Led by the Immaculata:
St. Maximilian Kolbe's Spiritual Battle Plan for Marian Consecration
ISBN 9781646803026
eISBN 9781646803033
ASIN B0CXY74LYW
I really did not know what to expect when I started this book. I was asked about giving it a read and review and it took me several months to get into it. That was my loss. I was very busy at work and home, and to be honest some of the lessons in this volume would have really helped with that time. When I did pick it up I did so earnestly and with devotion. It is a great read. The description of this volume states:
“St. Maximilian Kolbe is one of the most well-known and well-loved saints of all time. Many are familiar with the story of his selfless act at Auschwitz, where he sacrificed his own life to save a man who was a husband and father. But do you know about Kolbe’s deep love for Mary, whom he called the Immaculata? How he surrendered everything to Our Lady to grow in holiness and align his will to the will of God? How he consecrated his life to Mary?
In Led by the Immaculata, Joshua Mazrin, a Kolbe devotee and Mariology expert, will
• introduce you to St. Maximilian Kolbe,
• explain the meaning of consecration and the objectives of the Knights of the Immaculata,
• walk you through the fourteen doable and practical steps of the consecration, and
• provide a step-by-step plan for completing the consecration.
Kolbe taught that by giving our lives completely to Mary, the Immaculata, she would direct our will to the will of the Holy Spirit—that is, the will of God. Kolbe wanted this message shared far and wide and so founded the Knights of the Immaculata with the goal of consecrating as many people as possible to Mary and her son.
Each step of the consecration journey is explained in practical and theological terms, making it accessible to all, regardless of vocation or age. While Kolbe initially targeted men, the principles of holiness are equally relevant to women. The book concludes by empowering you—men and women alike—to be evangelists for the Immaculata and the Gospel and to be spiritual leaders in your family, workplace, and community.
Led by the Immaculata invites you to embrace a deeper devotion to Mary and emulate Kolbe’s path to holiness through the practical application of the fourteen steps in your daily life”
About the author we are informed:
“Joshua Mazrin is a Catholic speaker and writer whose specialties include the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Immaculata, and prayer. Mazrin directed an apostolate in the Diocese of Brooklyn and served as the director of evangelization for the Diocese of Venice in Florida. He is a graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville where he earned both a bachelor's and master's degree in theology.
In the spirit of St. Joseph, Mazrin works primarily as a real estate developer and enjoys building things, but he still makes time to speak and write on theology and spirituality.
He lives with his family in Bradenton, FL.”
And about Father Rafael who wrote the introduction:
“Fr. Rafael Capó is a priest of the Archdiocese of Miami and the vice president for mission and ministry at St. Thomas University.”
The chapters in this volume are:
Foreword
Preface by St. Maximilian Kolbe
Part I: Introduction
St. Maximilian Kolbe and Marian Consecration
“Who Then Are You, O Immaculata?”
Part II: Fourteen Steps to Prepare for Consecration to Mary
Step 1: Surrender to Jesus through Mary
Step 2: Respond with Peace
Step 3: Be Obedient to Your Superiors
Step 4: Put Your Love into Action
Step 5: Have Confidence in the Immaculata’s Will
Step 6: “Love, and Do What You Will”
Step 7: Be on Guard, and Realistic!
Step 8: Find Strength in the Immaculata
Step 9: Do Not Be Overconfident
Step 10: Seek Mercy
Step 11: Love Is an Act of the Will
Step 12: Do All Things Well
Step 13: Be Faithful according to Your State in Life
Step 14: Magnify the Magnifying Glass
Part III: The Call to Evangelization and Marian Consecration
An All-Consuming Fire
Consecration to the Immaculata
Appendix A: Step-by-Step Plan Leading to Marian Consecration
Appendix B: Marian Prayers
Notes
Author Biography
I highlighted numerous passages while reading this volume, some of them are:
“Mary’s life can be summed up with three words found in the gospels, three verbs that continue to describe our calling to live “to the Maximum” in an act of full consecration to the Immaculata: fiat, magnificat, stabat.”
