A number of Roman Catholic dioceses nationwide—and also globally—have been consecrating themselves to the “immaculate heart of Mary” throughout 2017, a practice that evangelicals say is unbiblical and gives to the earthly mother of Jesus the devotion that should be bestowed to Christ alone.“We are uniting ourselves to her who opens up the way for God to enter, and we are uniting our hearts to her immaculate heart, the one heart that is perfectly united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” James Johnston Jr. of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri told the National Catholic Register.
The consecrations are being conducted as 2017 marks the 100th year since the purported 1917 apparitions of Mary to child shepherds in Fatima, Portugal. The apparitions were stated to have taken place on the 13th of each month over a six-month period. “God desires to establish in the world devotion to my immaculate heart,” Mary was quoted as stating during one of the appearances to the children. “To whomever embraces this devotion I promise salvation; these souls shall be dear to God, as flowers placed by me to adorn His throne.”
“In our consecration we state, ‘We consecrate to you (Mary) our very being and our whole life; all that we have, all that we love, all that we are,'” the notice, issued by Robert Vasa, outlines. “It is an act of trust in the love God has for us and in the love our blessed mother has for us,” it continues. “We entrust ourselves to Her maternal care with profound confidence and love. We trust that, having given over everything we have and are to Her protection and even Her dominion, we then rely on Her to distribute merits and graces where they are most needed.”
