Mary’s Mantle Consecration comes to us in tumultuous times. Today it is important that we consecrate ourselves to the Mother of God —entrusting our lives to her protection, guidance, and care, and inviting her to conform us to the likeness of her Son. There is so much need and brokenness in the world, in the Church, in our families, and in our hearts. By preparing for consecration through the power of the Rosary, a little fasting, and a two-minute reading of a beautiful daily meditation on a virtue or gift of the Holy Spirit (people’s favorite part), we can expect heaven’s help.
This retreat is perfect for individuals, couples, families, groups and parishes. To dive even deeper into God’s graces, a companion workbook, Mary’s Mantle Consecration Prayer Journal , also offers quotes from saints, passages of Scripture, and insightful questions for reflection. Are you willing to do your part and give God a chance?
Sample meditation from the 14th Chapter— The Virtue of Meekness :
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves” (Matthew 11:29). Meekness is a virtue that Jesus alone inculcated, and which no ancient philosopher seems to have understood or recommended. Even our modern usage of “meek” can be dominated by a sense of weakness, cowardice, or people-pleasing. In Jesus’ mouth, it is not that. To be meek is to be a spiritual rock. In the evangelical sense, meekness is humility, resignation, submission to the Divine Will without murmuring or peevishness. It is mildness of temper, softness in dealing with others, and forbearance under difficulties, setbacks, and injuries. One who is meek is not easily provoked or irritated.
By reason of being born into the world, we naturally create an illusion in our minds of who we are, a treasured lie for which we long, fight, and suffer. Depending upon our wounds and whether or not our self-image is praised or rejected, our moods travel from elation to depression and back again; this can be the source of great emotional instability and pain. The meek person has fought to tame the roaring lion of the human ego, the source of his childish reactions and unreasonable attitudes—the beast that seeks to glorify and defend itself at all costs.
Our greatest human example of meekness is Our Lady. For her, the artifice of ego was never erected. It never claimed anything for itself, for it was dead. If Mary was praised, she gave all glory to God; if she was calumniated, it meant nothing; if she received food, she thanked God; if she went hungry, she blamed no one, least of all her Lord. What could offend a woman who felt like she had no rights? For her, all was gift and grace. Her ego was like fallen timber. If a log receives a devastating blow from an axe, it does not feel anything. It does not react. It is dead. Detached from the world. Attached to God.
The meek person knows how much he is cherished by God; he knows how safe he is in the Lord’s love, no matter what happens to the body. The meek one knows that his worth comes solely from God, not from any human opinion—not even his own. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).
I did not do this consecration perfectly, but I did catch up throughout and finished on time! Happy Feast of the Assumption!
Where this book excelled: 1. Each day has an assigned virtue, and I had never thought about some of the virtues, what they mean or in the light that Christine wrote about them. 2. Additional material. There is a poster you can buy to get the kids involved. There are coloring page downloads. The prayer journal is a big one. You can put as much effort into this consecration as you want, essentially. 3. For a Marian consecration, I was awed at how much of this book was about Jesus (as opposed to the Louis de Montfort consecration). My big takeaway was learning to trust God’s will.
Where this book fell short: 1. I think there’s something missing when the original intent of the consecration was the joining of a community, with a schedule of houses to visit and a communal mantle to craft. While this can be done as a parish, it seems like the communal aspect is a huge lost element for most people doing this consecration. 2. The prose was sometimes a little too elegant and hard to parse. 3. The font made the “e” and “c” nearly indistinguishable.
I've done 33 Days to Morning Glory, which was a great introduction to Marian Consecration for me. This was also a fruitful experience, although set up differently. In my opinion, 33 Days focused more on what it means to entrust ourselves to Mary's intercessory care as our Spiritual Mother (as Jesus bestowed on her from the cross), along with readings and prayers from Saints who also loved the devotion, stemming from St Louis de Montfort. Mary's Mantle Consecration gives a little background on this tradition of consecration, stemming from Mexico as a devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Its focus is using short daily readings on a virtue, a different one for 46 days, and these were very enlightening. While both consecrations also suggest a daily rosary prayer, this latter one also suggested ways to fast for your prayer intentions for the consecration period as well, so be prepared for that. Each can be done individually or as a group, and each has weekly-ish videos to accompany and encourage you along the way. Ways to access the videos are included in the book. I thought the material to be enlightening and uplifting, and I did feel I grew spiritually through it. I do recommend if you are looking for a daily devotion that will help you get started or develop a more consistent prayer and reflection routine.
I prayed with this book as preparation for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec 8). It is a beautiful tradition! The daily reflections are short, but profound. I found myself reflecting on and sharing it with my friends and family. I am very blessed by this book and thankful to my friend, Daniela, for sharing it with me. I look forward to doing this book with my grandchildren and groups in my parish.
The short daily reflections in this book moved me to look at my life in depth. I am grateful to have found this book and given myself the opportunity to find renewed trust in the in Powerful intercession of my Mother in heaven. The prayer journal is an effective compliment that helped me to put my thoughts into words and make them concrete.
The virtues challenge you to reflect on your life deeply. Consecrating yourself to Mary and being under her mantle is so valuable, she will help intercede in your prayers to the Lord and also help you in times of failing, troubles, joy and guidance. Really enjoyed this spiritual retreat. The accompanying videos are great too.
An easy to do daily spiritual retreat. It was just a few days that the readings from the author were not what I had hoped for, but on the whole it was beautiful to read and be a part of. I loved the daily Saint quotes and Bible verses which were always wonderful. Because of this book, I now have a better understanding and love for Our Lady of Guadalupe.
I really loved doing this consecration.There is a short reading on each day for a total of 46 days until consecration.It's perfect for those with a busy life as it does not take much time to read each days post and yet it includes some very good insights for contemplation.
Brief daily meditations on virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are beautiful and can be read again and again. The author, Christine Watkins has numerous books that will inspire and boost your spiritual life! I highly recommend!
I do like this author and what she is doing getting the word out on wonderful stories of conversion in lives of Catholic Christians. I did not like this book , however, after a while it was very Catholic and not her typical style of relevant descriptive writing. Most of the writings were by a priest and I didn't relate to most of the self reflection questions. Just not my cup of tea, and personal choice. The book was well organized as a spiritual retreat
I just finished my consecration to Mary's Mantle today- on the Solemnity of St. Joseph! (How fitting, considering it is also the year of St. Joseph, 2021). Mary, wrap me in your mantle and give me the grace to always imitate your Divine Son.
Life changing book that will bring you closer to marry the mother of Jesus and also her son. there is absolutely no disadvantage to doing this consecration and who wouldn’t want to be protected by Mary’s loving mantle
This preparation for consecration to Mary is a 46-day 'retreat', highlighting 46 virtues, one per day for meditation. It can be done with a group (preferred) or individually. It was a gentle preparation, far less intense than Louis De Montfort's approach. It doesn't take much time - very doable for busy people. I related to some of the meditations more than others but on the whole it was a worthwhile preparation. Finished on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
I’ve done this consecration twice, but ultimately it’s not my favorite. It might be my own pride in the way, but I didn’t like the author’s tone, and wanted something with more substance. However, I still give it three stars because I do love the imagery of each day in consecration filling in the stars on Mary’s mantle.