“Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said, ‘Abba, as much as I am able I follow a small rule….a little fasting, some prayer and meditation, remain quiet, and as much as possible keep my thoughts clean. What else should I do? ‘Then the old man stood up and stretched out his hands toward heaven. His fingers were aflame.  He said, “why not be totally changed into fire!”

One way of being changed into fire is accomplished by entering into the TOTAL CONSECRATION TO JESUS THROUGH MARY, which is the foundational spirituality of the MMS.  This consecration, formulated by St. Louis de Monfort in his work “True Devotion to Mary” is in itself our “rule of life” by which we strive daily to give ourselves, wholly and completely, to Our Blessed Mother. In return, Our Lady gives herself wholly and completely to us. She communicates to each consecrated soul her spirit and virtues, forming each one to be a spiritual mother for her priest sons. As each priest grows in holiness, so does the entire Church.

In addition to the consecration, specific commitments are recommended for prayer, spiritual practices and interior formation. These recommendations are not binding; rather, it is the spiritual mother’s responsibility to utilize these powerful tools as much as possible in order to stay focused and grow spiritually. At least annually, cenacle leaders should review the importance of these spiritual tools in their cenacles.

Prayer Commitment

• Daily:  Mass as possible according to the obligations of your state in life.  All Masses are to be attended without preference to the Ordinary or Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
• Daily:  Rosary, “Hail, Holy Queen” for the bishop and one “Hail, Mary” for the spiritual director of the MMS
• Daily:  Divine Mercy Chaplet
• Daily:  Breviary – Morning and Evening prayer
• Eucharistic Consecration Prayer – recited monthly at cenacle meeting
• Daily:  Excerpt from St. Louis de Montfort’s consecration prayer (see page 8)
• Holy hour – offered at least once a week, preferably on Thursdays, in commemoration of the institution of the priesthood

Spiritual Practices

• Attend monthly Cenacle meetings
• Fasting – if possible on Thursdays for priests
• Penance – recognizing opportunities to offer up penances for priests as presented by daily duties
• Confession – monthly
• Seek out spiritual direction periodically
• Annual  Retreat – preferably silent
• Annual Renewal of Consecration to Mary with 33 Day Preparation
• Marian witness – Members of the MMS are called to witness to Our Lady in the same way that a priest is called to witness to Jesus.  As a priest vests to celebrate the sacred mysteries, so shall we vest in feminine attire whenever in church or cenacle, in the form of modest skirts and dresses, with chapel veiling encouraged.  As a priest witnesses to Christ in public with his clerical attire and Roman collar, so shall we offer in union with them, modesty of dress according to our state in life.
• Temperance in all things, a lived poverty of spirit

Interior Formation

• Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary, as formulated by St. Louis de Montfort is the basis of MMS formation. True devotion to Our Lady is holy; that is to say, it leads the soul to avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of the Blessed Virgin, particularly her profound humility, her lively faith, her blind obedience her continual prayer, her universal mortification, her divine purity, her ardent charity, her heroic patience, her angelic sweetness and her divine wisdom. These are the ten principal virtues of the Most Holy Virgin.
• Cultivation of a profound, sincere Eucharistic devotion and habitual Eucharistic practices
• Spiritual reading as suggested by the MMS Spiritual Director