“Through the intercession of the Immaculata, I now pray that you, as reader of this book, will persevere in those three words, giving your fiat, your magnificat, and your stabat. May you be able to prepare a fruitful act of consecration to the Immaculata, one that will help you give your own yes to the Lord and make your life an offering and thanksgiving, just as St. Maximilian Kolbe and Mary remained heroically faithful at the foot of the Cross.”
“When you start to read something on the Immaculata, do not forget that at that moment you come into contact with a living being, who loves you, who is pure, without any stain.”
“Many of us have had the experience of a saint “stalking” us. For those of you who might be confused by what I mean, oftentimes in our spiritual journey a particular saint may pop up in different parts of our lives.”
“I cannot stress enough how consecration to Our Lady has completely changed my own life. Consecrating ourselves to Mary means giving Mary permission to conform our will to the will of God.”
“Throughout this book, we will discuss some of the revolutionary things Maximilian discovered and was able to contribute to our understanding of Mary and her relationship to the Holy Spirit, all of which apply not only to our outlook on prayer but also to how we live every day of our lives.”
“The Militia of the Immaculata, which we will discuss at greater length in the next chapter, was wildly successful (and is still active to this day). St. John Paul II even credited St. Maximilian and the Militia with preparing the people of Poland for World War II by inspiring them to hold fast to their faith and entrust themselves and their families to the Immaculata.”
“In summary, this book is written for those who would like to give themselves wholly over to the Immaculata, for those who would like to renew their consecration to her, for those who wish to go to battle against the evil of the world and the evil in their own lives, for those who wish to put in place the will of the Immaculata in their own lives, and for those who wish to spread devotion to her.”
“Mary’s words to Bernadette reveal that the Immaculate Conception is not her name, but who she is.”
“What Kolbe understood from all of this is that at the moment of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, because God had chosen her to be the Mother of God, the Holy Spirit poured so much grace into Mary that she exceeded the amount of grace of all the angels and saints combined. Mary is the most exalted of all creatures. Mary is the one who is “full of grace.” This came about by the Holy Spirit, whom the early church fathers first described as the “fount of all holiness.””
“At the moment of the Immaculate Conception, Mary was created already full of grace and united to the Holy Spirit. She was perfectly united to God from the moment of her conception.”
“Where we see Mary, there is the action and presence of the Holy Spirit, and where we see the Holy Spirit, there too is his bride, the Immaculata.”
“The power of her intercession is the very power of the Holy Spirit (who is the power of God himself).”
“Whether or not we officially join the Militia of the Immaculata ourselves, we can and ought to live what the MI lives every day. We must be the spiritual military captains of our own households, with the Immaculata as our commanding officer. Mary is our leader and we her soldiers. She will lead us in the fight against evil and along the way of holiness.”
“As her knights, we must then pick up our weapons: the miraculous medal, the Rosary, the scapular, and most especially the sacraments and liturgy of the Church. By these we work to accomplish our goal: to become like the Immaculata.”
“Every day of our lives is filled with innumerable experiences of the good, the bad, and the ugly (and also the beautiful). In a sentiment that is certainly not new, the world tries to tell us that we ought to strive for material success and comfort. While material success is not contradictory to the Gospel, and comfort is not a bad thing (it is, in fact, a good thing), we are created for so much more than these. Even while acknowledging this, we are hardwired to seek what makes us feel good and avoid what makes us suffer.”
“In theology we call this the “universal law of mortification,” which essentially means doing three things related to Jesus’s words: 1) denying yourself—doing acts of penance/ mortification; 2) taking up your cross—accepting any difficulties that come your way as means to growth in holiness (that’s where we are right now); and 3) following Christ—uniting yourself to him.”
“But knowing what God’s will is can be a challenge for us. In this endeavor, we are given the great gift of the Immaculata to not only demonstrate what following God’s will looks like but also to help us to both know and follow his will in the particular circumstances of our own lives.”
“It dawned on me that being a man was truly seeking the Lord and his mercy and finding strength in his strength.”
