were only familiar with four of them. Even of those four, I couldn't figure out what on earth they had to do with loving the Blessed Virgin at all. My heart sank as I realized I would be skipping many of the conferences in this book, unless I waited a year and read all those novels to my children first.
I put the book on the shelf and haven't picked it up since. I somehow doubt I ever will. It could have been such a beautiful treasure, but instead it was extremely disappointing.
April 6, 2018
3.5 stars. I got this book to give to a friend and her family and skimmed through it before doing so. I’m not entirely sure I’m on board with the idea of very young children actually doing a Marian consecration because of the spiritual commitment it is meant to be (which I thought the book downplayed a bit too much), but I do think this book would be a great way for children and families to learn about and grow closer to Our Lady together, even without following through on the consecration.
I like the way the book uses popular fictional stories and the stories of young saints to make its message accessible to children. I did notice, though, that the author mixed up the details of a few stories I knew well from my childhood (getting wrong which character did what), which I feel like speaks to sloppy or non-existent copyediting, which is a shame. I thought the descriptions of different vices were a bit too broad, but hopefully parents could clarify that in discussion. The ending section, which focuses on fairytales / knights and princesses rubbed me the wrong way a bit, as knights got a much more thorough treatment than princesses, and what made the princesses good characters was not explored well (beyond some vague references to being beautiful on the inside in addition to the outside). So I think parents with girls will need to do some supplementing.
Overall, I think this is a good initial effort at introducing Mary and devotion to her to children (it also has a lot of cool church trivia and history), even though it is a bit superficial and sloppy at times. I think parents might need to do more supplementing of Gress’s weak points than she lets on, but I still think it could be a very good resource for Catholic families (especially those that have already exposed their children to lots of classic children’s stories and fairytales.
I like the way the book uses popular fictional stories and the stories of young saints to make its message accessible to children. I did notice, though, that the author mixed up the details of a few stories I knew well from my childhood (getting wrong which character did what), which I feel like speaks to sloppy or non-existent copyediting, which is a shame. I thought the descriptions of different vices were a bit too broad, but hopefully parents could clarify that in discussion. The ending section, which focuses on fairytales / knights and princesses rubbed me the wrong way a bit, as knights got a much more thorough treatment than princesses, and what made the princesses good characters was not explored well (beyond some vague references to being beautiful on the inside in addition to the outside). So I think parents with girls will need to do some supplementing.
Overall, I think this is a good initial effort at introducing Mary and devotion to her to children (it also has a lot of cool church trivia and history), even though it is a bit superficial and sloppy at times. I think parents might need to do more supplementing of Gress’s weak points than she lets on, but I still think it could be a very good resource for Catholic families (especially those that have already exposed their children to lots of classic children’s stories and fairytales.
February 8, 2023
I purchased this "Marian Consecration for Children" along with "The Stations of the Cross For Kids" when they were in TAN's $5 book section.
I liked the "Did You Know?" sections, even though they were often unrelated to the topic of the day. I also liked the beautiful vintage Catholic line art throughout the book.
The use of literature in this book is interesting; one does not have to have read the books that Carrie Gress is referring to because the example is explained but it is done in such as way that it spoils the stories if one hasn't read them.
It made sense to use fairy tales and stories from picture books that children likely have some familiarity with. It did not make sense to spoil literature that children likely have *not* read like The Lord of the Rings! Don't tell a kid what happens to Gollum and the Ring even if you do print (Spoiler Alert!) right before that.
Recommended for older children who are familiar with "The Chronicles of Narnia","Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and "Anne of Green Gables" (+ Anne of Avonlea + Anne of the Island) if you really want to avoid spoilers.
Sister Mary Lelia's "Leading the Little Ones To Mary" (Montfort Publications) is a beautiful way to 'Bring Mary to Life in Young(er) Hearts and Minds' though it is not a Marian Consecration, per se.
Alternately, Colleen Presspich and Rebecca Gorzynska have a "Marian Consecration for Families With Young Children" that looks lovely, though I haven't read it.
I liked the "Did You Know?" sections, even though they were often unrelated to the topic of the day. I also liked the beautiful vintage Catholic line art throughout the book.
The use of literature in this book is interesting; one does not have to have read the books that Carrie Gress is referring to because the example is explained but it is done in such as way that it spoils the stories if one hasn't read them.
It made sense to use fairy tales and stories from picture books that children likely have some familiarity with. It did not make sense to spoil literature that children likely have *not* read like The Lord of the Rings! Don't tell a kid what happens to Gollum and the Ring even if you do print (Spoiler Alert!) right before that.
