A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Marian Consecration

33 Days to Morning Glory - Michael E. Gaitley37. Reverend Gaitley’s book also contains many quotes (from a long list of sources on pages 183–195) that also contain serious theological errors. One of the most serious errors comes from the original Saint Louis De Montfort consecration vow that encourages Catholics to turn to Mary for the forgiveness of their sins. The original consecration vow (which Reverend Gaitley’s book is based upon) was published in 1863 in a book entitled A Treatise on the True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, by Louis-Marie Grignon de Montfort.

38. The words of the original Saint Louis de Montfort consecration vow, which encourages Catholics to turn to Mary for the forgiveness of sins, read as follows: "I do not deserve to be called Thy son, nor yet Thy slave; and as there is nothing in me which does not merit Thine anger and Thy repulse, I dare no more come by myself before Thy Most Holy and August Majesty. It is on this account that I have recourse to the intercession of Thy most holy Mother, whom Thou hast given me for a mediatrix with Thee. It is by her means that I hope to obtain of Thee contrition, and the pardon of my sins..."26 A copy of the original Saint Louis de Montfort consecration vow has been included as Exhibit G.

39. According to the Catechism in section 1441, "Only God forgives sins."27 The Catechism also states in section 431, "Because sin is always an offense against God, only he can forgive it."28 Because the Blessed Trinity is one in nature, essence and substance (as per the Catechism in section 252), Jesus has the authority to forgive man's sin, but according to the Church's teachings, Mary does not have the ability to forgive sins or grant salvation.

40. One of the most serious theological errors that has been woven throughout Reverend Gaitley’s book is a belief that Mary is equal to or greater than God. For example, on page 25, Reverend Gaitley says, “Mary is the spouse of the Holy Spirit.” In an attempt to justify this statement, he explains that Mary’s relationship with the Holy Spirit is “nothing less than a two-become-one marital union.” Then on page 59, Reverend Gaitley says, “The Holy Spirit does not act except through the Immaculata, his spouse.” These types of statements portray the Holy Spirit’s ability to act as if such actions were dependant upon Mary’s approval. For example, if Mary did not grant her permission, the Holy Spirit could not act, because the Holy Spirit does not act except through the Immaculata.

41. According to the Catechism in section 970 and 1 Timothy 2:5, there is only “one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus. According to the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church in Lumen Gentium section 60, “The maternal duty of Mary toward men in no wise obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows His power. For all the salvific influence of the Blessed Virgin on men originates, not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure. It flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power from it.”29

42. Because Mary’s role as an intercessor draws all its power from Christ and depends entirely upon Christ, Mary is not equal to or greater than God. A good example of a time when Mary was not acting in cooperation with the Holy Spirit comes from the Gospel of Luke when “Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.”30

43. “After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, 'Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.' He said to them, 'Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?' But they did not understand what he said to them.”31

44. In this situation, Sacred Scripture describes an event when the Lord’s will was in direct conflict with Mary’s actions. If Mary were truly “united to the Holy Spirit” and “one with God” (as Reverend Gaitley states on pages 56) “from the very first instant of her existence” (as Reverend Gaitley states on page 54), then she would have known exactly where Jesus was and what he was doing. If Mary were in perfect unity with the Holy Spirit, she could have asked her “marriage partner” a few simple questions and the Holy Spirit could have filled Mary’s heart with peace and guidance. The Holy Spirit could have given Mary a vision of Jesus teaching in the temple. Mary didn’t need to spend three days filled with worry and anxiety searching for her lost child, because the Holy Spirit knew exactly where Jesus was the entire time.

45. If Mary were in full control of the Holy Spirit, so that the Holy Spirit could not act without her permission and approval, then there can only be one other explanation—that Jesus was operating outside of God’s will. Because the Catechism states in section 520 that Jesus is the “perfect man who invites us to become his disciples”32 and that the Holy Spirit is “consubstantial with the Father and the Son”33 and that the “joint mission” of the Holy Spirit and Jesus are “inseparable”34 (as per the Catechism in section 689), we know that Jesus was not operating outside of God’s will in this situation.

46. Other Scripture passages that support the fact that Mary is not equal to or greater than God comes from the Gospel of Luke when a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!”35 Jesus responded by saying, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”36 Another example comes from the Gospel of Mark when his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.”37 Jesus responded by saying, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”38

47. If Mary were equal to or greater than God and were the “Spouse of the Holy Spirit,” as Reverend Gaitley states in his book on page 25, then she would also possess the same spiritual powers as the Holy Spirit along with the ability to be omnipresent. If Mary were truly all-knowing, all-powerful and omnipresent, then she could accomplish all the tasks that Reverend Gaitley describes in his book. For example, on page 25, Reverend Gaitley says, “Mary’s task is to give spiritual birth to Christians, to feed and nurture them with grace, and to help them grow to full stature in Christ. In short, Mary’s job is to help us grow in holiness. It’s her mission to form us into saints.”