“Here Kolbe is writing to the Knights of the Immaculata about their work in the apostolate, but at the heart of the Immaculata’s will is our own sanctification—how it permeates our families and how that affects the entire world. Our work, too, is exactly that. We first become holy, and then we share that holiness with others.”
“There’s certainly no problem with this. In fact, it’s a good reaction. As men we have certain responsibilities, and our hardwiring to “fix” things is given to us by God to enable us to be providers and protectors. The small paradigm shift is that even in these small things, we should seek God and the Immaculata as our strength, not our finite little well of energy.”
“While the greatest reason for consecration to the Immaculata is union with God, the second most important reason is to escape from sin and allow her to crush the head of the serpent. Therefore, let us give everything to her. Let us consecrate every moment, every thought, every word, every intention, every person we see as we pass in the streets—our loved ones, our friends, and our enemies—entirely to her care.”
“Satan’s pride brought with him one-third of the angels, who were cast down from heaven. Satan’s pride turned to further bitterness and hatred, and he took on another goal—to turn as many humans to him and darkness as he can. But God likes to turn things upside down. Whereas the Fall of Adam and Eve came from eating the fruit of a tree, Christ saved us by hanging on a tree. Likewise, it is not greater strength and might that overcome pride, but humility. Satan’s pride is overcome by the humility and meekness of Christ and of the Immaculata, who crushes his head.”
“Love the Immaculata with your whole heart and being, but do not be concerned if you do not feel pleasant emotions all the time. Love consists in desiring to accomplish the Immaculata’s will for your life and working toward it.”
“Our consecration to the Immaculata will help us to stay the course and allow God to bring us to heights we cannot even imagine. It may seem contradictory to speak of these heights of prayer in a step that is focused on ordinary deeds, but just as God uses weakness for strength, I want to emphasize that spiritual heights are offered to us in the ordinary, and that it is the Immaculata who leads us exclusively along this path.”
“The point of all of this is that holiness is not something achieved only by offering a set number of prayers per day, fasting a great amount, or giving a certain amount of money in alms. It is achieved in doing those things out of obedience to God and the Immaculata according to your state in life. To be clear, yes, we are called to do all those things (prayer, penance, and sacrifice), but we must first fulfill our daily duties, which offer us more sanctification than anything we could come up with by our own will.”
“In any vocation and no matter what your current state, you must reserve dedicated time to pray. In reality, you will not be able to truly perform your duties without prayer!”
“In this we emulate St. Joseph, the earthly spouse of the Immaculata, who diligently performed his duties at the service of Jesus and Mary. For us, we serve Jesus and Mary in our daily actions and responsibilities and through our prayers, devotions, and sacrifices.”
“St. Joseph was the first “only-human” to be truly consecrated to the Immaculata. We would do right to have him as our example as men and include him as one to whom we give ourselves as we consecrate ourselves entirely to the Immaculata. Then we might emulate his great love for the Immaculata and his consecration to her and to Jesus through her. We are to be the St. Joseph of our own families, working diligently and suffering with endurance for the sake of our families.”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this excellent volume. Over the years I have done a few different consecrations. But I loved the material and one presented in this volume. It is easily accessible and engaging to read. It was hard to slow down and read the 14 days separately. One of the things I loved most was the reflection at the end of each chapter, a sample one is:
“Reflection
Be faithful to the obligations required of your state in life. The Immaculata will never call you to neglect your ordinary obligations; rather, she will help you to sanctify them.
• Rank your five most important duties according to your state of life. How does each further your holiness?
• How can you incorporate penance into your daily duties and offer them to the Immaculata?”
Those reflections questions often really hit home. And you could easily go back through as a refresher and just do the reflection and questions. This is an excellent volume that any Catholic would benefit from reading. It would be especially good to get it into the hands of teens and young adults. But even us older folks could benefit from the great material and how Joshua presented it.
This is a great read and would bless any Catholic who picks it up and give it a read!
Books by Joshua Mazrin:
Knowing the Unknown God
…
