The Text Is Out

Today the Vatican released the text of the forthcoming consecration.  It is a long prayer, but this is the money quote:

Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world. The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

People who previously were complaining that the Pope "only invited" the bishops of the world to join the consecration of Russia are now complaining that, in addition to Russia, the above prayer consecrates pretty much everyone to the Immaculate Heart.  This complaint is lodged on the grounds that Mary allegedly said that ONLY Russia was to be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart.

Let's stop and think about this for a second.  Here we have Catholics saying that it is a bad thing to consecrate everybody to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  We have Catholics saying that God, and therefore our Mother, are going to be displeased because everybody is consecrated to the Immaculate Heart.  Or, put another way: we have Catholics who think that our Lord and our Lady can be offended over any person being consecrated to the Immaculate Heart.  

If the above act omitted to specifically and explicitly consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart, then we would have a problem.  Clearly, however, we have (a) a consecration; (b) of Russia; (c) to the Immaculate Heart.  All the boxes are checked with the above prayer.  Our Lady specifically asked that the Pope, in union with all the world's bishops, consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart.  She did not say that on no account was anyone or anything else not to be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart in addition to Russia.  The "ONLY" in "ONLY Russia" was not said by her, but is an accretion of legalists.  The act of consecration has a lot of extra verbiage in it, like most things that come out of the Vatican in our time, and seeks to take the occasion of consecrating Russia to also consecrating many other things (which, in itself, is rather praiseworthy than blameworthy).  Nevertheless, the act still contains that which was specifically requested by our Lady.  As long as Russia is named, she will not be somehow less consecrated, or continue to go unconsecrated, just because humanity is also consecrated.

Am I here saying this act of consecration is perfect?  It would certainly read somewhat differently if I had written it.  But nobody asked me to write it.  The question is not whether it is perfect, but whether it is adequate and meets the requirements given by our Lady, which are fewer than the requirements imposed by keyboard warriors in the tradosphere.  If I were evaluating this as a legal document, I would say I think it checks all the necessary boxes.  And, as I have said before, I think the Pope has effectively ordered the bishops to join him in this act.  If the Pope sends each bishop a letter advising that he intends for the consecration to be an act of the universal Church that the bishop is expected to participate in at around the same time that the Pope is going to do it -- which he has -- then it can safely be assumed that this is not optional, even if it is couched in diplomatic language.

There are Catholics out there who are getting dangerously close to rooting for March 25th to be a failure, and behaving as though God and His omniscience and omnipotence do not somehow factor into the equation or cannot supply what is humanly lacking -- which, if they are not careful, would give them two more things in common with the worldlings whose feverish activities make the consecration of Russia not a luxury, but a necessity.