48. In the event that Mary is truly all-knowing, all-powerful and omnipresent, equal to or greater than God, then she could very easily accomplish everything that Reverend Gaitley describes in his book. In the event that Mary is only an intercessor, a creature and part of God’s creation (as per the Catechism in sections 488 and 493), whose powers and abilities are limited and dependent upon Christ, then the entire premise of Reverend Gaitley’s book becomes a false and dangerous doctrine that leads Catholics into a dangerous form of idolatry and spiritualism.

49. Another false and misleading statement that would rely upon Mary’s ability to be all-knowing, all-powerful and omnipresent comes from page 36, where Reverend Gaitley says that it is Mary’s “God-given task of forming us into other Christs.” According to the Catechism in section 436, the word Christ comes from the Hebrew word Messiah.39 Because the sacred title of Christ is interchangeable with the word Messiah, Jesus asked his disciples one day, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”40 Peter responded by saying, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”41 In other Catholic translations of Sacred Scripture, Peter says, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”42 Because there is only one Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, it would not be possible for Mary to form Catholics into “other Christs.”

50. At the conclusion of Reverend Gaitley’s book, after he makes numerous promises based on how the “secret” knowledge of selling a person’s soul to the Immaculata will help his readers become “other Christs,” he offers a section on what they should do next. On page 124, in a section entitled “After Consecration,” Reverend Gaitley recommends the daily renewal of a person’s consecration vows to the Immaculata. Then on page 125, Reverend Gaitley encourages his readers to develop a new “Marian attitude” by saying, “we should do everything ‘with Mary, in Mary, through Mary, and for Mary.’” After making this statement, Reverend Gaitley encourages his readers to practice more “Marian devotions” on pages 129–180.

51. According to the Catechism in section 1618, Christ needs to be center of our lives. Our bond with Jesus needs to take “precedence over all other bonds.”43 According to the Catechism in section 260, “The ultimate end of the whole divine economy is the entry of God’s creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity. If a man loves me, says the Lord, he will keep my word and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.”44 Although Catholics are required to enter into perfect unity with the Blessed Trinity (to place God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit at the center of our lives), on page 26 of Reverend Gaitley’s book, he says, “If we want to become more fully Christ, then we need to belong more fully to Mary.”

52. Although Reverend Gaitley’s book concludes with many pages of how Catholics should practice more Marian devotions, he does not offer his readers any instruction or guidance on the proper way to pray “in communion with” the saints to God. According to the Catechism in section 2664, “There is no other way of Christian prayer than Christ.”45 Our prayers have “access to the Father only if we pray in the name of Jesus.”46 According to the Catechism in section 2564, “Christian prayer is a covenant relationship between God and man in Christ.”47 According to the Catechism in section 2565, “Prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit.”48

53. According to the Catechism in section 425, “The transmission of the Christian faith consists primarily in proclaiming Jesus Christ in order to lead others to faith in him.”49 According to the Catechism in section 426, only Jesus can “lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity.”50 Instead of helping Catholics enter into an authentic relationship with the Blessed Trinity, Reverend Gaitley’s book encourages Catholics to renounce their original baptismal promises, enter into a spiritually binding agreement with the Immaculata and commit the sin of idolatry by violating the First and Greatest Commandments as defined in Sacred Scripture: “You shall have no other gods before me”51 and “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”52 When Catholics violate God's laws as defined in Sacred Scripture, it exposes them to demonic influence.

54. According to the Catechism in section 888, “Bishops, with priests as co-workers, have as their first task to preach the Gospel of God to all men, in keeping with the Lord’s command.”53 According to the Catechism in section 890, it is the “Magisterium’s task to preserve God’s people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error.”54 Because Reverend Gaitley’s book offers a “secret” form of knowledge based on Gnosticism, that promises to transform his readers into “great saints” by offering them a false method of salvation that concludes with a call for action by which Catholics sell their souls to the Immaculata, this book needs to be removed from public distribution until all the theological errors have been corrected.

55 According to the Catechism in section 2088, Reverend Gaitley is required to protect the “faith with prudence and vigilance, and to reject everything that is opposed to it.”55 According to Canon Law 750, Reverend Gaitley is required to “believe with divine and Catholic faith all those things contained in the Word of God, written or handed on, that is, in the one deposit of faith entrusted to the Church." According to Canon Law 1371, “A person who teaches a doctrine condemned by the Roman Pontiff or an ecumenical council or who obstinately rejects the doctrine mentioned in Canon 750 or in Canon 752 and who does not retract after having been admonished by the Apostolic See or an ordinary, is to be punished with a just penalty.” According to Canon Law 1364, "An apostate from the faith, a heretic, or a schismatic incurs a latae sententiae excommunication."

For more information on why Catholics should not sell their souls to the Immaculata, please visit www.ConsecrationVows.com