The term “Totus Tuus Maria” was popularized by the late St. John Paul II, who used it as his official papal motto. “Totus Tuus, Maria” means “Totally, yours, Mary.” St. John Paul II was an example of a great Pope and saint who devoted himself completely to Our Lady.
St. John Paul II got his inspiration for “Totus Tuus, Maria” from St. Louis de Montfort, who in his classic spiritual book “True Devotion to Mary” wrote: “Totus Tuus ego sum et amnia mea tua sunt”, which means “I am totally yours and all that I have is yours.”
St. Louis de Montfort believed that this spirituality of “Totus Tuus” is the “most perfect of all devotions”. He encouraged all Christians to make an act of total consecration to Jesus through Mary.
This coming September 8, the birthday of Our Blessed Mother, it is highly encouraged that we formally consecrate ourselves to Our Lady, by saying the Act of Consecration to Our Lady prayer, particularly the one developed by St. Louis de Montfort.
What Does it Mean to Consecrate Oneself to Mary?
This act of consecration to Our Lady means giving our entire selves - heart, mind and soul - to Our Lady, so that she can bring us to her Son, Jesus Christ. Marian consecration is the act of entrusting one’s body, soul, possessions, works, and entire life to the protection, guidance, and intercession of Our Lady.
When we consecrate ourselves to Our Lady, we are consecrating ourselves to Jesus through Mary. As Pope John Paul II explained, “Consecrating ourselves to Mary means accepting her help to offer ourselves and the whole of mankind to him who is holy, infinitely holy; it means accepting her help—by having recourse to her motherly heart, which beneath the cross was opened to love for every human being, for the whole world—in order to offer the world, the individual human being, mankind as a whole, and all the nations to him who is infinitely holy” (May 13, 1982).
But why should we consecrate ourselves to Our Lady, in the first place? In this article, we share with you 3 reasons why we should make this solemn act of Consecration to Our Lady.
Jesus Himself Gave Her to Us as Our Mother
First, we need to remember that it was Jesus Himself who gave His Mother to all of us. When He was dying on the Cross, Jesus told us, through St. John, “Behold Your Mother.” By those simple words, Jesus essentially told us: Mary is your Mother! Give yourself to her, so that she can take care of you and lead bring you to Heaven.
Mary is a perfect mother! No earthly mother is perfect, but our spiritual Mother in Heaven is perfect in every way! Just like a real mother, she she sees our hurts, our pains. She is sad when we are sad. She is happy when we are happy. She understands everything we go through, because like us, she experienced so much suffering during her earthly life as well.
We Allow Her to Intervene in Our Lives
Second, by consecrating ourselves to Our Lady, we are essentially telling her: Mother, I am all yours. My life is yours. My family is yours. My work or business is yours. Please help me in everything. Take care of my family. Protect my family. Help me provide from my family.
By consecrating ourselves to Our Lady, we are giving her the very gift of our free will. We are giving her the freedom to intervene in our lives - to mould and shape our lives the way she sees fit.
As the Queen of All Heaven and Earth, she can and will help us in all our petitions - if our petitions are for the good of our souls! Isn’t it that if we want a favor from a particularly powerful person, we try to look for a “mediator” who can help us with that powerful person? Our Lady is the most powerful mediator we can have with Jesus, her Son! Our prayers will be so much more powerful if Our Lady took our prayers, wrapped it with her own heavenly gift wrap, before presenting this to her Son.
She Will Help Us Defeat the Devil
The third and final reason why we should consecrate ourselves to Our Lady is this: She will help us defeat the Devil.
We do not see him, but the devil is the unseen force that is the cause of everything negative in our lives: destroyed relationships and friendships, habitual bad sin, anger, sadness, depression. By consecrating ourselves to Our Lady, we are placing ourselves and our family under her maternal protection. She will protect us from the evil snares of the devil. She will help us win our daily, constant battle with the devil.
As St. Louis de Montfort said: “The Immaculate alone has from God the promise of victory over Satan. She seeks souls that will consecrate themselves entirely to her, that will become in her hands forceful instruments for the defeat of Satan and the spread of God's kingdom.”
The Perfect Gift to Our Lady
This coming September 8, give Our Lady the perfect birthday gift: the gift of our act of total consecration to her. Tell her with your whole heart: Totus Tuus, Maria! I am yours totally, Oh Mary! My family is yours, my life is yours, my heart is yours. Take care of me, your poor child!
We highly-recommend everyone to make this formal act of consecration to Our Lady on September 8, using the consecration formula of St. Louis de Montfort which you can find by clicking here.