Recommended for older children who are familiar with "The Chronicles of Narnia","Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and "Anne of Green Gables" (+ Anne of Avonlea + Anne of the Island) if you really want to avoid spoilers.
Sister Mary Lelia's "Leading the Little Ones To Mary" (Montfort Publications) is a beautiful way to 'Bring Mary to Life in Young(er) Hearts and Minds' though it is not a Marian Consecration, per se.
Alternately, Colleen Presspich and Rebecca Gorzynska have a "Marian Consecration for Families With Young Children" that looks lovely, though I haven't read it.
September 30, 2019
Stories are so powerful. The Bible is a story. Christ taught in stories. Stories awaken our imagination and touch our souls. Most, if not all, stories point to the bigger picture: the story of creation and salvation.
Gress brilliantly taps into this treasury and helps us to see The link between the stories that thrill and touch our hearts and the bigger story that we are all a part of. By using common classic stories that most of us already know, Gress meets us where we are at, as Saint Paul did in the acts of the apostles. Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with all of the stories because there is a thorough summary to tell you what you need to know. My children have not yet read the Lord of the rings and yet they completely understood the point being made on those days. Plus it excites them to be able to read it one day!
The “did you know” portion each day had some truly amazing stories. I Often shared them with my husband after the kids went to bed! This was a wonderful book and very timely for this day and age.
Quite honestly so many religious books for children are, well, cheesy! And the cheese factor is such a turn off kids. It was refreshing to pick up a book where the author wasn’t afraid to relate to characters like Charlie and the chocolate factory. Truth, goodness, and beauty are indeed everywhere!
This would make a perfect gift for someone receiving their first holy communion!
Gress brilliantly taps into this treasury and helps us to see The link between the stories that thrill and touch our hearts and the bigger story that we are all a part of. By using common classic stories that most of us already know, Gress meets us where we are at, as Saint Paul did in the acts of the apostles. Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with all of the stories because there is a thorough summary to tell you what you need to know. My children have not yet read the Lord of the rings and yet they completely understood the point being made on those days. Plus it excites them to be able to read it one day!
The “did you know” portion each day had some truly amazing stories. I Often shared them with my husband after the kids went to bed! This was a wonderful book and very timely for this day and age.
Quite honestly so many religious books for children are, well, cheesy! And the cheese factor is such a turn off kids. It was refreshing to pick up a book where the author wasn’t afraid to relate to characters like Charlie and the chocolate factory. Truth, goodness, and beauty are indeed everywhere!
This would make a perfect gift for someone receiving their first holy communion!
December 9, 2023
This was an absolutely fantastic literature-based consecration to Jesus through Mary adapted from St. Louis de Montfort's 33-day consecration that I had completed before. I had been looking for something that would be appropriate for tween/teen aged boys and this was perfect. We had previously read almost all of the books referenced, but even if you haven't, the story is summarized. Although, I would probably skip this book if you intend to read these books to your kids at some point so as not to spoil them. For that reason, I would say this is best suited for older children - even up through older teens. Our 33 days with this book were beautiful and I'm so appreciative of the incredible connections made through great works of literature to Jesus and his mother. We made our act of consecration today, for the feast of the immaculate conception.
January 8, 2024
This book was a well written book. It is written as a devotional that prepares children and families in consecration of Mary on a special feast day. Each section uses illustrated points from well known children's stories of legends that point out Mary's attributes and her devotion to Jesus. It is easy to understand, but in no way is it watered down. Each chapter ends in prayers and the book as beautiful drawings through out.
June 25, 2020
I wasn’t expecting the approach involving such an extensive focus on drawing examples from literature and legend but it was interesting and mostly worked. A little too much Narnia all in a row at the start. Probably best for 3rd-5th graders, but could use with children a little older or younger than that, too.
May 5, 2024
I'm surprised at how poor this book was done. We gave it an honest attempt for 5 days. My girls are 12, 8, 5. The excessive references to fictional texts, which my children were not familiar with, is just too much. There was very little faith based discussion. As for reading it out loud, the poor grammar and run-on sentences made it very difficult. This book is not worth your time or money.
January 5, 2023
This little book is equipped to help school aged children make their consecration to our Blessed Mother. It is simple to follow and it has prayer suggestions for the 33 days. At the end it has the consecration prayer. Totally recommend this for children.
February 24, 2019
I was surprised by a few misspellings and grammar errors.
June 28, 2023
i loved it i was so sad when it was done
November 20, 2024
I don’t think I was the target demographic but still awesome sauce
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews