Coincidence? I think not...

Just a week ago I was compelled by some as-yet unidentified force (although I get the feeling its name is "ruah" if you know my meaning) to look into making the consecration to Jesus through Mary as laid out in St. Louis de Montfort's Total Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Now normally that's not such a big surprise - people get that kind of spiritual kick in the fanny all the time, and ignore it just about as often.

As an aside, I've known for a long time my only chance to really get anywhere in the spiritual life was going to depend on me being willing to break down and talk to Mary. I don't know why, but it's always been very difficult for me - even as I can recommend the Rosary and other Marian devotions and even explain the theological bases of our devotion to Mary it's just been the doggoned hardest nut to crack for me. I guess I'm just obtuse like that. I should say that the "I've known for a long time" thing, well, let's just say it was made clear to me by someone other than myself and leave it at that. There are some things that don't explain themselves well in the blogosphere.

Back to the topic at hand, I was doing a wonderful job at my usual procrastination at God's prompting when I went to our Tuesday meeting this week (we're now on Fr. Corapi's Behold Your Mother in preparation for the Marian Month of May, coincidentally). Clear out of the blue one of the women pulls out this past Sunday's bulletin, which I had uncharacteristically not read as yet, and starts talking about the fact that there will be a meeting to go over St. Louis de Montfort's book and that at the end of the series we'd have the opportunity to make the consecration and ... well, if the blood didn't drain out of my face physically it certainly did feel like it. I suddenly had this feeling as if Jesus himself were staring me right in the face and saying, "well, now what's your excuse going to be?"

To that question I simply have no answer. There is the hope right now that the meetings will be moved to cover our Tuesday meeting slot rather than the currently-planned mornings. But with that kind of, err, invitation whenever it winds up starting I don't think I have much choice - I'll have to make it work one way or another. The Good Lord knows I can be a stubborn one, but even I can read the six-foot letters this suggestion was written in.

So if you're in the Manchester area and interested in joining us, feel free to drop me a line. I'll be putting contact information in one of the sidebars shortly. Alternately, of course, feel free to drop it in the combox as well.