Does consecration to Mary save us from all harm?
No. Absolutely speaking, consecration to Mary does not save us from all harm. It does however, guarantee Mary’s motherly care and protection for our eternal well-being. Mary may not save us from every accident, danger, illness, or even death itself, but she will save us from eternal damnation.
This is the lesson we can learn today from two saints who lived worlds apart, but shared a special love and devotion to Our Lady.
We will start with the Filipino protomartyr, St. Lawrence Ruiz. Ruiz was born roughly 80 years after the first evangelization of the Philippines. Born and raised in the Philippines, he was not, however martyred in the Philippines. He was martyred in Nagasaki, Japan.
Why Japan?
For unknown reasons he was accused of murdering a Spaniard in 1636. Declaring his innocence to no avail, he had no other choice but to seek refuge in Japan.
Unbeknownst to Lawrence, neither was Japan a safe haven for him or any Christian. Under the Tokugawa Shogunate regime, all Catholics were considered enemies of the state. Thus, Lawrence and his Christian companions were arrested within a few days of their arrival.
Refusing to apostatize, Ruiz and others were sentenced to prison. They spent two years in jail, living no better than incarcerated animals. After two years passed he was transferred to another prison in Nagasaki. There in Nagasaki he and other Christians were tortured and then sentenced to death.
Their deaths were a torture themselves. Refusing one last time to deny their faith, St. Lawrence and his companions were hanged upside down over an open pit. Their legs could be seen above ground, but everything below their waist was submerged in the pit. Their circulation was slightly cutoff in various places so as to prolong the agony by allowing their blood to circulate slowly. Every so often their captors would make cuts in the prisoner’s heads to allow the blood build up to escape. It was a slow and gruesome death. Their agony lasted three days, ending on September 29, 1637. Their bodies were later burned and their ashes were tossed into the Nagasaki harbor.
What is the lesson for us?
St. Lawrence probably never expected to be graced with the supreme gift of martyrdom. He was a simple Catholic layman, husband, father of three, altar server in his youth, sacristan, and calligrapher. But in God’s Providence, the supreme witness of martyrdom was asked of him. And what prepared St. Lawrence for such a testimony? Although I could mention several things, for the sake of this post I will only focus on one.
Lawrence must have also had a quiet but strong devotion to Our Lady of the Rosary. As a young man, he belonged to the Dominican Confraternity of the Holy Rosary. It was to a Dominican priest, by the name of Bl. Alan de la Roche, that our Lady made 15 promises regarding the faithful recitation of the Rosary. Among them included:
- Those who faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.
- I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
- The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
- At the moment of death, they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
Was not St. Lawrence’s martyrdom a “signal grace”? Wasn’t he given the “powerful armor against hell” of remaining steadfast in his faith? Did he not immediately “participate in the merits of the saints of paradise” upon shedding his blood as a martyr for Christ? I firmly believe, that Lawrence’s faith and fortitude was linked to his devotion to Mary.
St. Simon de Rojas
This last point connects us to another little known saint who is also remembered today, St. Simon de Rojas of Spain. This Trinitarian monk and founder of the Slaves of Mary was notable and exemplary in his love for Mary. He was canonized at the close of the Marian year 1988, also by St. John Paul II. Simon’s motto in life was the following: “In being all yours, My Lady, I shall have nothing to fear.”
Rojas was not asked to face a cruel martyrdom like Ruiz, nevertheless, his trust in Mary formed in him the holy fearlessness of a martyr to face any hardship. This he did in his simple, yet unrelenting charity towards Spain’s poorest of the poor.
Both saints are examples of how we are called to live out our total consecration to Mary in filial slavery of love. By surrendering ourselves completely to her, we should always trust that today’s struggles (and the ones yet to come) are already known to her. Being the good mother she is, Mary will never leave her loving slaves without all the graces they need to remain faithful to God. Her loving care may not keep us from all harm, but never was it known that any of her children were ever left unaided in their pursuit of eternal life.
Having consecrated all to her, now all we have to do is trust her and depend on her completely. Totus tuus!
Seize the day and make it all Hers!
