33 Days to Morning Glory Begins in May, The Month of Mary

One of the biggest misconceptions about Catholic Church teaching is that we worship Mary. FALSE! We honor Mary, and we venerate her as the Mother of God in her Son, Jesus Christ. How veneration is given to Mary, to God, and to the saints is distinguished by the use of three, non-English words, latria, dulia, and hyperdulia, all of which were used by saints like St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and St. Thomas Aquinas. Latria is a Greek-rooted, Latin word that means adoration and worship of God alone. Dulia is a Greek term, which is used to venerate or give homage to the saints. It also includes honoring them and asking for their intercession on behalf of God. Hyperdulia relates to dulia, with the exception that it is a special reverence and honor for Mary, our Blessed Mother who was conceived without sin (i.e. Immaculate Conception), became Jesus’ mother by the grace of the Holy Spirit, but required her fiat, not the car 😉 but her “yes,” which was a free response on her part.

Currently, we honor Mary and her fiat in several ways, whether it be in the coronation/crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth like we do in the month of May, a celebration of a Marian feast day (i.e. Solemnity of the Assumption on Aug. 15th – the commemoration of Mary assumed body and soul into heaven), a rosary to pray and meditate upon the key events of the life of Jesus and Mary, or honoring Mary in the Our Lady of Perpetual Help devotion. If you are looking to increase your understanding of Mary and would like to participate in a newer Marian devotion, why not join me in a prayerful reading of Fr. Michael Gaitley’s book, 33 Days to Morning Glory: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Marian Consecration, published in 2011.

A few years ago an image of the Blessed Mother, that crashed to the floor, prompted Fr. Gaitley and others to pray for a renewed sense of love and devotion for Mary. The crash reflected Fr. Gaitley’s, own spiritual devotion of Mary which became as dry as a desert, and he was looking to jumpstart it. About a month later he woke up with an idea that prompted him to cancel a vacation, one that would change his spiritual life and the spiritual lives of many others, especially their devotion to Mary. Through little sleep, much research, reading, and writing, in which Fr. Gaitley had an identical schedule for nine, consecutive days (novena), what resulted was the book, 33 Days to Morning Glory. Heavily influenced by St. Louis De Montfort’s (1673-1716) Marian book of consecration, True Devotion to Mary, Gaitley’s book, like De Montfort’s book, communicates the message that we give ourselves over to Mary to be formed into the image of her son Jesus, which leads one at the very end of the book to make a consecration to Mary. St. Louis de Montfort said that making the total consecration to Jesus through Mary is “the surest, easiest, and most perfect means” to become a saint. Fr. Gaitley’s book is an updated version of True Devotion to Mary but with added wisdom from spiritual giants like St. Maximillian Kolbe, Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta and St. John Paul II. In addition, Fr. Gaitley is also the author of another book, Consoling The Heart of Jesus.

Though I made a consecration to Mary when I was in the seminary, I believe this book, which has new Marian insights, is an opportunity to reconsecrate ourselves to Mary, or for those who have never done it before, to consecrate yourself to Jesus through Mary for the very first time. If you would like to join me in 33 consecutive days of prayerful reading that concludes with a consecration to Mary, the launch will be on a personal basis which will begin Thursday, May 26th and finish on June 27th, the Marian feast day of Our Lady/Mother of Perpetual Help. You can check out your local Catholic or Christian bookstore for it, or purchase a copy of 33 Days to Morning Glory on www.amazon.com for less than $10.00.

In The Love of Jesus Through Mary,
Fr. Jeff

Sources:
www.ewtn.com – Information provided by Matthew Bunson
www.marian.org – article: “A New Day Dawns for Marian Consecration”